Rainy Days...

Hey!

Well my previous creation in a mere attempt to summon the sun totally didn't work did it?! It's been just wet, grey and miserable here so far! Let hope this means next week will be lovely and sunny...

I really wanted to colour last night - my mind is feeling kinda full what with a new car to sort, a new place to move to and a week by the seaside to plan for! I find the best thing to do is just to sit and colour at times like this - it reminds me of being a kid again, just colouring away without a care in the world *sigh*

I thought that as I wanted to colour I'd enter this week's challenge over on the Passion For Promarkers blog - I actually had the two colours for the challenge this time, Pastel Pink & Cool Aqua. Another condition to enter was that you also had to use this sketch:I just couldn't for the life of me get this sketch to work - do you ever get that sometimes? I went to sleep on it and still awoke this morning with no solution! This card was screaming, "Don't stick me down like that - I'll look so much better the other way!" Needless to say I went with the card's opinion so it's got elements of the sketch but all mixed up a little!
I think the image is quite appropriate for the kinda summer we're having so far LOL! Now I could go and catch real raindrops to add to this card but that would make it soggy! Instead, I added some Glossy Accents to the puddle and raindrops just to make it that more realistic...
Oooh one more thing, the gems were originally clear, but thanks to a tutorial over on the PFP blog I found out you can colour them with Promarkers to match your project. How cool is that? Coordinating bling!
Card Recipe
Stamps: Image was from a swap (Ta Alison!) but I think it's Magnolia Stamps, Tilda holding an Umbrella?! Sentiment: Stampendous - Garden Box Set
Ink: Memento Black
Card: DCWV Brights Mat Pack, White (from Stash)
Accessories: Promarkers, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Martha Stewart Border Punch, Vintage Cream Satin Ribbon (PTI), Clear Gems, Glossy Accents, White Gel Pen

Thanks so much for stopping by - I really appreciate it and all of the lovely comments you leave too!

Off to indulge myself in my PTI stash now!

Catch ya later!
Aimes
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Mmmmm....Calorie Free Candy!

Hey!

Before you get excited - no, I'm not posting on a daily basis throughout the summer hols! As much as I'd love to - I'm still struggling to find time to craft around all those essential boring jobs that need doing!

But, just for this post I wanted to keep y'all informed of some gorgeous blog candy that's on offer!

Firstly my super duper friend Steph has just started bloggin' again - hurrah! I've missed her so much here in Blogland so it's fantastic to see her back! Check out her new shiny new blog, Stamping & Sharing! At the minute Steph seems to be doing more of the latter LOL! I love Steph, she's so creative and generous, I feel so lucky to be friends with her!
Her blog is already amazing popular as she's already reached 1000 hits (you go girl!) and is offering this to one lucky person:Hurry though, a winner will be drawn on Tuesday August 4th!

Secondly, still on the subject of my super duper friend, Steph but along with herself, my other super duper friend, Kate (whom I love just as much!) have some delicious blog candy for grabs over on their A Passion For Papertrey blog! Mmmmm! Worldwide entries are welcome and a winner will be drawn on Monday 10 August 2009! What are you waiting for?!

Now as you all know, I'm kinda addicted to PTI (thanks to these two!) so I can't recommend entering this enough and having a good nosy at the amazing creations over there. It's where I tend to get my PTI fix from (especially as they seem to own nearly every PTI set going ;D)

Apart from the candy, I've not got much else to share yet! I've decided to put a counter on my blog (Translation: I've finally worked out how to!). I know I've been around since Feb so I really wasn't sure what number to start it at! I didn't want to seem too confident (1,000,000 hits? Yeah, right?! LOL!) or too low - I've truly no idea how many people have visited so I've started it at 1,000. Please tell me if you think this is too low or I'm being a big head and what number you think I should start at as I'm pants at estimating!

Sorry I've nothing to share from myself today - I'm just off to tackle what looks like Mount Everest in the spare room (yup, that's the ironing pile I've gotta tackle!)

Thanks so much for stopping by and be sure to go and check out the blogs and candy!

Catch ya later!
Aimes
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Cutting it Close!

Hey!

Happy Monday! I'm particularly happy as I don't have to go to work today - hurrah! Now don't get used to me posting this early (I'll most probably be in dreamland most mornings at this hour!) but I just gotta post this so early because I'm entering the current and soon to be ending A Passion For Papertrey challenge and the deadline is like in an hour!! OMG how close can I cut it eh?!

The current challenge is/was to create a masterpiece using one of Lauren's Timeless Templates. I'm not that confident at making 3-D objects, I usually like to measure what I'm giving and kinda design a template myself (I swear I have a man's brain with my good sense of direction and logic but not much else LOL!)

I actually started the project on Saturday but then went out at night (see previous post) and had a fab time! I know you're all thinking I was probably too hungover to complete it early enough on Sunday to photograph it but I promise I wasn't! Actually I was out car shopping and I've found a replacement for my lil' Starbug (R.I.P ickle brum) so I'm really pleased that things seem to be looking up a little and I might not be needing so much gin after all LOL!

Anyways back to the papercrafting! I finished this late on Sunday on a very wet and miserable day so the chances of getting a decent photo of it were slim to none. Therefore I've photographed it early this morning.
I chose the Recipe Wrap-Up template as it looked kinda interesting. I've made boxes and the like before but this looked kinda different and best of all, the template was at a price I like: FREE!
I know they're definitely not the colours I'd normally work with, but I think my subconscious picked them as I'm off to the seaside next week; Abersoch to be precise and I'm kinda excited as it's been years since I've been to the seaside! Hopefully the colours may tempt the sun to come and play too - y'never know!I have to say the template was so easy to use, just printed it out onto PTI cardstock and I was away! The hardest part has to be deciding what to put in the pockets...hmmm...well I asked Chris but he wasn't much help and just suggested they should be called "Pockets of Love" - what a softie! Now love for me involves chocolate so I think that chocolate may well be the contents of at least 5 pockets along with a coordinating card in the 6th pocket.Now I'll be damned if I could get that yarn to tie nicely for me so I decided to just knot the yarn and apply some Velcro dots to secure it shut. Velcro is fast becoming my friend in these 3-D projects; it's so easy to just stick on a dot than spend hours trying to tie a perfect bow only for it to be undone by the recipient!

Anyways I hope you like it and I hope I've managed to enter it in time for the challenge ladies! If not, well it was fun making it anyway!

Template Recipe
All PTI Unless Stated
Stamps: Star Prints, Around & About Sentiments
Ink: Pure Poppy, Fresh Snow
Cardstock: Summer Sunrise, Kraft (from Stash), Spring Rain Bitty Dot Basics, White (from Stash)
Accessories: Pure Poppy Saddle Stitch Ribbon, Martha Stewart Border Punch, Brads (from stash), White Vintage Button, Rustic Jute Button Twine, Velcro Dots

Thanks so much for stopping by, I really appreciate it!

Catch ya later!
Aimes
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Just a Quickie!

Hey!

Well my summer holidays have officially commenced - WOO HOO!!!! Cue lots of crafting time (as well as car shopping *grrr!*) and maybe a little bit of sunshine thrown in for good measure?!

I'm hoping to do a little crafting this weekend (just about to print of a template for the current (and nearly ending - argh!) A Passion for Papertrey Challenge) but off out tonight to meet with one of my best friends who I haven't seen for too long so I'm kinda busy deciding what to wear and which shoes to pick (I have far too many!)

So my little quickie includes a fantastic blog award from the ever-so-lovely Alex! Thank you so much hun *mwah!* You should definitely check out Alex's blog - she has some lovely creations (with a bit of bling too!)So I have to pass this on to 5 other bloggers and so in no particular order I'll award this to:

1. Steph (your new blog which I just know will be beautiful! Beautiful person = Beautiful blog!)
2. Kate & Steph (for A Passion for Papertrey - my source of PTI inspiration!)
3. Alison (for her awesome work with Copics)
4. Sarah B (for her amazing 3-D work)
5. Ann (for her amazing CAS style which I admire!)

I've tried to pick people who don't already have it - apologies if you do and just ignore little me nominating you again!

Just one more thing before I love ya and leave ya; my fabulous bloggin' buddy Emma has some GORGEOUS blog candy to give away to one lucky person! If you haven't already checked out Emma's blog, Devotion to the Dream you just gotta - she's SOOOOOOOOOO talented and makes my jaw drop on a daily basis LOL! I bet you'll end up being a follower once you've had a good nosy!

Right then I'm off to decide what shoes to wear for tonight - it could take a few hours LOL!

Have a super duper weekend - whatever you're up to!

Catch ya later!
Aimes
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When Life Gives You Lemons....Grab the Gin!

Hey!

Phew I'm absolutely shattered! This week is going crazy for me! I'm shattered because I've just spent most of the day playing tour guide around Meadowhall for students from our school and my feet are so sore! Only one more day of school for me though until I can say I've broken up - woo hoo!! (In case you're wondering, I have Friday off as I have to take my Mum in for an operation - nothing serious btw!)

Just when I thought things were looking up, I've been told my little car is going to the Scrapyard in the Sky :o( I'm truly gutted! I know it's only metal but I loved my little Starbug so much and the thought of being dragged around car forecourts all of summer isn't that appealing to me! Oh well I know there's much worse things that could be happening so I'll stop my whinging, grab my gin and share a super project with you that I'm kinda proud of!

So y'know how I teased you in the last post with my Damask Design PTI paper? I can now reveal exactly what I used it for:
Ta-dah! I hope you like it!
I made this duo for my dear colleague Sarah who is moving onto brighter and better things. I loved working with Sarah - she's on my level and such a giggle (as well as amazingly talented working with the students) she really is a star and so I thought she deserved a personal send off from myself in true Aimes style!The card is based on the Taylor's Cupcake Challenge #74 over at Taylored Expressions.I just knew I had to use PTI Star Prints as Sarah is a superstar and the sentiments are just so fitting for her! Due to PTI stamp sets co-ordinating beautifully with one another I noticed a star with a Damask Design on it. This is what led me to go kinda crazy and stamp a whole page of Cardstock with my Damask Design stamp loaded with Raspberry Fizz ink!I love the Raspberry Fizz contrasting against the Smokey Shadow - it's not as bold as True Black but still bold enough for my liking!
I decorated the inside too (well you gotta when you use Smokey Shadow as your card base!)
On top of the card - I had picked up a couple of fun gifts for Sarah for her new job and knew I wanted to present them to her in a different way. I measured the gifts and created this little holder - it fastens with Velcro by the way.
The gifts are also attached using Velcro so she didn't have to tear the card when wanting to wear her badge with pride (It says 'Dancing Queen' if you can't quite make it out!). I won't even tell you what she thought the lipstick was at first (hint: you could find it at Ann Summers...) but then she realised it's a pen! I mean, seriously, what kinda gal does she take me for? LOL!Sarah loved it and nearly got tearful but managed to hold it together (as I did the same!) If you're reading this Sarah - you really are a superstar and I'll miss ya loads *mwah!*

Card & Gift Holder Recipe
All PTI Unless Stated!
Stamps: Star Prints, Damask Designs
Ink: Raspberry Fizz, Smokey Shadow
Cardstock: Smokey Shadow, Raspberry Fizz, White (from stash)
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Raspberry Fizz Polka Dot Ribbon, Raspberry Fizz Vintage Button, Velcro

Well that's all from me for now - I've now run out of my stamped damask cardstock but I certainly had lots of fun playing with it!

Thanks so much for stopping by - I really appreciate it!

Catch ya later!
Aimes
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Super Soggy Sunday...

Hey!

Well what a super soggy Sunday we're having here in Sheffield today! All the more reason to stay indoors and get stuck into some crafting!

I've been SUPER busy today crafting and have created a complete tip in the process! Honestly, I daren't actually even attempt to go into my crafting corner - I've taken over the whole room! Do you find this happens even when creating just one innocent card and one little gift holder?

Anyways I can't post what I've made today should the intended recipient see it, so you'll just have to wait! Though I can post this little teaser:
I've been creating my own PTI designer paper with the gorgeous Damask Designs stamp set. It was soooo much fun to do and I thought this sheet would last me a few projects but it's so scrummy that I've used it all up today! The yellow foam is what I use underneath my card to stamp on btw, it usually gives really good results when stamping with acrylic stamps.

However, one thing I can share with you today in full is a card that I was commissioned to make by my colleague. It's for a student at school who is recovering after an operation.

Well cue the cupcakes; I never thought I'd get so much use out of a get well stamp set LOL!

I wanted to keep the card pretty simple - I was having to make this late one night after work as I was away from home for the next night and it was required for the day after! I can't do complicated after work - my brain just needs to chillax and the best therapy for that is good ol' colouring! I'm not sure if you can tell, but I applied Glossy Accents to the balloons and the cherry on top of the cuppie. It really does shine IRL!

I did stamp a lovely sentiment inside as well as another little cuppie (I couldn't resist!) but in my haste to take a pic (early in the morning, before work, once the glossy accents had dried) I forgot to take a pic of it - D'oh! Oh well I'm hoping the student likes it anyways!

Card Recipe
Stamps: Taylored Expressions-Doctor's Orders
Ink: Memento Black
Card: Bazzill dotted swiss - pirouette, DCWV Bright Mat pack, White (from stash!)
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Promarkers, Glossy Accents, Ribbon (a bargain from Hobbycrafts at 49p!), Button (PTI), White Twine (PTI)

Well I guess I can't put it off any longer - I really must tackle that bombshell of a mess I've created! Chris is due home in an hour and I've really gotta get the place looking more like I've been a domestic goddess rather than chaotic crafter - eeek!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Catch ya later!

Aimes
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The Final Countdown...

Hey!

So I'm officially starting the countdown to the summer holidays! To all those people out there who have broken up yesterday I have one word for ya - *Grrr*! Oh well, only 5 working days/early mornings to go before I can devote much more time to my crafting corner (hopefully!)

This week at work has been crazy! We've had a super sports day, (including Miss Wanford being sunburned without the sun making much of an appearance!), a lovely staff meal out, food from other cultures day and to top it off - the adorable Y6 students coming up to visit for next year! Phew!

Now it was kinda weird/special with the Y6 students as my lovely niece Morgan was one of them. Gosh, where does the time fly?! Seems only yesterday she was at infant school! We had a little chat during the day and I think she'll find it strange having to call me Miss! As it turns out, during our chat she told me about her fantastic SATs results. So proud of her! She works so hard and it's lovely to see it all pay off.

So this gave me the perfect excuse to make her a card to celebrate and also participate in the Inspirations and Themes challenge #23 set by Kate over on ILWS. By doing this I'm up to date on the challenges again - finally!

I just love the inspiration Kate finds. She always makes me want to pop into John Lewis and just buy everything in the name of crafting inspiration LOL! Anyways, for this challenge inspiration came from this pic:As soon as I saw the large blue patten on the mug, I knew exactly which star from my PTI Star Prints set I needed to use!
I've properly Christened my PTI Star Prints set now and I love it!
Now originally I was going to use PTI's Aqua Mist cardstock, but in my dippy state I pre-cut Spring Rain so felt I should really use it. At least it's still blue and not too far away from the colour used in the inspirational pic. I think the colour combo would work really well for a baby card too!

Note: I don't own any Spring Moss ink (yet!) so decided to use Versamark ink on Spring Moss card. It works pretty well if you don't own an ink in a particular colour - though that's no excuse not to buy lots of ink ;D
Morgan really liked her card and she also had a lovely taster day at secondary school - I'm pretty confident that she'll be just fine come September! I think it's me I need to worry about LOL!

Card Recipe
Stamps: PTI Star Prints
Ink: Versamark, Memento Black
Cardstock: PTI Spring Rain, Bitty Dot Basics Spring Rain, Lemon Tart, Spring Moss
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Martha Stewart Border Punch, Lemon Tart Polka Dot Ribbon

I'm hoping I've got a lot of crafting time ahead of me this weekend - I'm home alone! I just love 'me' time!

Have a super duper weekend, whatever you're doing!

Catch ya later!
Aimes
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Sewing....with Thread!!!!

Hey!

Well I hope you've all had a wonderful weekend! Mine has been busy, busy, busy - I've no idea where the time went!

I spent a lovely Saturday with Chris' family. We went out for a meal to celebrate his birthday (slightly belated I know!) and had lots to eat and drink! By the time we got home it was late so I had no time to craft or even boot the PC...

So today (after doing all those horrid houseworky chores you gotta do) I finally got onto the PC and have been drooling ever since at PTI's monthly countdown! If you haven't already - you gotta check it out! There's some AMAZING sets to tempt me to part with my pennies for LOL!

I've also managed to play in my crafting corner, crack open and christen a new stamp set. Seems strange that just as I'm opening my new PTI goodies a new release is just days away - it's like the buzz never ends LOL! Admittedly I've just used the one sentiment from this set but I do aim to use it a lot more - I'm loving it!

As I'm well behind on the Inspirations and Themes Challenges on ILWS as set by the wonderful Kate (see last week's posts for excuses!) I figured that I had to play catch up. So this card is for Challenge No.22 which was to get inspiration from this pic:
Ooooh I just love strawberries and that dress is just adorable! It fitted in perfectly with Wimbledon which was on at the time, I'm guessing Wimbledon is what may have inspired Kate to pick it!

So my mind got thinking, I really wanted to have strawberries (not only to eat!) to feature on my card somewhere but I don't have any strawberry stamps. So late one night as I was trying to sleep, EUREKA! I'll make my own strawberries using my heart-shaped paper punch!

The next day I made the strawberries but then life's hectic routine got in the way and they were put to the side until today that is....I hope you like it! Have you noticed the stitching? Yup, not only did I use my sewing machine, I used it WITH THREAD!!!! I know the stitching's wonky and I really do need some practise but I'm kinda happy with the result. I'll confess that the ribbon through the button is completely stolen from one of Kate's amazing PTI creations and not my own idea, but it beats spending hours trying to tie the perfect bow and I love the result! Sorry Kate!

This card is going to my dear Sis-in-law who rescued me on that horrid day when I realised that sneezing and driving is a dangerous combination! She's like a sister I never had - she's always there for me no matter what pickle I get myself into LOL!

Card Recipe
Stamps: Star Prints (Sentiment)
Ink: Pure Poppy
Card: Sweet Blush, Bitty Dot Basics (Sweet Blush), Vintage Cream, Clover Leaf (Bazzill Dotted Swiss)
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Heart Paper Punch, Button (White & Cream Mix), Vintage Cream Ribbon (Luxe Satin), White Gel Pen,

Well that's another weekend gone! Only 5 working days until the next one, and only 10 working days until I break up for Summer - woo hoo!!

Catch ya later!
Aimes
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Birthday Boy... or should that be man?!

Hey!

Another week done - only 2 more until I get to break up for summer, WOO HOO!!!! I can't wait until I'll be able to spend a lot more of my lazy summer days crafting away!

Just before I start this post I thought I'd share some good new with y'all....my little car is going to be patched up!!! YAY! I'm SO happy, I just love my car and I can't wait to be reunited with my lil' Starbug soon! At last, my luck is picking up a little! Thank you so much to all of you who sent your best wishes about my 'bump' (Edited to add: I mean CAR bump, no other kinda bump...Emma! LOL) - it means a lot as I was feeling rather down in the dumps about it all...

Anyways, the title of this post is the reason that I'm sharing today's card with you. It was my dear boyfriend's (Chris') birthday yesterday! He's starting to let his age get to him a little (he's the same age as me now - 27) whereas I just tend to act my shoe size, he worries that he's a step closer to 30. It's only a number isn't it?!?

Anyways cue another challenging masculine card eh?

I would love to say I was organised and had his card ready well before his special day, but....well....erm....I wasn't LOL! I was up until the early hours of his birthday making this card - on a school night might I add! I know it looks kinda simple and it would take minutes to rustle up if I had to make it again, but I can just never seem to make a quick decision when starting from scratch! I debated over colours, images, papers, layout etc for AGES!Well it had to be a guitar or something IT related (he's a self confessed geek - bless him!) so the guitar it was - he totally rocks on it though he doesn't say so himself! I love to listen in on him playing whilst pottering around - wish I had that much talent!Anyways back to the card...it's mainly full of PTI goodies and check out my paper piercing! All done courtesy of my new toy - a sewing machine! Now let me be the first to confess I CANNOT SEW! I treated myself to this little machine in the hope of stitching on some of my creations - I love to see stitching on card and have only used a white gel pen in the past. Fortunately my mum gave me a crash-course on how to use the thing so now I can 'attempt' some stitches. Note on this card there's no thread, I just wanted to pierce the card (Translation: OK I was too much of a wuss to attempt trying to thread the machine but I will soon!)

Chris loved his card, as well as his presents (Including the ultimate geek accessory - a binary watch. It looks very cool but I'll be dammed if I can tell the time on it LOL!)

Card Recipe
Stamps: PTI Around & About Sentiments, Inkadinkado Rock Star Clear Set
Ink: PTI New Leaf
Card: PTI Vintage Cream & Ripe Avocado, PTI's Bitty Box Basics (Ocean Tides)
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Button (Basic Grey), PTI New Leaf Topnotch Twill Ribbon & Rustic Cream Button Twine

Thanks for stopping by! I hope to craft a bit this weekend but I'm away celebrating Chris' birthday with his family so we'll have to wait and see...

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Catch ya later!

Aimes
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A Challenging Challenge....

Hey!

So sorry that I've been away for a while! My excuses are (in no particular order):

1. Work
2. Poorly Car (Which I've still had no news about yet *Grrr*!)
3. Wimbledon (Oh Murray, so close yet so far! There's always next year I guess!)
4. Wimbledon Final (OMG what a match - I thought I was going to have to call in work sick to see this one finish!)

My mojo has gone AWOL recently (due to the above excuses) but I was so happy to receive some new PTI goodies to play with! There's nothing like new PTI goodies to get that mojo into gear and a Raspberry Suite Color Challenge and A Passion For Papertrey Challenge to get some inspiration!

This week's colours for the Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #11 are:

What a mix eh? This really was a challenging challenge to say the least! So many bright clashing and contrasting colours that I thought I was going to get a migraine working with them all together!

I knew I could easily incorporate the current A Passion for Papertrey Challenge within this card as the challenge is to use buttons. Well I just love buttons so it just comes naturally to stick a button on a card LOL!

Anyways, after some long decisions and paracetamol this is what I came up with:

Hope you like it! I think the trick was to focus on one colour and just add slight elements of the others. I always thought that red would clash horrendously with pink, which made me think of using red ink rather than red cardstock. It's slightly more subtle which I like.

It's not all exclusively PTI stash on there; the grey card is from my own stash (I'm yet to own any Soft Stone PTI Cardstock, though I'm sure it'll work it's way into my possession soon!)

Card Recipe
All PTI Unless Stated
Stamps: Damask Designs
Ink: Poppy Red
Cardstock: Raspberry Fizz, True Black, Grey (from Stash)
Accessories: True Leaf Topnotch Twill, Black Button (Basic Grey), Martha Stewart Border Punch

That's all I have for now...but I'm sure I'll be back soon. The best way to get out of the Wimbledon Blues is to keep busy in my crafting corner!

Catch ya later!

Aimes

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