Hello...?

Hey!

Hello? Is anyone there? Well after a near two-month blogging break I'm wondering if anyone might actually be visiting by here anymore! To anyone who is reading this, welcome! It's been a while and a lot has happened in the meantime (more on that later though!) but the main thing is that I'm B.A.C.K. :D

It certainly feels fabulous to be back blogging and I'm going to be sticking around over the next few days with some serious enabling of the new Clearly Besotted February release!

Oh it's felt so good to get back on the CB bandwagon and get busy with these amazing goodies. The release is available to purchase from 5th February 10pm (UK time) and there's something for everyone! From cute to contemporary, CB has it covered. :)

I thought it might be tough to get back into the cardmaking habit for the blogeroo after so long away, but when you have yummy products to work with it certainly kicks the mojo into gear. Today's card features stunning images and a sentiment from the new set, Sketched Blooms. I fell for this set instantly. The beautiful, detailed images. The wonderful font used for the sentiments. I think it's fair to say it's a favourite!

• The leaves appear behind the flower thanks to a simple masking technique. I always keep any masks I make for future projects too.
• Distress Inks were used to colour my images by tapping them onto my acrylic block, misting them with water and using them as watercolours.
• I placed the mask back onto the flower before adding some green Distress Ink splatter to protect the pink bloom. 

Well I'm sure you probably came here from Stephanie who is sharing a list of everyone joining in the release fun including our fabulous guest designers, Lucy Abrams, Jo Nevill & Jen Nelson! But if you haven't, then do pop across as there's plenty more enabling to be done!

***Warning! Plenty of non-crafty pictures ahead! Please feel free to hop along!***

As for me, I mentioned that a lot had happened in my near two-month blogging break. Christmas came and went and I've been creating a lot for publications that I can't really share here yet. But most importantly, I gained a husband, changed my name and had the best day ever. Our wedding day! Yup, I'm now Amy Gray and I'll be updating things with my new name in time. I could seriously bore you all day week month about our wedding but I won't. I'll just leave you with some pics from the talented Jo & Simon from Shoot Lifestyle Photography:

We kept things non-traditional and both got ready at home. I loved how casual the morning was - not a single nerve was felt by this bride!

I love that we have pictures to treasure of our home. We're lucky to live in a hall from the 1600s and seeing as we're looking to move soon, we wanted to make our home a big part of our day.

I debated on paper flowers for my bouquet (after all, I am a papercrafter with hay fever!) but I'm so happy that I opted for real flowers. I had pussy willow in my bouquet as a tribute to my dear dad who passed away two years ago. I think he would have loved the fact that it complemented my faux fur coat too. A happy coincidence.

I couldn't get my craft on half as much as I would have liked to but I did love creating our cake topper thanks to a Lia Griffith template to use with my Cricut Explore. :)

We had every weather going that day. Snow, rain, hail and fortunately some winter sunshine - just in time for the photography! :)

We were married at Chatsworth which is beautiful in itself, but at the same time sentimental to me. It's where I spent many summers growing up, jumping in the river from a rope swing (which you'd never catch me doing now!)

Though you can catch me jumping on a horse for a photo opportunity! It was much easier getting up there than it was getting down...

I'm pretty sure that's enough for you but just in case it's not (Ha! Who am I kidding?!), the extremely talented and lovely Jo and Simon from Shoot Lifestyle Photography have shared more pictures here. We can't thank them enough for the precious moments they captured.  Oh and the miracles they can work with a camera too! :)

And if you're still with me after all of that, thank you so much for your patience with my blogging break and for stopping by today. I'll be back tomorrow with another CB sneaky peek!

A papercrafting catch-up...

Hey!

Happy bank holiday weekend! :D

I'm sorry that there's not been much but tumbleweed over the last few weeks. I'm still settling into the new job (and loving it!) but I'm starting to find time to create again and boy, does it feel good! I've had few people saying that they've missed my creations - you're too sweet. I hope this post shows that I'm certainly still crafting. :)

So here's a little catch-up of what I've been up to:

1. Firstly, I was interviewed by the lovely Tam of CardMaking Artists. She was far too kind and sweet about me! I'm honestly just a simple gal that likes making cards (and cups of tea!) but if you want to check it out, or check out the great site in general, then you can do so here.

2. Hmmmm what else have I been up to? Well the amazingly talented Els Brige invited me to be a Weekend Guest on her blogeroo last weekend. Daunted? Slightly. I mean,  have you seen Els work? Or seen her previous guests? So. Talented. August is proving to be the month I have to create a ton of masculine cards so pop across if you want to see one of them. Here's a sneak peek:

3. It's more work-related than my personal papercrafting adventure but you might be interested. I had the total honour and pleasure of interviewing BoBunny. To do this as my job is a serious dream come true and I still can't believe it. BoBunny is certainly company that looks so fun to work for! The full interview and a free BoBunny Christmas stamp set and paper pad can be found in Simply Cards & Papercraft 127. :)

4. Finally, although you may not believe it from judging the blogeroo, I have honestly been a busy papercrafting bee. I've been working behind the scenes on a fabulous new bookazine called Die-cutting Essentials. My job was to play with the amazing free gift that comes with the issue: a set of 5 star-shaped nesting dies. Is that really work? It certainly didn't feel like it!

I had a blast playing with these dies to cater for many different occasions. The total icing on the cake was seeing the finished publication arrive at our offices and seeing my projects on the cover. :)

I'm not gonna be a sales-gal, but I think it's a great bookazine with an awesome free gift. Grab your copy here if you're interested.

Well. I think that's about it. I'm just about to sign off here, go and tidy up the total disaster zone that is my desk and hopefully find more time to create over the bank holiday weekend. Yay!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend whether you've got that sweet, extra day off on Monday or not. :)

Crazy times...

 Hey!

Long time, no see/blog. Apologies!

I'm just popping in with a super-quick post to firstly assure you that I'm OK (thanks for asking!) I'm playing catch-up in the middle of some crazy work here that doesn't involve papercrafting.

As far as papercrafting 'work' goes (I'm pretty sure I can't call something I love work), I've got some serious Clearly Besotted Stamps stamping to do as the rest of the design team are doing a fabulous job showcasing this month's release. I'm really hoping to get inks to those stamps tonight...

If you can't wait for my next project, I was recently interviewed/featured by Castle Foundations. You can check out the full interview, including some of my work, here. I had to giggle that they called me a, "Crafting Extradordinare" - I could get used to that LOL! Totally complimented. :)

I'll be back real soon with something craft-worthy - promise! For now though, thanks so much for sticking around.

Right. Back to the hamster wheel...!

Um...I won!

Hey!

Happy Saturday, happy weekend, happy Easter hols (if you're on 'em!)

It's a very happy day here as I've just been notified that I won the competition to find the UK's best arts and crafts blog!

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! The only way you can win this is through your votes so thank you to everyone who voted so much. I all owe you one - ha! :D

In other random news...
We've now reached the end of term and have the sweet (in more ways than one - hellooooooo Easter eggs!) Easter holidays. I'm hoping to get knuckled down to some serious crafty, inky business. :)

In the past week, we've been so busy trying to raise money for a very worthy charity that supports deafblind children and adults: SENSE. Our colleague is completing 30 challenges before she's 30 and we challenged her to dress up as an octopus all day at school (I'm talking secondary school here!)

Couldn't resist sharing a picture of the event (click it for a larger pic). She had a well deserved drink at the end to celebrate the end of term and the fact we raised over £100. :)

Sorry there's no new crafty project to share today - just random news. I'll be back soon with something crafty - promise! 

Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend!

Shortlisted...?!

Hey!

Hooray for Friday! Woop woop! The weekend is about here and I'm here today with a bit of random news for you.

This little blogeroo of mine has been shortlisted in a competition to find the best arts and crafts blogs in the UK. I'm not quite sure how I become shortlisted, but after much research I don't think it's a prank LOL!

Now you probably know that I'm not good at asking for things. However, if you like what you see here then I'd really appreciate your vote! Voting is a matter of popping across to the site and entering via the widget thingy on the post.

As much as I'd appreciate your vote, there's a shortlist of some seriously inspirational blogs. Be sure to check 'em all out and maybe add a couple to your blog reading list....!

Oh, and one more thing: voting ends at 11:59pm on April 7th, 2014

I'm signing off for the weekend now. It's going to be a busy one as I meet up with CBS gals, Stephanie and Caryn, to spread the CBS word at a stamping fair and teach a class on Sunday! Can't wait!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and, if you're celebrating it, a lovely Mother's Day! :)

 

Celebrate: Olympics Stylee...

Hey!

Hoooooooooray for the weekend!!!

So sorry I've really been MIA. After a fabulous 30th birthday last week, a weekend spent watching our friends tie the knot and a manic week preparing for the Olympic Torch passing through yesterday, it's been go. go. GO!

So before I start on the paper crafting stuff (I'm sorry. I know that's what you're here for!) Thank you *so much* for your birthday wishes! You know how to make a gal feel blessed ♥! I was spoilt rotten with well wishes and beautiful cards from super talented friends! I'm sorry I haven't gotten around to thanking you all personally yet but I will in time - I promise! Let me say this, if this is what it's like to be in your thirties then I'm wondering what all the fuss was about being in your twenties! :D

Now back to the paper crafting side of things! Well as I said earlier, the Olympic Torch passed through our neck of the woods this week (Both on Monday in Sheffield and on Friday in Derbyshire - where I work and originate from.) There's so much hype about the Olympics kicking off soon that we decided to run an Olympic themed challenge on our A Passion for Papertrey blog:

I've had this idea in my head for what seems like ages and I've been biding my time waiting for the fabulous event to draw closer. Doesn't get too much closer with the torch being within reaching distance twice in one week so it was time to get that idea stamped out!

We hope you can join our fun challenge and get into the Olympic spirit too! Less than a month to go!

Before I leave, I thought I'd share a pic of my guy and me at our friends' wedding last weekend.

I know I'm biased, but I reckon I'm a pretty lucky gal to have such a handsome and sweet guy. He earned major boyfriend points for my birthday by surprising me with a gorgeous pair of shoes I've had my eye on for ages (I didn't even tell him about them! How did he know?!) and a watch from a favourite label of mine, Roots. The brand holds fond memories of our first trip to Canada which blew my mind. He'd even been sweet enough to set the time on the watch to the time in Toronto - our second home. Love!

Right I must dash. I'm hooked on Wimbledon and I must get the chores completed before Murray comes out on the court!

Thank you so much for stopping by and still reading after my waffling and long absence!

Catch ya later!

Card Deets
{Celebrate}
Stamps: Around and About Sentiments, Round and Round (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Enchanted Evening, Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)/Tuxedo Black (Memento)/Buttercup, Fern (A*Muse)
Card: White, True Black (Papertrey Ink)

Celebrating many things...

Hey!

Yay for Friday! I'm in a real celebratory mood today in preparation of the Jubilee celebrations, the celebrations tomorrow of my SIL's birthday, and finally, after what feels like an eternity, being able to celebrate and share some happy news here!

I had to giggle over what some of you thought my happy news was:

• Was I pregnant? 
• Was I engaged? 
• Had I secretly eloped? 
• Not forgetting my personal favourite: Am I a new Go-to-Gal for Paper Crafts Magazine? (3 words for that final one: In. My. Dreams.) Ha! 

Well no more guessing...

...I think I can sum this happy news up with one picture:




Yup! I'm going to see my designs in stamp form!!! I'm so excited I could burst!!!! This idea was a dream that I decided to turn into a reality this year. I'm so thankful for Lisa of The Craft's Meow for having faith in my designs, and for making my dream come true - thank you ♥

I also have to mention and thank the very talented Karen Baker. It was Karen that really made me think that this dream could be a reality with her fantastic encouragement and advice from the start. Thank you, Karen ♥ 

So now comes the hard part. Waiting for my set along with some other fabulous sets to make it across the pond to me. I'm so impatient LOL!

However, a really sweet part is that as my first set will be included in the TCM June Release, it means that my set will be officially released on June 21st - my birthday (my 30th to be exact! Eeek!) I can't think of a more exciting present! :)

Sorry to babble - I'm a very excited gal! So where was I? Aha. Celebrating. Well seeing as it's June 1st we have not only my SIL's birthday to celebrate today, but a new monthly sketch from TCM:

Here's my take on it:

This is for my SIL's birthday and yes, I have used the set Typically Teen for a 40th birthday card! I guess you don't have to be a teenager to feel like one, right? *wink* This set is perfect for giving a cool, fun, retro 80s feel to your projects when used with the right colours.

We'd love to see you play along with the sketch this month. You don't need TCM stamps to join in, and you could win the TCM set of your choice! However, if you do use TCM stamps on your entry you could win an additional 15% of one additional stamp set!

Right then, if you've read this far - well done! Sorry I've babbled so much today! You'll be glad to hear that I'm signing off now!

Thank you so much for sharing this happy news with me today and for visiting. Have a wonderful weekend whatever you're doing!

Catch ya later!

Card Deets
{Happy Birthday}
Stamps: Typically Teen (The Craft's Meow)
Ink: Bubblegum (A*Muse) London Fog, Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Solar White (Neenah)
Accessories: Number Transfers (Doodlebug)/Tag Die, True Black Grosgrain Ribbon (Papertrey Ink)

Order is restored: he's HOME!

Hey!

D'ya remember me at all?!?! LOL!

Thank you so much for your well wishes for my Dad and my family through what has been a very stressful couple of weeks! I can finally report that my dad is HOME! We've all waited on tenterhooks for the day we could say it; it seemed like one thing after another with him in hospital but finally, he's actually at home resting nicely! It's still a long recovery process for him that he's nowhere near the end of, and we're all gonna have to keep our beady eyes on him because I just know he'll try and do too much too soon because that's the kinda guy he is! But at least he's home and that large cloud of stress and anxiety has lifted...

...so what's a gal to do when that cloud lifts? Well stamp of course *grin* d'ya know how much my fingers have itched to get inky?! I craved my 'me' stampy time and totally de-stressed by indulging in it! Here's the result of my lil' session:

It's a CASE of this card I made earlier. I found that my mojo had gone a little AWOL so I like to get into the swing of stamping again by a good ol' CASE. I'm sure I'll be back into the groove of stamping and creating in a few days time!


Card Recipe
PTI Supplies
Stamps: Friends 'til the End/Background Basics: Text Style
Ink: Hawaiian Shores/Spring Moss
Card: Hawaiian Shores/Stamper's Select White/New Leaf
Papers: Green Boutique
Accessories: Metal Sheet/Cuttlebug/PTI Butterfly Die/Swiss Dot Embossing Folder/Hawaiian Shores Ribbon/EK Success Border Punch

FYI: I had the sweet butterfly sitting on my desk from a result of a creative session ages ago - I tried cutting some sheets of metal with a PTI die and it cut like buttah! So I went one step further and embossed it too - lovin' the dimension it adds. And now I look at this photo, I'm gonna take this card for some distressing treatment - I think it craves some subtle green ink around the outside!

Right then, I've got a lot of catching up to do. Google reader has gone crazy over the amount of posts I've gotta catch up on LOL! It's gonna take me a week to catch up with everything but at least I'll have had a good dose of inspiration to get inky again soon ;D

Catch ya later (but not too much later!)
Aimes
x

Tumbleweed...

...certainly seems a lot of it around here at the moment on the ol' blogeroo!

Hey!

I'm sorry I seem to have abandoned y'all so much! I figured I'd better pop by with an update on life...

It's been a very scary, stressful and emotional week. Dad went in for his big heart op, there were some complications and he had to be rushed back in to the operating theatre. He's been in the intensive care unit since Wednesday and although at times it's been bad, I've remained positive in my thinking and he's pulling through! He's now heading out of intensive care and towards the ward. We're taking this all one step at a time but once he's walking again and able, he can come home :D

Since he's been in, I've been living with my Mum supporting her and being the designated driver for the 3 hour round trips to and from the hospital - on standby just in case we get the dreaded call. I've had no access to a computer unless at work (yup, still managing to focus at work - just!) and no crafty time what-so-ever!

So I'm sorry I've nothing to show today, just thought I owed you an explanation of why I've been MIA. I really do hope that soon life will return to more normality and that I can totally de-stress around my inks and stamps ;D

Thanks so much for hanging around and waiting for me!

Catch ya later!
Aimes
x

My Guest DT Spot!

Hey!

Happy Monday!

Blink and you may just miss it, but it's my lil' moment of fame as a Guest DT for the CAS Design Team over at Splitcoast Stampers! I can't tell you how excited I am and how honoured I feel to have been asked by Jen - thanks so much, Jen!

So for the CAS Challenge today (they're issued every Monday here) we have a St Patrick's Theme goin' down! All creations must feature any shade of White/Cream, Green and Brown. Creations can be for any occasion so don't feel restricted to St Patrick's Day cards! Pretty open scope eh?! Why not play along too?!

Well with this brief in mind, I couldn't resist inking up my new Studio Style set:


I dunno if you can tell, but I covered my jars in Glossy Accents to make them glass-like. It looks much cooler IRL, and my photography doesn't do a good job catching it so I'll just have to hope you can imagine it LOL! (Check out the jar on the far left to get a basic idea!)

I'll confess that my lack of patience made this the card that's taken me the longest to make, EVER! I just couldn't wait for those darn Glossy Accents to dry; I bodged up 3 button jars, I kid you not! I even resorted to putting them in the fridge!!! Well I guess the saying goes, patience is a virtue...maybe I should learn from it!

Card Recipe
All PTI Supplies
Stamps: Studio Style
Ink: Dark Chocolate
Card: White
Accessories: Glossy Accents/Promarkers/Dark Chocolate Twill

Ooh now I'm thinking I could do this layout in a number of different colour combos - how fun would Raspberry Fizz buttons look against Aqua Mist buttons?! The possibilities are endless!

Thanks so much for stopping by and letting me share my little piece of fun news with y'all, I really appreciate it!

I promise to be back soon - actually got a backlog of cards to post up here! Also hoping to be popping in on your wonderful blogs and checking out what you've all been up to, it's been far too long!

Catch ya later!

Aimes
x

Celebrating my Blog Anniversary!

********BLOG CANDY ENDED********
********WINNER IS KARIN!********

Hey!

Well today (what's left of it!) is my Blog Anniversary! A year ago today I posted my first post...ahh it seems so long ago!

In order to celebrate I've got some calorie-free blog candy on offer for y'all:

This candy contains:

1xBasic Grey Lime Rickey 6x6 pad
1x Basic Grey Lime Rickey Brads
1x Hero Arts Wood-mounted Stamp - CardArt Write-in
3 x Papermania Gum Bound Border Packs 2" x 12" (Olivine Essence, Raspberry Champagne and Venetian Skies containing 50 sheets each)
1 x Cuttlebug Embossing Folder - Traffic Jam
2 x Packs of Die-cut Sentiments
1 x Basic Grey Alpha Series Stamps - Design 2 (Easter)
1 x Imaginisce Snag'em Stamps - Tree
1 x American Crafts Patterned Chipboard Pack -Clubhouse
1 x American Crafts Mini-mark Book of Rub-On Transfers (Kids Book Two)

In order to qualify for a chance to win these goodies, I want you to share with me your first creation. I was looking back (almost cringing) at my first creations and found it to be quite an eye-opener! It's amazing to see the creative journey you've taken. If you haven't got a blog don't worry - you can use your online gallery instead and if you're new to bloggin' then welcome and please still share with us all!

To start you off, here are mine (Brace yourselves - Eeek!):


Here are my Blog Candy deets:

• Mister Linky will end at Midnight GMT, Sunday 7th March and I'll use Random.org to randomly select a winner the following day.

• This is candy is open worldwide!

• To enter, use Mister Linky below with a link to the actual post of your first creation either from your blog or online gallery.
  

• Obviously I'd love it if you could spread the word about the my blog candy and became a follower but it's not mandatory...I don't want to force you to stick around but keep a tab on me to find out if you've won!
  

• The winner will have 5 days to contact me (a_wanford@hotmail.com) with their address otherwise I'll select another winner.

I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your wonderful support and comments, I really do appreciate them more than you could imagine. I can't believe how fab this community is and the amount of wonderful bloggin' buddies that I've made! I'd also like to especially thank one gal who supported me from the start and that's Kate. She's the gal who persuaded me to start a blog and has since become my bloggin partner in crime on our PTI Blog and a fabulous friend too! If you dare peek back to my first post, she was my first commenter - supporting me from the start. BIG HUGS to ya hun - *MWAH*!

Enough babbling from me - now share that first creation!

I'm On Team EdCob!

Hey!

Phew what a crazy couple of days! So sorry I've kinda abandoned Blogland but I've been off having so much fun at Steph's along with Kate and Caryn, as well as meeting so many lovely fellow stampers at Steph's PTI Make and Take! Honestly, I feel truly blessed to have made such fabulous friends! I can't remember the last time I had so much fun! Not only the crafting, but the girly giggles and a trip to the flicks too! (BTW, New Moon is just about the most awesome film EVER! So fab to see a film with fellow Twi-hards, though I have to confess that I'm on Team EdCob - I'm the kinda gal who likes to have her cake and eat it LOL!)

I've also got some pics to share from our wonderful weekend, but haven't had the chance to inspect and take the pics of me out upload 'em yet! If you can't wait til then, take a peek at Steph's, Kate's or Caryn's pics - they're fabulous!

Now I did do some crafting last week, but that was for a PTI ATC swap so I can't share that with you yet, but I do have a card for our current challenge on APFP:

Recipe: Stamps - Holiday Tree/Signature Christmas Ink - Aqua Mist/Spring Moss/Dark Chocolate/Pure Poppy Card - Stamper's Select White/Aqua Mist/Pure Poppy/Rustic Snowflake DP Other - Nestabilities/Martha Stewart Border Punch/Pure Poppy Polka Dot Ribbon

This challenge is to feature a Christmas tree on your creations. Kate and I are hoping that some of you are bound to do this at some point in the next two weeks so participation in the challenge will be easy peasey lemon squeezy LOL!

Now the bow on this card is courtesy of Caryn who had the patience of a saint trying to teach me how to tie one! I just added to the difficulty by using single-sided polka dot ribbon LOL! Caryn, hope I've done you proud ;D

So we'd love it if you shared your creations with us over on APFP. Your creations needs only one PTI product on it to qualify and if you live within Europe, you could be the lucky winner of some PTI goodies :D

Right then, I'm off to catch up on everything I've missed in Blogland! Dunno when I'll get a chance to craft next as work is totally manic and I'm off to London this weekend! It's all go, go, go! When will it be craft, craft, craft I wonder...?

Catch ya later!
Aimes
x

Awesome Autumn...

Hey!

Happy Tuesday everyone! Well I won't lie - this week is going kinda slow for me but I know that come Wednesday the rest of the week will be a blur and it'll be the weekend before I know it!

Just in case you haven't popped in our PTI blog, we've got a new challenge set! The challenge this time around is to be inspired by autumn. I have to say I found this challenge was soooo in my comfort zone - I tend to home in on these kinda colours not only in cardmaking but in everyday decisions too!

Here's my take on autumn anyways:Just love the warm fuzzy feeling that summer sunrise (I know, kinda ironic name for a cardstock that's to be used on an autumnal card LOL!) and pure poppy gives me!

Full deets can be found on the PTI blog and I would truly love it if you took a peek, maybe a plunge too and played along. Remember, there's some PTI goodies for grabs if you need tempting!

Finally, my dear friend Kate is celebrating her Blog Birthday! Happy Blog Birthday Hun!! Kate is celebrating in her true, generous style by offering some DELICIOUS Blog Candy that's calorie free and scrumptious too! Pop by to say Happy Blog Birthday and y'never know, you could be the lucky recipient of this:Right, that's all I've got on me for now! I was actually hoping to play along with the now ended RSCC before it ended as I adored the colours set. My aim was to create and post just before the deadline but as I'm yet to put ink to a stamp for it I guess it'll just be fun to play along even though it's ended. Well I guess I could still play along right? Better late then never!

Thanks so much for stopping by - I really appreciate it as I know I've been away a while so your visits really make me think I haven't quite lost my blog totally! I promise to update much more from now on!

Catch ya later!
Aimes
x

Complete Chaos...

Hello...? Anyone still visiting here...?

Do you remember little ol' me...? Y'know that gal that makes cards and has an unhealthy obsession with PTI products...!? LOL!

Sooooooooooooo sorry that I'm still stuck in the chaos of moving, we're at the unpacking stage now so hopefully not too long until I have my crafting stash on hand to keep me sane - my fingers have been itching to stamp for so long!

Although I've not been crafting and uploading I have been visiting all your wonderful blogs using work computers (which is totally allowed after working hours btw!) whilst the computer at home remains unpacked. Work computers let me admire your creations but won't let me comment so I can assure you I've visited your blog if you think I haven't, hopefully I'll be able to comment again soon when the PC is set up at home.

Today, a new challenge on the PTI blog has given me the perfect chance to go rooting through boxes to find some PTI stash to play with! Just to prove how much of a task it was to root out my PTI stash amongst the chaos I'm living in, I took a few pics of it for a giggle ...
This isn't all my crafting stash - honest! Chris contributes his fair share of musical instruments which are far more bulkier than my CD Cased PTI stamp sets LOL!
My work-in-progress, floor-to-ceiling, craft stash cupboard...this is just one door but I've got 3 to try and cram my stuff into! Those white drawers are a fab purchase from Ikea - they hold lots of PTI cardstock, plenty of room to expand as I've only filled one drawer so far ;D
OK so this is my stuff that has to somehow fit in the other cupboards...might have to get my thinking cap on for that logistical nightmare LOL!

So I hope you can appreciate how dangerous it was to retrieve a small handful of PTI stash...one avalanche of boxes and I'd be a gonna! LOL!

Anyways I digress, back to the PTI challenge ...the new challenge is to make a birthday card (easy peasey hey?) but my personal challenge was to come up with something I was happy with using only one stamp set, some off cuts of PTI dp and a selection of inks as this was all I could safely get my hands on!
To make matters even more complicated - we have no PC set up to surf on and no wireless broadband yet so I'm on a tiny laptop with a 3G stick in and unable to edit my pics on Picnik as Linux on the laptop won't allow it so you can see my awful photography skills in full glory LOL! Gosh I didn't realise how much I relied on technology!!!

Anyways the deets for this card are on the PTI blog. I'd really love it if you popped across to the PTI blog and checked out the challenge and would love it more if you played along - there's a chance to win some PTI goodies for one lucky entry within Europe (Worldwide entries are welcome for fun too of course!)

Lastly, before I love ya and leave ya, I've been nominated for a blog award! Thanks to Dawn for nominating me - cheers hun! Please go and check out Dawn's blog if you haven't already, she has some amazing creations and is well on her way to becoming a fully fledged PTI addict too ;DI have to reveal 5 things that I'm addicted to for this blog award so here goes...

1. Cardmaking (well it goes without saying really!)
2. Papertrey Ink (thanks to both Kate and Steph, my bank manager and I have a deteriorating relationship now ;D)
3. Chocolate (I like it in all forms; frozen, melted, liquid - so long as it's chocolatey, it hits the spot!)
4. Shoes - I own way too many pairs and have a problem walking past the shoe shop Office without popping in to just see what's in stock....
5. Music - I can't go a day without listening to my music! I love all forms - it's my kinda therapy for everything in life!

Now I'll pass this award on when I have slightly more time on my hands I promise! Just gotta tackle another box to unpack before I hit the sack for tonight so I hope to catch up with y'all soon....

Catch ya later!

Aimes
x

Catching up....

Hey!

Sorry I've been M.I.A recently, it's been a really busy Bank Holiday here! Building flat pack furniture, trying to be a domestic goddess and trying to visit friends and family proved to be very chaotic - that's not to say that I had a good drink, giggle and boogie though ;D Still gotta go to work next Monday though after my disappointing night at the dogs...I became a jinx on every dog I thought would win!

So I've finally found a spare moment to check out what's happenin' in Blogland to be pleasantly surprised - not only by all the wonderful comments but I've also been nominated for three blog awards!

Firstly Maureen nominated me for these awards:

Thanks so much Maureen! Please go and check out Maureen's blog - it's full of the most gorgeous cards (some with lots of PTI goodies on too - delicious!)

Secondly Caryn has nominated me for this award:Thanks so much Hun, and again if you haven't already please check out Caryn's awesome creations. Her Promarker skills have me green with envy as well as drooling! LOL!

The deal is that I have to reveal 7 facts about myself for the awards from Maureen, and 5 for the award from Caryn so I'm gonna cheat by combining them! I honestly don't think I can think of 7 interesting things about myself, let alone 12! I hope you ladies (and gents if there's any?!) don't mind!

So here we go, 7 'interesting' facts about little me:

1. My favourite sound is the sound of feet walking in deep powdery snow (y'know that kind crunch sound - makes me weak at the knees!)
2. I have a very weak spot for Colin Firth...we play the Bridget Jones game at work all the time - Hugh Grant or Colin Firth from the film if you had to pick? Colin every time for me!
3. I have a man's brain! I have a good sense of spatial awareness and direction - maps don't bother me in the slightest (good job because Chris has a girl's brain and can't find his way out of a paper bag LOL!)
4. I really can't cook tasty meals - though I try I find it so much effort and I tend to create a tip with piles of washing up for a meal that tastes just OK...
5. I love to sing out loud in my car (I'm tone deaf btw) - doesn't even matter if I don't know the words, I'll improvise! Only gets embarrassing when I'm at a red light - good job I've no hairbrush nearby or it'd be hands off the steering wheel! LOL!
6. I'm late for nearly everything - even the hairdressers that is literally opposite our apartment! I try to hard to plan but get sidetracked VERY easily!
7. I hate having to make decisions! To the point where I have to ask someone else to make if for me. I would much rather have my cake and eat it!

Well that's about the 7 most random facts I can think of that I haven't already mentioned for previous blog awards so I hope you'll still come back and visit me...LOL!

Now to nominate people myself to receive these awards (yup all 3!) I've tried really hard to nominate blogs that haven't got these awards so apologies if you already have them!

Alex
Alison
Emma
Karen
Julie
Jane

And if you don't want them...don't feel bad I won't be offended! Now if it was chocolate you were refusing on the other hand....Nah! Only kidding - I'd scoff it myself! LOL!

And you didn't think I wouldn't upload a card would you?
Now I know you're thinking, geez how CAS can a card be exactly?! But again this was a last minute dash to craft as it had to be posted as soon as it was made. Yup, Chris again tells Aimes he needs a card for his parents the day it has to be posted!

One thing I do like about this card is the way my Nestability embossed the square frame so nicely.
I regret adding that strip of metallic card though (it was a scrap from this card) but I was thinking of recycling and I do love to use up scraps (it totally justifies me keeping them!)

Card Recipe
Stamps: PTI Damask Designs
Ink: Stazon Teal Blue, Versamark (for that strip of card)
Card: Card Blank (from stash), Magic Card
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Detail Clear EP

Well I'm off again but I assure you I have more to post, including a tutorial for my winning couch card for PTI's August Guest Star Stamper Contest so watch this space.....

Catch ya later!

Aimes
x

P.S Edited to add the film that Chris chose for Friday night's outing was The Ugly Truth - what a girl eh? Sure he picked it to please me and we both thought it was a fab, funny, film - recommend it for a giggle! x