Cinnamon Sally Designs

A gift for friends!

2012-02-02T14:23:00.000Z

I am going out tomorrow evening to meet up with some friends that I haven't seen for ages, we all used to work together at the school were I still work but now we only manage to get together a couple of times a year. Its always great fun catching up ,there is always lots to talk about.

I wanted to take a small gift with me so I have had a go at stamping on candles again and I am really pleased with the results. This stamp is a really old Hero Arts one that I got in a sale bin at my LSS and its the perfect design for this technique. I have used TomBow markers on the stamp so the colours are really bright.

Hope you are having a good week, I am fighting a cold at the moment, I hope I feel better for tomorrow!!

For Cath (sans CHA) with Love Blog Hop

2012-02-01T17:02:00.000Z

Cath Edvalson, of Moxie fab World fame, won't be able to attend CHA this year, due to an injured shoulder, so to try and cheer her up Virginia and Lorena have organised this amazing Blog Hop. If you are a regular visitor to the Moxie Fab World blog you will know that Cath brings us crafter's alot of enjoyment and fabulous inspiration almost every single day with her posts, and so it's only fitting that we try to do the same for her. Sending you lots of smiles and hope you feel better soon Cath!!!

I love this Etched Flower stamp from Hero Arts, its so versatile. For this card I have stamped it onto pink BoBunny paper and then cut it out, I have then adhered it onto white card to give it more strength and then cut out again leaving a small border. The background hounds tooth paper is patterned with a gorgeous brocade on the reverse, so I have used that for the strip down the middle. After adding the lace and ribbon I have pop dotted the flower in place. I am going to enter the card for the current Lily Pad challenge.
The sentiment is an SRM sticker (the first time I have used these and I love them) thanks so much Virginia!!

Masculine Birthday.

2012-01-30T18:43:00.000Z

I am still trying to use up some of my paper stash, this time with a male birthday in mind. For the background I have stamped my new London stamp onto some BasicGrey "Porcelain" paper and distressed the edges, the car is also stamped onto Basic Grey and then cut out. I have also added some map scraps to lift the colours a bit, the card looks brighter in real life but I can't seem to get a good photograph.

Just a short post tonight, I have had a busy day and need to chill out in front of the fire, hope you have had a good day and thanks for stopping by.

Using up a paper stash!!!!

2012-01-29T14:01:00.002Z

There is a great new challenge over at The Lily Pad to use patterned paper, now I have a secret I am a hoarder of patterned paper pads, I fall in love with the pretty papers buy the pads and then can't bear to use them. This is the perfect challenge for me and I am going to try and make a few cards, then I won't feel guilty about buying more!!!

This cards background paper is from the gorgeous pad by BoBunny called "et cetera" all the papers have words or music printed on them. For the flower I used some BasicGrey, the flower image is stamped twice and then pop dotted in place. I have also glued on some seed beads to represent the stamens.
This is also for the Simon Says challenge "Anything goes".

There is another football match on the TV today so I am going to get some more crafting time, I am going to hunt through the rest of my papers!!

CAS ual Friday Challenge

2012-01-28T15:41:00.002Z

Its a cold day here in Surrey so while hubby is watching the football I have had time to play in the craft room!! This is a card I have made for the CAS-ual Friday challenge, which this week is a sketch challenge. The the image is created using my favourite technique, emboss resist. I have used Old Letter Writing and Spiced Marmalade distress ink. The Hydrangea is stamped using the same ink.

Hope you are having a fun weekend.

Black and White!

2012-01-24T18:42:00.000Z

I wanted to have a go at the new challenge over at the CAS-ual Friday blog, the theme this week is "Black and White" much as I try I my mojo left and I couldn't think of a thing to make. After flicking through my scraps bog I found this tag that I was going to use at Christmas and just didn't get around to finishing it. Hence the rather late for this year Christmas card. Never mind with seventy cards to make each year you can never start too early!!

Sorry for the poor photograph but I won't get chance to take this in daylight before the challenge closes.

After adding the ribbons and buttons I have mounted my tag onto a white card and then added the sentiment and gems. The village scene is actually embossed in white glitter powder so the card has a really beautiful shimmer.

Hope you are having a good week , I have the day off tomorrow and have planned lots of things to do!!

Weddings!!

2012-01-22T13:20:00.000Z

I need a wedding card and wanted to try something a little different than I normally make. I am hoping that this has a more modern feel to it, as its not my usual shabby chic wedding design!!
I am really into masking at the moment as it gives the cards a cleaner look... The cloud and car stamps are from Hero Arts and the hearts are just punched out of red card, I have pop dotted two of them for more dimension.

This is another card for the Hero Arts "Love and Kisses" challenge. I'm off to make some Brownies now, yum can't wait!!

Virginia's new challenge!!

2012-01-21T16:08:00.000Z

Over at The Lily Pad they have three new DT members (Congratulations Ladies) they also have a new challenge set by the lovely and very talented Virginia.
This is my CAS one layer card inspired by the photograph below. I found an old Hero Arts stamp called Floating Hearts which seemed the perfect name, as the photograph looks like beautiful "Floating Hearts"

Sorry for the short post, my DD is home and there's lots to chat about!!

More Valentines!!

2012-01-20T16:36:00.001Z

I have been asked at work to make a basket of Valentine cards, so I have been busy getting some together. These both fit this months theme over at Hero Arts which is "Love and Kisses". I have used the Classic Fabric background stamped in black and then distressed with Pumice Stone for part of the background. The other half is Canvas Stripes stamped with Versacolor Cardinal Red. The hearts has been white embossed with Old Letter and then rubbed with the same Cardinal ink.

I have really just changed the shape for the second card and made this mini version. This card also qualifies for this months Die Cut Divas challenge "Love is in the Air".

So glad its the weekend, we have had such a busy time at work this week and I need some chill time!! Also my DD is home from Uni for the weekend and I am looking forward to having a girly chat. Hope you all have a great weekend.

Clean and Simple!

2012-01-18T15:39:00.000Z

Its been a while since I had time to enter the CAS-Friday challenge but at last I have had a little free time to play with my stamps. This weeks challenge is to use scallops, as you know I love to create shaped cards so here is a scalloped circle card using my new Etched Flower stamp from Hero Arts.

This was a really easy card to make, for the background I used one of my old multi coloured red ink pads and just swiped it across the paper to make the light to dark effect. I then stamped the flower image with Barn Door Distress ink. Next I coloured in the image using the same ink as a water colour. I love this new flower stamp, I know its going to be really versatile!!

Here is another quick one layer card using the same stamp, this time the background is created using copic markers and Alcohol Blending Solution, such a pretty effect. The image is stamped in Black.

Hope you are all having a good week.

Lily Pad Chipboard Challenge.

2012-01-14T15:49:00.000Z

For my HERO ARTS BLOG HOP post please go here.

And for the Tiffany Doodles Blog Hop go here.

I have made this card for the current challenge over at the Lily Pad Blog, the challenge is to use chipboard on you card... As you can see its a Valentine card so I will also enter it into the Die Cut Divas monthly challenge.

I found the chipboard piece amongst my ever growing box of embellishments, I felt it was a little pale so stamped with Fired Brick distress ink and then embossed with Embossing Enamel. The ink didn't take over the whole piece but I quite like the green showing through. The background music stamp is from Hero Arts . I then just added some rolled flowers, die cut leaves (thank you Linda) and the ribbon.

Wow its been a busy week this week with all the excitement of both the Hero Arts Blog Hop and the Tiffany Doodles Hop, I would just like to thank everyone for stopping by my blog and leaving such lovely comments I really appreciate it.

Tiffany Doodles Blog Hop!!

2012-01-13T13:14:00.002Z

If you are here for the HERO ARTS BLOG HOP please go to the post below.

Thank you for joining us at Tiffany Doodles for our first blog hop of 2012! We're so glad you're here! It's ALSO the second anniversary of Tiffany Doodles!

You're going to find lots of inspiration along the way, from some very talented ladies. Be sure to leave each of them a comment by Sunday the 15th for your chance to win something of your choice! That's 19 chances to win! All winners will be announced on the Tiffany Doodles blog Wednesday January 18th.

You should have arrived from Donna's fabulous and inspirational blog, If this is your first stop, please go back to Jessica's blog so you don't miss anything!

My first card is made using "Dahlia with Oval"image, I have printed the image cut it out and then coloured with distress inks. Next I stamped with versamark and coated in embossing enamel then heated and repeated the process three times. After the image was dry I cracked the enamel to give this cracked cameo effect.

My second card is using the second image from the same set, I have printed the flowers onto some BasicGrey Paper and then coloured with TomBow markers.

The image I have used for both my cards is "Dahlia with Oval" A very versatile and pretty image.

I hope you're feeling inspired! Before you hop over to Anette's Blog remember to leave a comment for your chance to win!

You have three days to leave your comments or create a card (Tiffany is giving away the entire January release and all you have to do is create a card or project using one of her images) to win Tiffany's awesome digis!
Thanks for hopping along with us, we look forward to seeing your creations!

Hero Arts Blog Hop!!

2012-01-11T11:21:00.003Z

Hello friends... I'm so excited and honoured to be part of this Blog Hop with the brand new 2012 Hero Arts Stamps and it's such fun joining up with past Hostesses for the week long Hop.

It's now Wednesday so we are half way through and I have got to say I have been blown away with all the amazing creations the Hostesses have come up with.......

You should have arrived here from my hostess sister Linda's fabulous Blog ...... If you find a broken link, you'll find a master list of the hop links at the Hero Club Blog. Also please report any broken links to Tami.

Hero Arts will be awarding prizes from randomly drawn comments. For a chance to win, simply comment on ANY of the stops along the hop on ANY day, including each day’s starting post at the Hero Club Blog. The more comments you leave, the better your chance of winning!

As you probably already know Hero Arts are my favourite stamps and I am afraid I got rather carried away so this post is quite long!!!!

My first card is using the Newspaper Background (S5601) to create a mock parcel with thank you label. The card base is also stamped with Envelope Background (S5507) and the thank you label is part of Greetings Set (CG414) which I have stamped and embossed onto some paper distressed with blue and green inks . I made the sealing wax dot with fimo and a stamp from the Carte Postale set (CL535) The butterfly has been stamped three times and then pop dotted up for more dimension.

My next project is a small pocket notebook with the second stamp from the Greetings Set (CG414). I made the notebook using scrap paper, then created the hard covers using stiff card covered with paper stamped with Newspaper Background (S5601). The pages and covers are stitched together using Hero Arts Twine. I then stamped the Greetings stamp onto some card distressed with blue and green distress inks making sure to mask out the "Greetings" word so that I could add the "Just a Note" message from Everyday Sayings (CL342). Finally I added some buttons and a gem.

Now for a masculine card, which I find hard to make but this new Vintage Car (G5544) stamp is perfect for the job, I have used the new London Background (CG424) applying different distress inks to the stamp and then spritzing with water before stamping onto paper. I then added more distress ink with my daubers. The sentiment is from the All Occasions (CL272) set.

Next up two cards using the Etched Flower (CG480) I really love this new stamp, they look like poppies to me so have coloured the flowers red using my distress inks as watercolours. I also added some Glossy Accents to the centres of the flowers. The background is a really old Hero Arts stamp that I was lucky enough to find on ebay. The sentiment is from Say It All (CL584).

This is my last card for today's Hop, another simple card using Etched Flower (CG480), I first stamped and embossed in white Old Letter (CG197) and then distressed the card with Worn Lipstick distress ink. Next I stamped the flower using Fired Brick distress ink and then water coloured the image using the same ink. The sentiment is from Say It All (CL584).

Sorry for the long post but I have had so much fun with these new stamps!!

I am the last person in today's Hop so don't forget to drop by the Hero Arts Blog tomorrow for the next instalment!!

Thank you so much for visiting today I hope you have had fun!!

90 Minute Scramble!!

2012-01-08T13:29:00.002Z

Yesterday evening the Hero Arts Flickr group ran another 90 minute scramble challenge. These are always fun but as its usually Saturday evening for me I am not always able to take part. Well yesterday we had nothing on so I was keen to Scramble!!

Karen set the challenge this week and it was to stamp onto patterned paper, straight away I had lots of ideas in my head but none seemed to work, my desk got messier and messier and my mind went blank. I then found my new Etched Flower stamp from Hero Arts and stamped it in black onto some Basic Grey paper after cutting out the image I was pleased with the result so just the background to make.
I had just finished making this card with the masked background so decided to do it again. I masked with low tac masking tape (I have found that its still quite sticky so rub the tape over my jeans to take off even more stickiness) Stamped the Old Letter Writing stamp with Old Paper distress ink and then distressed with the same ink. You then have to carefully remove the tape. Just added the flowers, some pearls and a sentiment and hey presto finished within the 90 mins. Great Fun!! just a huge mess to clear up LOL.

Hope you are having a great Sunday.

P.S. Be sure to drop by my blog on Wednesday as there is something very exciting happening!!

Getting my mojo working again!!!

2012-01-06T17:57:00.001Z

I have been feeling some what under the weather for the past 10 days and consequently my mojo disappeared completely :0( At last I am beginning to feel back on form, so a spot of card making was called for!! This new cling from Hero Arts is so versatile I decided to have another play with it. First I masked the edges of my card with low tac masking tape and stamped and embossed the image in white. I have then just water coloured with my distress inks.

Glad I am feeling better for the weekend as I have a secret mission to complete, more later!! Hope you all have a great weekend.

Second Installment of my favourite cards for 2011!!

2012-01-02T17:46:00.002Z

Here is my second half of the year favourites selection. This is July's choice more butterflies and flowers I am afraid, a card and a set I made for my friends birthday.

This is Augusts choice and as you can see they are Lavender bags that I made with the harvest from my garden in. I had a idea after seeing lots of lavender products in the south of France whilst on holiday. I was really lucky when Judy came to my rescue with this gorgeous stamp, perfect for the task. I have just coloured the image with Copic Markers (They work great on fabric)..

The card is a paper pieced image from Tiffany Doodles, like most crafters I find masculine cards quite difficult.

September and a card for a Moxie Fab challenge, not much stamping on this one but I am pleased with the result , also another card set. Love making these as they are great gifts for friends.

Octobers are both cards I made for a Lily Pad sketch challenge, I was lucky enough to win with the top card and received some fabulous new stamps to play with!

These two are my November choice, I love the green and black combination of the top card (really must use it more!!!) and the second card is a CAS one, I am really not a CAS person but have been trying it more and more this year!

Lastly my two for December although only one is a Christmas card, the top wreath card is again a CAS design and I was really lucky to win with this card over at The Moxie Fab Blog in their button challenge.

My village stamp is a new one in my collection, after seeing Franziska and Jacqueline use it so well over at the Hero Arts flickr site I added it straight onto my wish list. Clare saw a discussion thread about our wish list stamps in a flickr thread and offered to send it to me. You can imagine how thrilled I was with it.

I really love being part of the Hero Arts flickr group, I have made many friends over the last couple of years and am constantly inspired by all the work showcased there. The ladies are a truly talented bunch and I am really thankful that I stumbled across it while surfing the net !!

Thank you all for all your lovely comments on my blog and heres looking forward to another creative and fun year!!

Happy New Year and favourites from last year!!!

2012-01-01T11:26:00.000Z

I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and to mark the start of 2012 I thought I would do what a lot of my blogging friends are doing and look back at my favourite projects from last year.

These are Januarys, two very different cards, one fussy one CAS.

February and one card and some gift Tea Bag holders.

March and back to my favourite style with butterflies and flowers.

April and more flowers!!!!

You've guessed it more flowers! Perhaps my new years resolution should be to be more adventurous.

Sorry for the long post, but this is Junes .

I have been very lucky this year and in February was chosen as a Hero Arts Hostess and then later in the year joined the DT for Tiffany Doodles. One of my challenges for this year is to try and get published!!

I shall pop back tomorrow with the second instalment! Have a great day!

A number one Hit and some christmas cards.

2011-12-27T20:00:00.000Z

My sons friend Greg Holden has just had a Christmas number one in The Netherlands with his Charity single "The Lost Boy" in aid of the Red Cross.
Here is a link to his website which contains this track and more http://gregholdenonline.com/
you can also purchase the track through itunes.

We are so thrilled for Greg, he has worked really hard and at last its beginning to pay off!!

I thought I would add a few more of my Christmas cards from Flickr friends...

This card is from Jo isn't it cute and her colouring is amazing. Thanks Jo..

This second card is from Heather in Ireland another really cute card and it has added sparkle on the wings.. Thanks Heather.

Finally this card is from Rosemary she sent this card as part of the flickr Christmas card exchange, such a pretty card . Thank you Rosemary.

I hope you have all had a great Christmas and wishing you a fabulous New Year,

A card for two challenges.

2011-12-20T18:05:00.001Z

Just a quick post tonight as I am heading out to a school Christmas party to mark the end of term. I have made this little card for two challenges using my new Hero Arts "Village" stamp.
The first challenge is the colour splash over at The Play Date Cafe.

The second challenge is this weeks CAS-friday challenge which is to create a card with a matching envelope.

I now have a busy few days ahead of me doing the last minute preparations for Christmas.

If I don't get a chance to blog again I would like to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for all your kind comments over the last 12 months I really appreciate them all.

A Partridge in a Pear Tree.

2011-12-19T19:39:00.001Z

Just a quick post today as my DD is due home from University today and I am so excited, I haven't seen her foe a couple of months and we have lots to catch up with.

Yesterday I had time to make a card for this weeks Tuesday Trigger at Moxie Fab, I saw the photo and fell in love with the stunning cushion.

Here is my card although I am not happy with the photograph, its a dull rainy day here and I just can't catch a good image.

The little stamp is one I have had in my collection for a while, its made by The English Stamp Company and as you can see is a lovely image of "a partridge in a pear tree". I have stamped and embossed it in silver on some PP and then layered onto some silver card. I then added some stitching with a silver pen.
The background flourish is by Hero Arts and I have just stamped it in silver on white and layered it onto some blue card.

Looking forward to breaking up for the holidays tomorrow and I have two weeks off, Yipee!!!

New stamp!

2011-12-18T13:51:00.000Z

As soon as I saw this fabulous video on the Hero Arts Blog I really wanted to get my hands on the new Large Flower Background stamp from the Hero Arts 2012 catalogue. Luckily my favourite online UK stamp store The Glitter Pot had a delivery of stamps last week. Unfortunately its about a hour and a half from me so I wasn't able to get there myself for the new stamp release, but second best I ordered online!!

I decided to make a small set of thank you cards using three colour ways.

The first uses the same technique that Shari used in the video.

For the second I inked the stamp with Versamark ink and then Black memento ink and heat embossed with clear powder. I then painted the images with Distress inks.

The last one is heat embossed in gold and then lightly sponged with Spun Sugar and Bundled Sage distress ink.

At last I have finished all my Christmas cards so it was fun making something different.
Hope you are all having a great weekend and you are all ready for the holidays.

Another card set and some cards from friends!

2011-12-14T16:29:00.000Z

My DD is currently in a school in Cheddar, Somerset just finishing her first teacher training practise and she has asked me to make her some Thank You cards. Well as she is only 23 I wanted to make something young and funky so I chose these three bright colours ( not my normal choice of card base I usually stick to white).

I was really pleased with the final set, quite simple but they remind my of some stunning Indian sari fabrics I have seen.

As you can see bright fuchsia pink........

bright lime green.......

and bright blue....

I am adding this set to the current challenge over at the Hero Arts Blog (Card sets).

I was lucky enough to receive two beautiful cards in the post this week, the first is from Dawn in New Zealand and I wish you could see this in real life it has the most amazing sparkle to it!

The second is from Jacqueline in France, this is beautiful so soft and delicate.

Thanks so much ladies!

Sorry for the long post today.

Stamping Class!!

2011-12-11T15:22:00.000Z

Last Thursday I ran a little card making class at home for a few work colleague's but we all got so carried away making up the samples I had made, that I forgot to take a photograph of everyone in action!! So instead here is a photo of the resulting mess after a fun evening.

The first card we tried was the wreath design, this was an easy one to start with as its only distress ink sprayed with water and stamped on to the card. Then you just add the buttons, ribbon and bling.

The second card was a bit more challenging as it has heat embossing and dry embossing, all the ladies that came were complete novices but they made some fabulous cards to take home.

All in all it was a real fun evening and they have already asked if I will do it again!!

The background trees are embossed with green metallic powder and then run through the embossing folder that had a little Tumbled Glass distress ink patted on to it. We tore strips of paper for the snow and added some sticles for shimmer. The trees have been stamped and embossed with Silver Sparkle.

Hope you are having a great weekend and are not to busy in the run up to Christmas!!

Card sets!

2011-12-06T19:42:00.000Z

Part of this months Hero Arts Challenge is to make card sets, I have made quite a few sets in the past check here and here and here. They make fabulous little gifts and are really easy to make. My favourite is to make a one layer card.

First you mask round the edges of the cards with low tack tape and then stamp your design and distress in various colours.

The Hydrangea image is then stamped over in a slightly darker colour and then you can remove the masking tape.

I have made four cards in four colours, I just need to make a small box now and I have another gift ready for a friend!!

Moxie Fab Challenge!

2011-12-04T16:34:00.000Z

Moxie Fab World have lots of different challenges running at the moment, one of them is to make a card using the inspirational photograph below. Don't you just love that herringbone jacket so pretty. I was immediately inspired by the green and white and then noticed the gorgeous brooches and pearls.

I love making small cards and the shape of this has also been inspired by the brooches.

I have spent today trying to write some of my Christmas cards, I love making them but writing them and then putting on the addresses is a bit of a chore!!lol.

Buttons!!

2011-12-03T15:44:00.001Z

I have been having trouble with some missing mojo lately, but at last I think its on the way back!! I created this CAS card for the current button challenge over at the Lily Pad Blog. Something quite simple to get the creative juices flowing again!!

I am also adding this to "The Random Fun Challenge" over at Moxie Fab World.

I have added different green Distress inks to the wreath stamp from Hero Arts and then spritzed with water before stamping to give a water colour effect. I have then just added the ribbon, buttons and bling!!
I have been wanting to get my hands on the Hero Arts Village stamp for ages after seeing all the fabulous cards Jacqueline and Franziska from the flickr group have been creating.

Imagine my excitment when Clare offered to send it to me after seeing it on my wish list at the flickr site. Thats what I love about the group everyone is so kind and so generous in many ways. Thank you so much Clare I am having lots of fun inking it up.

Here is another card I have made with the stamp, this time a Christmas themed one, I know this stamp is going to be so versatile!!

Hope you are enjoying your weekend, I am getting ready to do a small stamping class next week, its my first and I am both excited and nervous!!

Tuesday Trigger!!

2011-11-26T16:38:00.000Z

This is the Tuesday Trigger photograph for the Moxie Fab World Blog, I love the rustic shabby chic look and wanted to make a Christmas card with a shabby chic feel.

Here is my finished card, the Kraft card has been run through a wood grain embossing folder and then lightly rubbed with Tea Dye distress ink. The circle background is made using the Hero Arts striped circle stamp and Fired Brick distress ink. I have then add a strip of white paper stamped with Canvas stripes and an Artistic Outpost fir cone image, the sentiment is also from Artistic Outpost.

Hope you are enjoying the weekend, unfortunately I have a cold which I must have caught from the children at school, so I am going to relax infront of the fire now and watch a bit of TV.

Giveaway winner and a pink Christmas !!

2011-11-23T18:13:00.001Z

Now I would never normally make a Christmas card that is quite so pink, this really isn't my style but this is for my God-daughters little girl Isabella. She is mad about pink and I thought this snowman image would make the perfect card for her. I have coloured with copics and added lots of sparkle to the hat and some frosted stickles to the scarf.

I will enter this card in "The Ribbon Girls " Colour challenge which just happens to be Pink and White this month!!
And also "The City Crafters challenge" their theme is "A Pink Christmas".

I want to thank everyone who visited my blog and left such lovely comments for my 400th post, I really appreciate all you lovely ladies who take the time to pop by. The winner of my little giveaway as drawn by my lovely hubby is..........

ONECRAFTYMAMA!!!!! Congratulations.

Please can you email me your snail mail address and I will get them in the post to you straight away!.

CAS-ual Fridays!!

2011-11-20T16:36:00.000Z

Please check out this post for my 400th post little giveaway..

The CAS-ual Friday challenge this week is another sketch challenge, I quite enjoy these although I am still finding the CAS element hard to follow, I love to make busy cards!

This card was really simple to make, so a great design for mass production. I stamped the Hero Arts Happy Holiday Trees with a mixture of Peeled Paint and Forest Moss distress inks. I have then added lots of Frosted Lace stickles for lots of sparkle. The background has been dry embossed with my snow folder and then I have added more stickles.

Hope you are all having a great weekend and thank you for all the lovely comments.

Thank you card.

2011-11-19T15:23:00.002Z

Please go to the post below to enter my 400 post giveaway.

I found this photo challenge after visiting Jessi's blog and if you look at the photograph below you will know why I was inspired, the green and black look so lovely together that I knew immediately which stamps I would use.

The challenge has been set by Barbles Cards and this is my entry. The base is stamped with the HA Classic Fabric background in black and then clear embossed. The central panel is stamped with Old Letter Writing and embossed in white.

I have then distressed with Bundled Sage and Shabby Shutters next I stamped the Hydrangea stamp with Shabby Shutters ink. I love all the green tones together and will definitely used this technique again. This panel is also raised on pop dots for dimension.

I am also going to enter the Simon Says Challenge, which this week is Thank You cards.

Its been a beautiful day here today and hubby and I went for a long walk in the woods near our house, because of the damp mild weather here at the moment there is an abundance of toadstools growing everywhere. I saw this gorgeous red one and had to get a photograph of it, isn't it stunning!!!

A small giveaway

2011-11-19T11:58:00.000Z

I have just noticed that this is my 402 posting on my blog so I thought I would have a little giveaway for just passing 400. I have had this new stamp set ready for a Christmas giveaway and I have added a few more bits and will probably find a few more things before I post it to the winner.

Please leave a comment on this blog telling me what you love about Christmas and if you are not a follower I would appreciate you becoming one. Please comment before midnight on Tuesday 22nd November and I will draw the winner on Wednesday.
Good Luck

Virginia's Special Birthday.

2011-11-16T16:16:00.001Z

On the 9th of December it will be Virginia Lu's 50th Birthday, and she is running a little challenge to help with her celebrations.

A few years ago when I first found the HA flickr site Virginia was one of the first people to welcome me to the group and comment on my first ( not very good ) cards. She was also a Hero Arts Hostess in 2009 so we both belong to that special little group of ex Hostesses.

Please visit her blog to see some amazing inspiration (she is also an fabulous cook and often posts mouth watering photos and recipe's)

So Virginia here is my virtual card for you, I hope you have a wonderful Birthday. Hugs from across the sea.

Play Date colour challenge!!

2011-11-15T17:50:00.001Z

This weeks Play Date Cafe challenge is a colour splash challenge, that is black and white with a splash of orange. I had to play and use my new favourite HA stamp the Flower Dot background. I stamped it on some white card and then added small dots of Orange Peel Stickles. The flower is stamped onto some BasicGrey paper and then I have added some Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink for a more vivid colour.

I have added lots of pearls and gems to the flower for a real sparkle. So I shall add this to the current Hero Arts challenge to use Bling!!

Hope you are all enjoying your week, and thank you for all the lovely comments I really appreciate them.

Two new cards.

2011-11-10T18:34:00.001Z

This weeks challenge at Simon Says is a photograph inspiration challenge, the photograph is below and this is the card I made for the challenge. This is a really simple card made by stamping the HA Long Stem Flowers onto some PP and then colouring with copics. I then stamped the frame and cut out the image to fit. Poppies are the perfect inspiration for tomorrow as it is rememberance day in the UK and we all wear poppies.

This second card is for a challenge Vicky is running over at her blog this week, I was inspired by the window card she created on Day 3 of the challenge.

I have had a really busy day today so I am off to watch some TV and chill out for the evening.
Have a great day.

More Christmas Bits!

2011-11-09T15:25:00.000Z

Part of the theme for this months challenges over at The Hero Arts Blog is Gift Wrap and Tags so I have made this little triangular box with matching tag. The gorgeous Reindeer stamp is an old Hero Arts one that I was lucky enough to find at a car boot sale in the summer and I love it embossed in gold!!

This was a really simple set to make and I am pleased with the result, perfect for that little gift!!

This is a little tag that I have made using a spellbinder label set, I am not sure of the set number! I have cut two shapes and adhered them together at the top to make an opening tag.

Finally another really simple card, I have made quite a few cards now, but I need about 60 to 70 so still some more to go!
Hope you are enjoying your week and thank you for popping by.

Only a card today!

2011-11-06T16:20:00.000Z

I have had a much busier day than yesterday and have only had a little bit of time in my craft room, I have however had time to make a card for Kathy's Lily Pad Colour Challenge. This Penny Black stamp is a fairly new purchase for me and I have had some fun today experimenting with it. The background stamp is Canvas stripes from Hero Arts.

I must get on with a small card order that I have now, Hope you have all had a great weekend.

A creative day!!

2011-11-05T15:55:00.000Z

Its been a really dull Autumnal day here in Surrey so I have spent my time being creative, I love days like this. My first make was this card for the CAS-ual Friday challenge, this week its called "Over the edge". The snowflake on my card is made up of two chipboard pieces that I found in my local craft shop. I have stamped and heat embossed them with white and then added some Broken China distress stain. Lastly I added some shimmer mist and glitter.

After using the snowflake on my card I decided that it would make a lovely ornament so using some more chipboard snowflakes I made this, the pearls are from a broken necklace, in real life this has a beautiful shimmer to it!!

Next I did a little sewing, I have been following Latrice's "Homemade Holidays" online tutorials after making the Wreath yesterday, I wanted to have a go at the ruffled pillow.

My pillow doesn't have a holiday theme, it just fits in with my room colours and I am really pleased with it.
Hope you are having a great weekend to.

Thanks for all your comments.

Another card and a wreath!!

2011-11-04T18:59:00.000Z

I have had fun making another card for the texture challenge over at the Lily Pad blog, The flower is made by cutting out the back petals with my Big Shot and the Flower Layers die, I then ran it through my herringbone embossing folder and coloured. The center is just made using the rolling method and some orange patterned PP.

Just another angle to show the flower more closely.

I was lucky enough to win a place on Latrices' online "Handmade Holidays" course and one of the projects is a "Holiday Wreath" Now the only twig rings I could find were really expensive so I decided to make my own.
I went for a lovely walk over the common and cut some bendy twigs which I then wove into a ring and secured with a little wire and some gardeners twine.

I then added some fabric poinsettias, berries, fir cones and cinnamon sticks, winding wires in to secure and then adding a drop of glue with my glue gun.

I am really pleased with the end result and at a fraction of the cost of a shop wreath!!

Looking forward to a relaxing weekend, hope you have a great one too.

More Texture!!

2011-11-01T18:14:00.000Z

I have had fun playing with my new sizzix/Hero Arts embossing folder and stamp. This is such a great concept, you use the stamp for your image and then the embossing folder fits perfectly over the stamped image to give the card texture.

I used the emboss resist technique on the stamped image and then sprayed with shimmer mist before running through the embossing folder. I have made this card for the Lily Pad Texture challenge.

I went online to buy my embossing folder and stamp and would you believe it this other cute Penny Black stamp just fell into my basket!! I couldn't resist this cute elf image after seeing it featured on a few blogs and it was so simple to colour in. A bit trickier to cut out though!!

Hope you are having a good week.

Texture Challenges!

2011-10-30T14:12:00.000Z

Both The Lily Pad Blog and Moxie Fab World are running a texture challenge at the moment so this is my entry for both challenges.
My poinsettia flowers are cut using a Sizzix die and then I have run them through a herringbone embossing folder before shaping and sticking together adding some seed beads to the center with Glossy Accents. The leaves are made with the leaf stamp from the Blossom Art set from Hero Arts.

For the background I have stamped my new Flower Dots stamp and embossed in white, its then distressed with Fired Brick and Barn Door distress inks.

I have been busy this morning making more Piccallili so I can give some away as presents, its back to work for me tomorrow!!

CAS-ual Fridays and a sketch this time!!

2011-10-29T15:46:00.000+01:00

Well its the weekend and the end of my half term holidays, I have got a lot done but there was still more I wanted to do, never mind back to school on Monday. I have made this card for the CAS-ual Friday challenge which this week is a sketch!

This Santa stamp I have had in my stash for years but every Christmas out it comes to make some cards, I really love the cute design and can always think of a different way to use it. This time I have stamped it twice and coloured with copics, I have then cut out Santa's head and pop dotted it to the other image.
The little bells on the ribbon were silver and I have coloured with my copics to match the gems.

Hope you are having a great weekend the weather here is still beautiful, sunny but with a chill in the air, we are lucky as we haven't had much rain lately.
I am now off to play, I treated myself to a couple of new stamps and they arrived in the mail this morning.

Another card for the Lily Pad!

2011-10-27T16:45:00.001+01:00

I have had time to have another play with the Sketch challenge over at The Lily Pad, this time I have turned the sketch on its side to make this card. I am really pleased with the vintage feel to this card as it is for an old Aunt who is going to be 94 next month. The beautiful ribbon is part of my prize for winning the 90min scramble last month organised by the lovely Latrice. She sent me an amazing package of May Arts ribbons.
I am alos entering this in the "Anything Goes" challenge over at the Simon Says Blog!

I have been really busy today making Piccalilli ready for the winter. So yummy with crusty bread and cheese.

Lily Pad Sketch

2011-10-25T16:38:00.000+01:00

Although I am still decorating the kitchen, every girl needs a break to craft!! I had time to make another card for the Lily Pad Sketch challenge. I found this quite an easy sketch to work with and decided to make a birthday card this time.

I have used the Hero Arts simple frame as the central square stamping it onto some Kraft coloured card after first distressing and stamping with Old letter writing.. The central panel is a piece of Prima paper that I have stamped with flowers and then added a couple of dragonflies raised on pop dots.
The top section is another piece of the same Prima paper. I really love this Botanical paper pack but I am fast running out of it as it is so versatile!

Oh well must get back to the kitchen, have a great day.

CAS-ual Fridays!!

2011-10-24T16:10:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post with my card for this weeks CAS challenge "Just add Colour". This is a really simple Christmas card with the stamped images coloured with Copis. I have just added a touch of bling for some sparkle.

I am busy painting the kitchen at the moment I just had time for a little break so popped into ther craft room for a while, must get back to it!!!

Sketch challenge and a card in the mail!!

2011-10-22T16:35:00.001+01:00

The Lily Pad Blog has a new sketch challenge running so I decided to have a go, this is my finished card but I am not sure if I really like it, I think its a bit busy, perhaps I should have chosen a different background for the shaker Santa!!

Here is a close up, the Santa is a digital Hero Arts image which I have cut out and adhered to a blue

piece of card stamped and embossed with the circle snowflake background. For the background paper I have used my new Flower Dot stamp which I have stamped and embossed and then distressed with Broken China and Chipped Sapphire. I have then spritzed with Shimmer mist.

Now this beauty is the card I received from Donna as part of the Hero Arts Flickr groups Christmas card exchange. Isn't it gorgeous, that little house stamp is one that I don't have but seeing this card has made me think that I may just need it.!!

Hope you are all having a great weekend, I am now on half term holiday from school, so I hope to get lots of things done this week, including lots of crafting!

Guest Designer at the Lily Pad !!

2011-10-20T16:29:00.000+01:00

I am thrilled to be a guest designer at The Lily Pad blog today, I was asked by Deborah to make three cards to showcase and here are the three I came up with.
The first one is a CAS card, just using the Blossom art flowers from Hero Arts plus some Basic Grey PP.

The second is a little more intricate, the background is emboss resist (One of my favourite techniques) using the Classic Fabric stamp with Scattered Straw and Victorian Velvet distress inks. The flowers are again from the Blossom Art set and are paper pieced. I have coloured some gems with a black copic marker and applied loads to the flower centers. The second panel is from the Dictionary Greetings set and is also made using the emboss resist technique.

The last card is using a digital image from the Heather Ellis Pure Innocence collection and is coloured with copic markers. I have added glossy accents to the wellingtons and then just backed it with some BasicGrey paper.

I had fun making these cards so thank you Deborah and Vicky for letting me join the team for a day.

Red, Brown and Kraft.

2011-10-19T15:59:00.000+01:00

I have just got this new stamp from The English Stamp Company and was desperate to ink it up. As

soon as I saw the stamp on the shelf in my local stamp store I had to buy it, what a great image for simple Christmas cards.

After inking the image with versamark ink I coloured in the Partridge with a red Tombow marker and then stamped onto my paper, I covered the image with gold powder, brushed off the powder on the bird and then heated. Next I stamped again and cut out the bird to make a mask before stamping over with the HA Music Background stamp and Old Paper distress ink.

Its been a while since I had time to take part in the CR84FN challenge but the colours this week tied in perfectly with the card I had in mind for this stamp.

Just a short post today, hope you are having a good week.

Christmas.

2011-10-18T17:47:00.000+01:00

Here is another Christmas card for this months Hero Arts challenge, I wanted to try and make another card using a non Christmas stamp. The bauble is just a circle of PP cut with a spellbinders die I then cut freehand the bauble top and coloured with copics. I stamped the circle with the Dandelion Frame and embossed in white, then added some glittery stickles, I thought that the dandelion heads gave a frosty look and a wintery feel.

Here is a close up to show the glittery effect.

Hope you are all having a good week, I am looking forward to next week as its half term in the UK so more time to craft. I also have some cooking and some shopping trips planned, Oh how I love working in a school!!

Scramble challenge!

2011-10-15T20:37:00.000+01:00

This afternoon there was a 90 minute scramble challenge over at The Hero Arts flickr site hosted by the very talented Suzanne .

Her challenge was to make a card using exactly the same stamps that you had used on the last card uploaded to the flickr group. Above is my card for the challenge, I almost didn't finish it as my friend popped in from over the road and we started chatting. Luckily I did managed to finish in time.

Below is the card that I uploaded to the flickr group on Thursday and the card I had to base my scramble card on!

Have a great weekend.

Two new cards.

2011-10-11T18:23:00.003+01:00

This first card is for the current Hero Arts Challenge, I have used one of the sketches for this design and made a grid card using up lots of scraps from my basket.

My second card was for this weeks Tuesday Trigger at Moxie Fab but I couldn't get a decent photo last night as it was dark once I had finished it and of course I was too late to submit it for the challenge but I shall add it to the Moxie texture challenge and as the flower is handmade so I shall enter it in the Shabby Tea room challenge "Fall Flowers" .

I have a day off tomorrow so I am hoping the weather will stay bright. Have a good week.

Two posts in a day!!

2011-10-07T18:44:00.001+01:00

I think this is a first for me and I have two posts in a day!!

I found some fabulous digital images at The Pink Petticoat and they are all such good prices that I had to have this Flirty Tree image and make another card for The Lily Pad Bling challenge and The Simon Says Challenge.

This was a really simple card to make the image is coloured with copics and then I have added lots of glitter and some snow. The background paper is from My Minds Eye . I have just added a white scalloped border and the twine and ribbon, finishing off with some small bells to compliment the bells on the tree.

October CCC

2011-10-07T13:44:00.000+01:00

For the first time in a few months I have found time to join in the Lily Pads Card Chain Challenge. This is such a fun challenge as you have to make a card following either a sketch, colour palette or theme and then send it to someone else in the list of entrants. I have received cards from crafters all over the world , its so good to be in contact with like minded crafters and share our love of all things handmade.

This is my card for this month, it loosely follows the colour palette and also the sketch. Can't wait to see where I will be sending it!!

Yipee its the weekend and my DD is visiting, lets hope the weather stays fine. Hope you have a fun weekend.

CAS-ual Friday Challenge #22

2011-10-03T17:10:00.000+01:00

The CAS-ual Friday challenge is becoming one of my favourites because, once you have thought of a design the cards are usually quite quick to make. The challenge this week is to include some loops of ribbon on your card. A great way to use up ribbon scraps that are too short for bows. (I am so bad I can never throw scraps of ribbon away).

This is my CAS card and its also a mini card only 4 x 4, the loopy background is made using my lacy circles spellbinders die.

Just a quick post tonight as I have lots to do.

Have a fun week.

Supplies. Spellbinders die. Hero Arts stamps.CL364, CL459. Gold embossing powder. Burgandy ribbon scraps.

Inspired by Mel!!

2011-10-02T14:02:00.000+01:00

What I love about being part of the blogging community is that everyone is so friendly and also happy to share different techniques they have discovered with other crafters. Yesterday was World Cardmaking Day and I was visiting my DD in Taunton, (we had so much fun catching up and doing a bit of shopping together.) so unable to make a card.
Well this morning I have been busy trying to catch up with peoples blogs from yesterday and came across this stunning card by the very talented Mel ( I have been watching her blog for a while now).
I love the background effect she has created to look like its snowing so of course had to give it a try.

I love this effect, it looks so pretty in real life.

Thanks Mel!

Well its another beautiful day here so I am off to the garden to relax. Hope you are enjoying your Sunday.

Supplies : Hero Arts Stamp E5245 small snowman. Clear and white embossing powder.

World Card Making Day

2011-10-01T09:33:00.001+01:00

Hi everyone, Happy World Card Making Day, unfortunately I can't make a card today as I am visiting my Daughter in Taunton. ( So excited about this as I haven't seen her for a month) I have set this post to come live on Saturday as I still want to be part of this great event.
I have made this card for all you lovely ladies who visit my blog regularly, I really appreciate all your comments THANK YOU !!!!!

This is a digital image from Tiffany Doodles called "Daisy", it is printed onto water colour paper and I have coloured it with distress inks. I have then brushed on some perfect pearls to give the flower a shimmer. Unfortunately the photograph doesn't do it justice.

Hope you are all having fun making your cards today.

Tiffany Doodles Release Day.

2011-09-30T12:49:00.004+01:00

Its new digi release day over at Tiffany Doodles today and there are two fabulous new images to buy. I have used the "Snow Couple" image to make this Christmas card and it was really easy to make. With digital images you just re size them to suit your card design.

The background is made using the Magical Background stamp from Hero Arts which I have embossed with white powder. I then used Broken China Distress Stain to colour. This is my first pot of stain and I bought it just to see what it was like. I loved using it and am sure I will be adding more colours to my collection.

The Challenge over at Simon Says this week is "Anything goes" so I am going to enter this card!

I am really looking forward to the weekend as I am off to Taunton to visit Francesca, its been a month since she moved and I have really missed her!

2011-09-28T18:15:00.000+01:00

A quick post today with my card for this weeks CAS-ual Friday challenge, "Mostly Monochromatic". I found the quite hard this week. First I couldn't decide which colour to use and then I wasn't really sure how to go about it. I much prefer to add lots of colour to my card and found it hard to stick to one!

Anyway heres my finished card, I feel it looks a little plain but have resisted the temptation to add more to it, after all it is a CAS challenge!

Another card set!!

2011-09-27T18:38:00.002+01:00

After making this card and this one I thought it would be nice to make another boxed set, for a small Christmas gift.

Here are the last to cards to finish the set using the same "Basic Tree" digital image from Hero Arts.
The top one is a window card made by cutting layers with the spellbinders labels die and some BasicGrey patterned paper. I have coloured the tree using some fine liner pens and a glaze pen for the berries.
This card is just layers with the background Kraft card stamped with the Hero Arts Old Letter stamp.

Here is the finished set with the box, which I have made using the digital paper design supplied with the digital tree image, I printed it onto card and then made into a small pizza box with window.

I am entering this in the current Simon Says challenge to use "Die Cuts or Punches".

Another Bling Card!!!

2011-09-26T18:02:00.000+01:00

I have made another Christmas card and its perfect for the Lily Pad Bling challenge, The backing paper is from a pad I found in a sale bin in the local supermarket, its from Paper Cellar and has some lovely vintage looking papers. With this as my base I have just added the scalloped edges, ribbon and bling frame. I made the scalloped border by stamping the Hero Arts fabric backgound onto some white paper and cutting with my EK success border punch. Its layered with a plain border in the middle and stitched together.

I Love Bling!!!

2011-09-25T13:19:00.000+01:00

I love making Christmas cards because I love bling, if you asked my children they would say I was a bit of a magpie! I am attracted to sparkly shiny things so the Bling challenge over at The Lily Pad is made for me, here is my first card and I am sure I will be making more!!

Here is a close up to show the gold embossed trees and the row of green and red gems.
Its a beautiful day here in Surrey and it looks like we are going to have a bit of an Indian Summer this week, so I am off to the garden to make the most of it.

Supplies: Hero Arts stamps, CG211 magical background, CL459 Christmas Trees. Distress Inks: Victorian Velvet and Scattered Straw. Papers from my scrap box.

Moxie Fabs Tuesday Trigger.

2011-09-24T18:06:00.001+01:00

This is the fun photo inspiration for this weeks Tuesday Trigger over at Moxie Fab World, there is lots of inspiration in this photograph, I love the colours and the cards of buttons also the heart doily and red flowers jumped out at me.

Here is my card, the card with the buttons on is actually a vintage card that I found in my mum's old button box. I just added the yellow buttons and the red heart button. I have added some machine stitching to go with the sewing theme and also added the ribbon. I tried a piece of gingham ribbon but found this tartan one suited the card much better.

Hope you are all having a good weekend.

Lily Pad Sketch

2011-09-23T17:56:00.003+01:00

I have just made one last card for the sketch challenge over at the Lily Pad blog, I managed to find the Hero Arts Musical Walk stamp in a sale bin at the craft fair last week and just had to ink it up.
The photograph colours are not really true to life as the pink background is quite vibrant.
Just a quick post tonight as I have at last got a new computer and I need to get lots of things set up properly.

~~This card was too late for the challenge so will have to try the new "Bling" challenge this weekend.~~

I have just seen on the blog that this card isn't too late after all, so I can enter!!!

Hope you have a great weekend.

Lily Pad Sketch Challenge.

2011-09-21T17:09:00.000+01:00

I decided to make another card for the Lily Pad sketch challenge , I had the idea to create a window where the circle is on the sketch.

Sorry this will have to be a short post as my computer is still running at a snails pace and this is taken ages to load.

A close up of the window, I am going to enter this in the current Hero Arts Challenge for window cards as well.

I couldn't resist playing with that cute snowman again, he is so easy to colour!!

Lily Pad Sketch Challenge.

2011-09-18T17:33:00.000+01:00

I made a quick card for the sketch challenge over at The Lily Pad Blog today, its sponsored by Hero Arts and the prize is $50 to spend on HA products. What a fabulous prize, I wouldn't have any trouble choosing $50 worth!!! The DT have all followed a Christmas theme and all the cards are amazing so it wasn't hard to be inspired.

My card is really simple, I have used the HA snow globe stamp and masked out the globe so I could just use the snowman image. After stamping I have coloured with copics, adding some Glaze pen to his hat for shine. The snow is a flowersoft like substance that I got at a local craft shop. The PP is from My Minds Eye and it actually was a free gift with a craft magazine!! Wow love free gifts like this!!

Just thought I would show another card, I was totally taken with this card that Vicky made and just had to get that snowman stamp, such a cute image. The background is made using the HA snowflake circle and my new pot of Distress stain. I have only got one to try it out but I think I will be getting more soon, totally love the effect.

My computer is playing up and the bottom of the photo is a little distorted. Hope I can fix the problem soon.

Hope you have had a good weekend.

CAS Friday challenge #20

2011-09-17T14:41:00.001+01:00

Challenge # 20 at the CAS-ual Friday blog is "Mini Cards", I needed to make a set of cards for a small birthday present for a friend so used this challenge to inspire me.

A little while ago I made this set of cards and used the same idea to make this mini set. The cards measure 4x4. I ran some low tack masking tape round a piece of card and then stamped and embossed the Old Letter stamp. I then added lots of distress inks. Next I stamped the real dill stamp on the image. After removing the tape I cut and layered it onto some matching card.

I have made four cards using the same design but different colour ways.

My computer is on a go slow at the moment and this post has taken ages to write, I hope I am not heading for trouble. Have quickly backed everything up just in case.

Sing it!!

2011-09-15T18:19:00.000+01:00

There is a fun new challenge running over at Simon Says called " Sing it song or film title. I had time to make this little card last night based on the Beatles song " Baby you can drive my car" I wish my car really did look like this, I would love a flower covered Beetle. ( Thought the car was apt as well as its a Beatles song)!!

The car is a Hero Arts stamp that I have paper pieced,
Its nearly the end of the week and I am looking forward to going to The Creative Crafts show this weekend. I am sure I shall be very tempted by lots of things!

Practicing my colouring!!

2011-09-14T18:57:00.000+01:00

Hi Everyone just wanted share a card that I have made just for fun. I wanted to practice my colouring skills so I made this by stamping the image onto watercolour paper and then colouring in with distress inks. After masking the poppies I then stamped over the background image using Old Paper distress ink and then distressed the edges with the same ink. The poppies have been highlighted with a white gel pen.

Hope you are all having a great week.

CAS Friday # 19

2011-09-12T15:23:00.000+01:00

Its been a few weeks since I entered the CAS friday challenge, at last I have had a bit more time to spare and managed to make this card.

I am just getting the hang of Clean and Simple, its definitely not my style, I love to add embellishments particularly bling! The challenge called for paper piecing with an Autumnal feel and this is the card I finished up with after lots of bits being added to my ever growing scrap basket.

I love this little apple stamp from Hero Arts and its perfect for paper piecing, according to the news we have had a bumper crop of apples in England this year that means DH can look forward to lots of apple pies!!

Tiffany Doodles Bloghop Day3 of 3 !!!!!!!

2011-09-11T12:00:00.005+01:00

Welcome to Day 3 of our Tiffany Doodles Blog Hop! We hope you had a great time on the previous 2 days, and perhaps found some inspiration along the way!

In case you missed yesterday, click here to catch up from Day 1 and Day 2! Be sure to participate everyday by commenting on each post & following every blog to be eligible for all prizes.

Today is the last day of the hop! We hope you have enjoyed the tour!! In order to qualify for all prizes you must:

participate everyday
comment on every participants post
follow every participants blog
Special Note: Make sure that your Blog and Email are listed in your Blogger profile for notification purposes. If your email is not visible on your profile make sure it is easy to find on your blog. Thanks!

While your hopping keep in mind the SALE we are having this weekend at the store!! All Bird and Flower Digital stamps are on sale for 25% off! No coupon necessary, discount will be taken at the register. Your welcome! =) PS. Even more sales listed below!

By participating daily in our Blog Hop you will be eligible for prizes! Lots of prizes! Total Prizes valued at OVER $220!! All winners will be chosen randomly. Everyday we will chose 3 winners. Chosen from the main TD blog. Your participation on the other blogs will be verified prior to announcement. If you have won you will be notified by email, so make sure you email is easy to find either in your comment, your blogger profile, or on your blog. All winners will be announced on the blog after the hop is over. Prizes will be awarded as follows:

Day 1	Day 2	Day 3
3 winners *	3 winners *	3 winners *
* $10 Shopping Spree * 50 Doodle Soup Reward Points * Fall Leaves (png) Elements Pack for each winner

Even if you don't win on 1 of the 3 days - you still have a chance to win the Grand Prize!! The Grand Prize will be chosen randomly from the main TD blog from all participants from everyday.

	Grand Prize
	1 winner *
* Level 5 Membership * $25 Shopping Spree * Fall Leaves (png) Elements Pack

There are 2 ways to earn extra entries!!

1) You can earn extra entries for today's prize if you make a card
with any Bird images by Tiffany Doodles

If you would like too, link your card through inlinkz on the main blog post.

Enter as many times as you wish! One entry per card submitted.

2) If your not up for making a card, you can write your own post

about our Blog Hop and Tiffany Doodles Digi stamps!

If you post about us you can earn 5 extra entries!!

Also submit your post to the inlinkz below!

On today's Hop we are featuring cards made with Bird images by Tiffany Doodles!

I have made two cards for the Hop using Tiffanys Common Yellowthroat digital image, we don't have Yellowthroats in the UK but I decided that it looked alot like a Robin and perfect for Christmas cards, I cetainly have a lot of those to make!!

After printing onto watercolour paper I have coloured the image using distress inks as paints, the background trees are a Hero Arts stamp which I have stamped with Forest Moss distress ink and then added some perfect pearls for the snow effect.

This second card is very simple and uses the image again and lots of pretty patterned papers.

September Sales

Besides the Blog Hop sale we have going on,
we are also having 2 other sales in the store!

Design Team Member Call

We currently need someone who can make TD digis into Cut files!
~~Video Tutor Details Here.~~ Position has been filled. Thanks.
Cut File Maker Details Here.

Banner Spots Available

Tiffany Doodles blog gets an average of 5,000 to 7,000 visitors per month!

Would you like to get in on that action? Now accepting banner spots for the blog!

Click here for pricing info!

Here are you blog hop links for Day 3....

Thank you so much for joining us on this inspiring blog hop! It's all been for you ... the loyal fans! Please remember Tiffany Doodles when making all of your holiday cards! Your patronage is very much appreciated!! Good luck on winning the Grand Prize! All winners will be announced tomorrow (Mon)!!

Lily Pad resist challenge!

2011-09-10T12:27:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post with another card for the Lily Pad blog resist challenge, thats another card of my christmas card list!!!!

This card was very quick to make using the Hero Arts holiday trees stamp and white embossing powder, I then used Chipped Sapphire, Tumbled Glass and Broken China distress inks on the sky. The trees have Shabby Shutters distressed into them and then I watercoloured on some forest moss for depth. The snow is just made from torn strips of dry embossed paper.

Christmas is coming!!!!!!

2011-09-09T13:25:00.000+01:00

I have decided to try and get lots of my Christmas cards done early this year so as not to panic in December. The Hero Arts challenge this month includes window cards, so here we are two window Christmas cards!!

These Christmas trees are one of my favourite stamps from last years release and I used them a lot, I am sure I will be doing the same this year. I have stamped and then coloured with distress inks and then added Liquid Pearls for the snow effect. The little snowman is coloured with copics.

To use up the pretty window piece that I cut from the last card, I have made this mini card. Well that's two more cards off my list only 60 odd to go lol!!

Be sure to drop by my blog on Sunday as I am part of Tiffany Doodles Blog Hop, lots of yummy prizes to be won!

Supplies:- Hero Arts stamps.Sprinkle your holiday CL467. Happy Holiday Trees CG230. Small Snowman E5245. PP's by Crate Paper. Distress inks.

Tuesday Trigger.

2011-09-08T18:53:00.000+01:00

The Tuesday Trigger challenge over at the Moxie Fab World blog is a new one for me, I have been following the blog for a few months but this is the first time I have had a go at one of their challenges.
I love the inspirational photograph, the colours and the beautiful white flowers in the vase along with the blue flower on the cushion all inspired me to make this mini card,

I have stamped the white card with the Basicgrey/ Hero Arts sweet threads flower using versamark ink and then brushing with perfect pearls for a shimmer. I then stamped the flower again onto another piece of card using Pool Adirondack ink and, using the same ink and a paint brush coloured in the flower.

Here is a close up of the background.

I am looking forward to the weekend now, my first week back at school has been really busy. We had 87 new 7 year olds starting school this week and its always a hard week!

September Challenge!!

2011-09-07T12:42:00.001+01:00

Its the 7th of September and so time for a new challenge over at the Tiffany Doodles Blog. This months challenge is to add stitching to your card. I often add stitching but this wavy pattern is a new one for me, I usually like straight lines but decided to try something new for a change. I quite like the result.

This week the weather has been really Autumnal, dull with a definite chill to the air, also the leaves are starting to turn and fall, hence the theme of my card is Autumn. I love this Fall sentiment by Tiffany and worked my card round it. The leaves are printed onto water colour paper and coloured with distress inks.

I hope you have time to join in the challenge this month and don't forget Tiffany is having a huge blog hop this weekend with prizes to the value of $220, it will be well worth a look!!

Another Autumn card.

2011-09-04T17:58:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post as I am back to work tomorrow and have lots of things to do. I have had six fabulous weeks off and its going to be really hard getting up tomorrow morning!

After making this card I had the piece left that I cut from the window and it looked so good I decided to make another Autumn card, this time just pop dotting the green onto the orange. I then distressed the edges and added the buttons, such a quick card and I really like the effect.

Autumn Trees!!

2011-09-03T15:42:00.000+01:00

After seeing this card and also this one made by Lin I decided to buy the digital tree image by Hero Arts as I had an idea for a card for this months challenge!

I wanted to have the tree in summer with a window showing the same tree in Autumn, with the digital image download HA also supplied some papers and the falling leaves one created the perfect background, I just recoloured it green for the summer tree.

To match the pattern perfectly I cut both pieces together with my spellbinders die and then coloured with copic markers. I then cut the window and pop dotted the images together adding a ribbon and buttons.

Play Date Cafe # 97

2011-09-02T19:53:00.000+01:00

Its been a while since I played over at the Play Date Cafe, but after seeing the inspiration photograph this card immediately came into my head. The Black and white flowers on the cupcakes look really classy and I just wanted to replicate this a little.

This was also a really easy card to make, I love these flower stamps from Hero Arts as they are so versatile.

Lots to do this weekend before I start back to work on monday, hope you have a great weekend.

A new month and a new challenge!!

2011-09-01T19:38:00.000+01:00

September is here and in the UK the children go back to school next week , that means I am back to work too. I have had a fabulous summer and this week things have changed alot at home. My daughter Francesca moved out on Tuesday, she is going back to Uni to do her teacher training and I am missing her already!! Tristan has started as an apprentice joiner so he is also back to college one day a week.

A new month means a new challenge at Hero Arts, I have made this card with Autumn in mind, its been a lovely day here but the evenings are beginning to get a chill in the air and some of the leaves are changing colour. I am really short of Autumnal stamps so had to make do with the ones I have got. This card is also a window card so fits two of the challenge requirement's.

I am looking forward to another sunny day tomorrow and hubby is taking me out for a pub lunch, Lovely!!

Emboss Resist!

2011-08-27T14:59:00.000+01:00

The Lily Pad Blog has a new challenge using one of my favourite techniques "Emboss Resist" so I had to have a play! I made up a few of these circles in different colours but this Autumnal one was so pretty I had to use it first. As you can see I have used up lots of scraps of text paper in the background and some Hero Arts stamps on the main image. CG107 Old Letter and CL383 Antique Engravings.

Hope you are having a fun weekend.

Back To School

2011-08-26T13:28:00.000+01:00

This Fridays new release over at Tiffany Doodles is this fabulous "Back to School" digi, perfect timing for all the children going back to school after the summer holidays. Although my card is for my DD Francesca, she is of to live in Taunton next week ( that's about a 3 hour drive from us) where she is doing her PGCE. For my American friends it stands for Post Graduate Certificate of Education, in other words a teacher training programme. I am really going to miss her as I have got used to her being back at home, we are moving her in on Tuesday so there will be lots of tears I'm sure!

I really enjoyed paper piecing this little school house!

Its a holiday weekend here in England and we have a big party to go to on Sunday, My Godson Lee is 30 and all his friends have been arranging a mini music festival in a field near us. Tristan's band as well as 5 other bands are playing so it should be fun, lets hope the weather holds!

Before I go while surfing the net my son found this amazing site, how about those fabulous wood block stamps, so intricate and so much work involved in making them.

Lavender Bags

2011-08-19T20:02:00.000+01:00

After my holiday in France I was inspired to make some Lavender Bags but didn't have the right stamp for the job, after sending a plea out on the Hero Arts flickr group for ideas of where I could get one the lovely Judy came to my rescue. As you can see I have the perfect stamp now and have been busy making bags.
I have stamped the image with Memento Black ink and then coloured with my Copic markers. Then after stitching the bag I have tied with some gingham ribbon.

Here is another bag using some Hero Arts stamps. As Jacqueline rightly said the bags can have any design so I made some more using my Hero Arts stamps.

Hope you have a great weekend

Polka Dots!!!

2011-08-17T18:42:00.000+01:00

This weeks challenge theme at The Shabby Tea Room is "Polka Dots", I love polka dots and the paper I have used is a digital paper freebie from Chubby Birds. I have had this kit for ages and am not sure if its still available, I have done a quick search on 2Peas but can't find it!

Its a very simple card for me but I have resisted adding anything else as I like the end product.

This is the inspirational photograph from The Shabby Tea Room, I think it must be soup but I am not sure!!

I Love the School Holidays!!!!!

2011-08-15T15:51:00.000+01:00

Oh how I love the school holidays, even though the weather is not brilliant, it means I get to sit in my craft room and create!!! As you know I do love a colour challenge and the colour inspiration photograph at CR84FN36 this week is so sunny and bright, I love it!!

I was really inspired by Suzanne's lovely card and this bird cage stamp is a new purchase that I couldn't wait to ink up. The text background is a page torn from an old book that I found in a second hand shop, I love how the pages have aged!

After a days fun I need to get the tea on, hope your week has started well.

Supplies: Cage stamp from WoodWare. Hero Arts CG245 Classic Fabric, S5341 Lace Background. Martha Stewart Butterfly punch. Tim Holtz Bird Die.

Another Crafty Day!!!!

2011-08-14T16:06:00.000+01:00

Woo Hoo I have made my first Christmas card, challenge 15 over at the CAS-ual Friday blog gave me the perfect opportunity to dust off my Christmas stamps. An unusual colour scheme for Christmas I know but I am pleased with the finished card!

I managed to get two cards made today and this second one is for the current Hero Arts Challenge of creating a scene, not my usual style but I had fun with this one.
I am really loving the school holidays! long may it last !!!

Supplies:- Top Card. Hero Arts Stamps CL459, Ruby Red embossing powder, pearls and wool.
Bottom Card:-Tiffany Doodles Sailboat image. Hero Arts stamps, CL479 Dictionary Greetings, S5215 Clouds, CL497 Find Joy. Blue colorbox ink, Chipped Sapphire Distress ink. Fiskars Cloud Die.

Felt Flowers

2011-08-13T14:52:00.000+01:00

Another entry for the "Fabric or Felt" challenge over at the Lily Pad, this time I have made some felt flowers using the rolled method. This card also qualifies for this months Hero Arts challenge as I have a butterfly on my card.

Here is a close up of the flowers and leaves, I have also added a small chain stitch to the leaves.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend.

Supplies:- Hero Arts stamps, S5435 Graph Background, CG211 Magical Background, CL488 Congrats, CL383 Antique Engravings, Distress inks Scattered Straw, Crushed Olive, Pearls and felt.

Fabric or Felt

2011-08-12T16:30:00.001+01:00

The Lily Pad have set a new challenge today to use "Felt or Fabric" on a card, I have been playing with this canvas fabric for a few days now, trying out various inks ready to make my Lavender Bags so this challenge came at the right time!!
After much experimenting with various inks I have found that Memento Dye based inks seem to leave a really crisp image.

As you can see I have used my favourite "Hydrangea" image from Hero Arts and the background is "Old Letter" I added a few seed beads to the flower to give a little sparkle, the lace is all the way from France. I picked up a few bits in the Antique Market in Nice and thought it finished the card perfectly.
Just a quick post today.

P.S. My new blog header is inspired by my holiday!!

Shabby Tea Room Challenge

2011-08-10T19:25:00.001+01:00

I have been wanting to try out some more digital images from the Tiffany Doodles Shop and when I saw this inspiration photograph on The Shabby Tea Room challenge blog I decided to have a go. The theme is Tea and Green and Blue. Although the image I have used is really a coffee pot it really reminded me of the pots in the photograph.

I have paper pieced the coffee pot with some blue and white paper from Prima and then coloured in the flower images with distress inks used as water colours. The Camellia flowers are coloured with copic markers.

Its been a beautiful sunny day and I have spent lots of time in the garden, hope its sunnny where you are!

CR84FN 35

2011-08-09T14:09:00.001+01:00

I am really into Lavender and Green at the moment so this colour swatch from CR84FN was definitely calling my name, although when I had finished my card I had such a job to get a photograph showing the true colours that I almost decided to give up!

In the close up you can see the background I made with Pumice Stone and Milled Lavender Distress ink, I then distressed the edges before setting it into the frame.

After stamping the Hydrangea I have cut it out and pop dotted it to the card adding some tiny pearls for dimension.
I am also going to enter this into the Moxie Fab Worlds Fanatical about Botantical Challenge.

Its been so good to be back in my craft room, lucky me as I still have 4 weeks of school holidays left!!

Supplies: Hero Arts Stamps. CG196 Canvas Stripes, CG139 Cling Dots, S5324 Simple Frame, K5376 Hydrangea. S5435 Graph Background. Distress Inks, Pumice Stone, Milled Lavender, Dusty Concord and Tea Dye.

Lucy's Lovely Lines challenge

2011-08-07T15:05:00.003+01:00

If you are looking for the current Cards Pattern Sketch card and the Tiffany Doodles Challenge card please see here.

I made this card for the challenge over at the Lily Pad Blog set by Lucy Abrams but I realize that I am too late , never mind I will post it anyway. Its a very simple card made using the cuttlebug elephant die cut and lots of pretty pink scraps of paper. I have also added a small border using the Magical Background die from Hero Arts.

I am still recovering from my Holiday in France and have a pile of washing and ironing the size of a small mountain lol. I can't wait to get creating again, in the meantime here are a few photos I took in sunny Nice.

This is one of the old Art Nouveau hotels on the seafront lit up at night, so pretty!!

This is the beautiful home of Claude Renoir the painter, now a fabulous museum and gallery.

This is Renoirs stunning garden looking over to the medieval hill top town.

Some old houses in Nice, the light was amazing and you can understand why all the old impressionist painters loved to live and paint in the South of France.

Every day in the square next to our apartment they held a farmers market, all the produce was of such a high quality and always beautifully displayed. This is the local soap stall, the soaps are made from locally grown flowers and the smell from this stall was amazing! My favourite was the lavender!

Hope to make some cards tomorrow.

Card Patterns Sketch 127

2011-08-06T12:31:00.002+01:00

This Saturdays Card Patterns Sketch 127 is sponsored by Tiffany Doodles so as part of the design team I was asked to make a card.

Such a great sketch and so easy to work with, I decided to use this digital image by Tiffany called Flower Vase. This is one of my favourites from Tiffany's shop, go check it out as there are so many great designs to choose from and so reasonable too!

I used just the flower section of the image and copied it 6 times in two different sizes, next I reversed three of the flowers for a different look. They have all been coloured with copics and then highlighted with a white gel pen. After cutting I pop dotted some on position for more depth.

The Card Patterns challenge finishes on Friday, Aug 12th at 11:59pm EST , why don't you give it a try? cant wait to see all your creations.

This card also works for the Kraft Krazy challenge over at the Tiffany Doodles Blog .

Simply create a NEW card using any digital stamp. (check your freebie stash!!)!! You may use any stamp you like for this challenge! You have until the 21st of the August, to play!

Don't forget to add your card to the Tiffany Doodles Flickr Gallery - (only if you use a Tiffany Doodles digi stamp) Tagged with: TD15

Yipee its the end of term!!!!!!!!

2011-07-21T18:20:00.000+01:00

At last we have reached the end of a very long and busy term at school, in the past couple of weeks I have not had any spare time to be creative or visit all of your lovely blogs. We break up for six weeks tomorrow and then this weekend I am off for two weeks holiday in sunny France I am really looking forward to the break and relaxation time.

When I get back I promise to visit all of your blogs and try to catch up a bit, I also want to get back to creating I really miss it.

Thanks for all your comments I love to read them all.

CAS Friday challenge #10

2011-07-11T20:14:00.000+01:00

Another week has flown by and there is another challenge over at the CAS-ual Fridays blog, this time the theme is shaped cards. I have had this card blank in my stash for ages so this was the perfect opportunity to use it. The cetral flower is the Hero Arts stamp Large Flower, I have stamped and cut this out and then distressed with Scattered Straw ink. Then I overstamped with Old Letter Writing. The sentiment is from the new Congrats set that I have put on my stamping block in a curve to fit the petal shape.

Hope your week has started well.

New images at Tiffany Doodles!

2011-07-08T18:22:00.000+01:00

There are two new releases over at the Tiffany Doodles today 3DHeart and Sweet Butterfly. I have chosen the Sweet Butterfly image to make two cards. The top one I have made into a butterfly shape mini card or tag, I have coloured the image with copics, added a wire antennae and then white highlight dots with a gel pen.

This second card has been paper pieced and I have added more wire antennae.
Check out the other fabulous cards made by the design team and also guest designer Tiffany Ervin, for one week this image is 10% off so grab it while its cheap!!

Tiffany Doodles July Challenge!

2011-07-07T18:06:00.000+01:00

Its the 7th of the month and time for a new challenge over on the Tiffany Doodles blog, this month the challenge is "All creatures Great and Small". The design team have made some really cute cards with some of the great images Tiffany has for sale, check out the blog for some inspiration!

I have decided to use this pretty butterfly image. I have re sized the butterfly four times and printed out on some patterned paper then I have added extra highlights with my copics. The background is made using two stamps from Hero Arts, the Classic Fabric design and the Envelope Pattern and stamping with Wild Honey distress ink.

I have added some pearls for a bit of sparkle. You have until 21st July to add your cards, Tiffany has a sale on at the moment buy 10 digi's and get 20% off your order!! I can't wait to see your cards.

Hero Arts July Challenge

2011-07-06T11:52:00.000+01:00

This months theme over at Hero Arts is "Summertime and Parties", I am always inspired by Suzanne's cards and the way she makes beautiful scenes with alot of detail, so far from the CAS style that I have been trying lately.

Here is my attempt at that style, I decided to dust off a few older Hero Arts stamps and have a play.

I started by stamping and embossing in black the silhouette grass stamp, I then made a mask for the sun and distressed with lots of Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade and Forest Moss ink. Then I removed the mask and gently applied Scattered straw ink to the sun.

For the poppies I stamped and embossed in black again on some bright red card, I cut out the poppies and added the seed beads. The butterflies are stamped and embossed on vellum.

A Gift Set!

2011-07-03T13:09:00.000+01:00

I needed a small gift for a friend so decided I would have a go at my first gift card set. I was really pleased with the effect on this card so decided to use the same stamps, this time though I made a mask for the frame so these are almost one layer cards. I have just added the images to Kraft cards.

First I stamped the Old Letter stamp on the white card and embossed in white, for the five cards I have used five different colourways using various distress inks blended together. Lastly I added the Hydrangea and the sentiment.

To finish off the set I have made a Pizza Box using this tutorial, only before sticking together I used the spellbinders label die to cut a hole in the lid and added acetate for a window.

The front of the box is also distressed and stamped with Old letter writing.

Its a beautiful day today and we are off to a family barbeque, hope all my American visitors are having a fun holiday weekend.

Supplies: Various colours of distress inks. Hero Arts stamps, S4878 Old Letter Writing. CG197 Old Letter.K5378 Hydrangea. CL342 Everyday Sayings. CL272 All Occasion Sayings.

Curly labels!!

2011-07-01T16:31:00.000+01:00

Its Friday so release day over at the Tiffany Doodles blog, when I first saw these Curly Label images I knew it was time I re organised my craft room ( I have been meaning to do it for ages and these images inspired me)

I decided to label my storage jars, these are my special Antique buttons and I re sized and printed the labels, cut them out, then distressed the edges and stamped lightly with the Envelope Pattern stamp from Hero Arts.
As you can see I have also added lace and some new buttons to the lid for decoration.

I was so pleased with the result that I also decorated my ribbon and flower jars!

If you check out the Tiffany Doodles site you will see that Tiffany and Anette have created some amazing cards using these labels, they really are very versatile!!!!

Watercolour Flowers

2011-06-30T18:21:00.000+01:00

After watching Shari's video yesterday with her watercolour snowflakes, I had chance to make one more card for this months Hero Arts Challenge and was inspired to use her technique.
I have used Distress inks spritzed with water on the Sweet Threads flower, the end result reminds me of fireworks exploding in the sky, perfect for a celebration card.
Looking forward to tomorrow to find out what the challenge for July is!

CAS Friday challenge #8

2011-06-29T19:09:00.000+01:00

Another quick post today, just wanted to add my card for this weeks CAS-ual Friday challenge, this week its " Getting Edgy"

This week we are Getting Edgy! Use your border punches, rip some cardstock, whatever your pleasure to add a fun edge to your Clean And Simple project!

Not a great photo of my card, but here it is and I am now quite enjoying the challenge of making Clean and Simple cards. The words are from Hero Arts Dictionary Greetings set and I have embossed them in gold, next just added a black punched border with added red ribbon and red pearls.

The sun has been shining here today so we have been trying to clean the tents up after a very muddy time at Glastonbury. Luckily the sun did come out for them in the end and they both had a fantastic time!