'tis the Season!

Hey!

My oh my does it feel like winter! We've had a good dollop of snow over the weekend which was sooooooo pretty but soooooooo scary to drive in! We're now facing lots of ice so it's definitely time for the mittens to make a more permanent appearance :)

Today we've got a new challenge over on our PTI blog and we've kept it simple. We understand how busy everyone gets around this time of year so all we wanna see is a Christmas themed project that uses at least one PTI product. Here's my example:

Recognise the layout? Yup, I CASEd myself for this one but I was also totally inspired by the Tuesday Trigger over at Moxie Fab World:This led to me smothering that snowflake with glimmer mist and stamping text all over it! Though you can't see all the pretty shimmer so you're gonna have to trust me on that one! Love the shimmer :)

So I think this maybe the design of my Christmas card this season....though damn the postage costs with those bows LOL!

Wishing you all a fabulous week - stay warm and safe! We've all got our fingers crossed for a snow day tomorrow...

Catch ya later!





Card Deets
{'Tis The Season}
Stamps: Holiday Signature Greetings, Fancy Flourishes (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Pure Poppy, Simply Chartreuse, Kraft (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Fresh Snow,Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)/Versamark
Accessories: Glimmer Mist/Cuttlebug/Snowflake Die (Provocraft)/Nestabilities/Fine Linen Grosgrain Ribbon (Papertrey Ink)/Bling (Zva)/Promarker (To colour my clear bling!)/Chompy (Corner Chomper)

Subtle Shimmer...

Hey!

And Happy Thanksgiving to readers who are celebrating it!!! I'll confess that I'm totally jealous that you get an extra holiday for eating Turkey :)

Well it's Thanksgiving in America, Friday Eve over here and time for another CASE study!

I've sure loved having Heather Pulvirenti on board as our muse this month - she's one talented cardmaker! I'll be sorry to see her go *sob* but before I start blubbing, let's see her final creation up for CASEing this week:

Now I'm gonna surprise y'all and produce a Christmas Card before your very eyes *gasp* I know, you're seeing them everywhere at the moment, but for me this is major. I'm awful at making Christmas cards - I hardly find the mojo or the time for it all *sigh*!

I hope you can see that I kinda CASEd the layout! The pic doesn't show it, but there's loadsa subtle shimmer on this card; both from my shimmer chalks for the flourish, and my snowflake cut from shimmer cardstock. Gotta love some shimmer :)

Seeing as I used that ol' snowflake die - I'm hoping that this card will qualify for Lucy's challenge too!

Now I know that some of you are real busy at this time of year (especially with Thanksgiving!) but we'd love it if you could squeeze in any inky time to play along with us! Why not check out what the rest of the super-talented CASE study DT rustled up?

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)
Andrea Ewen
Jean Martin
Julie Smith
Lenet Mos
Melyssa Connolly
Sue Kohler
Teneale Williams
Heather Pulvirenti (November's Muse)

And for one lucky, random participant there's a $25 gift certificate to Artful Delight up for grabs!

Right, I'm off to find my de-icer and ice scraper now as they're predicting ice and snow for now and the weekend...eek!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{We Wish you a Merry Christmas}
Stamps: Holiday Signature Greetings, Fancy Flourishes (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: London Fog (Memento)/Versamark
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Spring Rain, White Shimmer Cardstock (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Snowflake Die (Provocraft)/Nestabilities/Lavender Moon Grosgrain Ribbon (Papertrey Ink)/Shimmer Chalks/Bling (Zva)/'Chompy' (Corner Chomper!)

A Very Happy (and bright) Birthday!

Hey!

Just poppin' by quickly on this rainy Sunday to help brighten it a little with a little card :)

I've no idea what is possessing me to play with such bold, bright colours but I kinda likey! *Shhh! Don't let my neutral, muted cardstock and inks know about this....this is purely between us, OK?! LOL!*

Now it wasn't half as much of a pain to line up that background as you think thanks to the wonders of clear stamps. And just to show you that it does line up with the background (almost!) here's a head-on shot:

This card was made for the host of the fab birthday party we attended last Saturday. I eventually decided on dressing up as Daphne Blake from Scooby Doo (it's easy when you've got the red hair to start with!) I haven't got a pic to share yet, but trust me when I say my costume wasn't a patch on the space invader costume that I was in total awe of!

Happy days...well best be off now to prepare for the working week! Only four more to go before we break up for Christmas - can you believe it?! Not that I'm counting down or anything *wink*

Catch ya later!





Card Deets
{Happy Happy Birthday}
Stamps: Birthday Bash Sentiments (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)/Raspberry Fizz, Hawaiian Shores (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Smokey Shadow, Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Vintage Buttons (Papertrey Ink)/Chompy (Corner Chomper)/Cuttlebug/Nestabilities

Hi!

Hey!

I dunno about you but I'm wondering if this week will end? It's been really busy here, but that seems to have made time go slower...I always thought it was supposed to make time go faster?! Oh, I think I'm getting that mixed up with when you're having fun LOL! Well I think Friday Eve will go fast today because it's time for another CASE study!

Super excited to see a fab new card up for CASEing from our fabulous muse, Heather Pulvirenti:

I was originally going to go for a shaped card too, but chickened out took a different creative direction instead *wink*

I really must take pics in natural daylight - apologies for this one!

Now c'mon, admit it - you thought I'd run a mile from anything resembling a peachy colour, didn't ya? Well I attempted to hug it a little bit here with some help from some new Thickers from American Crafts - love 'em! :)

I hope you can join us with this week. If you need more tempting, up for grabs for one randomly selected participant is a "Retro Christmas" stamp set from Practicing Creativity courtesy of Judith Gowdy from JG's Nook! Shame I can't enter myself LOL!

And if you need a li'l more inspiration, then check out the rest of the CASE study DT who have some seriously fabulous creations:

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)
Andrea Ewen
Jean Martin
Julie Smith
Lenet Mos
Melyssa Connolly
Sue Kohler
Teneale Williams
Heather Pulvirenti (November's Muse)

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Hi}
Stamps: Ledger (Hero Arts)/The Whole Cycle (Practicing Creativity Designs)
Ink: Aqua Mist, Spring Moss (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Lemon Tart, Simply Chartreuse, Melon Berry, Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Foam Thickers (American Crafts)/Cuttlebug/Nestabilities/Simply Chartreuse Grosgrain Ribbon, Polka Dot Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)/Chompy (Corner Chomper)/Fiskars Border Punch

Scrappy Power!

Hey!

Monday already - where did the weekend fly by to?!

Hope your week is off to a good start...I'm kicking mine off with a new challenge on our PTI blog. We're challenging you to turn your scraps into works of art! C'mon, 'fess up, we all hoard our scraps don't we?! I know I do anyways and in particular I hoard my tiny pieces of ribbon that I snip after tying a bow...anyone else save these scraps too?

So what to do with them....hmmmm.....well if you've checked out the new release over at Papertrey Ink, you'll have noticed those gorgeous banners. I'm totally smitten with them; especially the smaller versions to embellish cards with. So I tried to make my own banner by folding scraps of ribbon around twine:

I'm pretty happy with the result and just think, this could be used with any ribbon scraps so the colour combinations and patterns are endless!!!

We'd love it if you too could root through your scraps and play along with us. You only need to use one PTI product to qualify for entry and one lucky European player could be in with a chance of winning a Fillable Frames #4 stamp set! So I challenge you to use those scraps you've been saving - it'll totally justify any future scraps you hoard *wink*

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{It's a Celebration}
Stamps: Fancy Flourishes, Birthday Bash Sentiments (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Antique Linen (Distress Ink)/Rich Cocoa (Memento)
Cardstock: Fine Linen (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Library Ledger Collection (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Grosgrain Ribbon Scraps, Jute Ribbon Twine

Boo!

Hey!

Did I scare ya? I always think a delayed 'spook' is way more effective than when you expect to be spooked...well that's my excuse for a major delay on sharing the treats I made for my nieces and nephews for Halloween anyways *wink* I've finally found a weekend where I can catch up with things so I'm making the most of it!

Due to restricted time, and the fact that I have seven nieces and nephews to cater for, I decided to whip out a few of these treat boxes courtesy of the fabulous PTI Favor it Box 1 Die. Combine this with Halloween themed colours and a seriously cute Halloween stamp set and Voila! Halloween treats - done!

Now the only issue with the treats I had to put in the boxes (chocolate eyeballs, spiders and pumpkins of course!) was not only resisting the temptation to scoff 'em, but getting them to stay in the boxes! They kept rolling out and across my table! So I had a rethink after taking that first pic, and decided to wrap the treats up and finish them off with some ribbon (bows for the gals, knots for the boys *grin*)

*Pssst: Ignore my button jars used as props! If you're wondering, they're from IKEA and hold a bag of PTI buttons perfectly!*

It's amazing the difference a bit of clear cellophane and ribbon can make to a gift!

Needless to say, I'm sure these treats have been scoffed and are long gone now! Though I did have some left over and they're sitting here with the rest of my crafting supplies - for inspiration of course! *wink*

Catch ya later!





Box Deets
{Trick or Treat?}
Stamps: Tiny Treats: Halloween (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: True Black, Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Bitty Star Basics, Bitty Dot Basics (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Cuttlebug/Favor It Box 1 Die (Papertrey Ink)/Nestabilities/Promarkers/Ribbons (Papertrey Ink)/Cellophane Bags

A Very Happy Birthday!

Hey!

Happy Friday Eve! Is this week zooming by or what?! Feels like only yesterday I was posting for:Yet another week has come around and we're treated to this fabulous card by our muse for November, Heather P for this week's CASE study:


Oh I love Heather's style and colours so much....I tried to pluck up the courage to be a bit bolder with my own colour pallette for my take on the CASE study this week:

Wowzers! It's bright - but I think I likey! Again, struggling with daylight for my pics - I'm gonna have to be more organised with my inky time and use weekends for my photography sessions!

New freshly inked stamps on this card - ahhh I love new inky love *sigh*! It's like playing with a shiny new toy for me! Lovin' my Hero Arts Ledger stamp in particular.

I tried my hand at gradient stamping with a variety of pink inks. The 'Birthday' sentiment was originally to be at the bottom but those pinks were just that bit too pale to stand alone against that bright, bold, turquoise so I stamped it over to give the focal panel a bit more 'oomph!' That's a techincal term y'know ;)

As always, we'd love it if you could play along too! All you gotta do is be inspired by Heather's creation this week and CASE away in any way you feel inspired to. I was sold on the layout and the bold turquoise but you can pick whatever floats ya boat - that's the joy CASE study!

Check out what the rest of the CASE study DT came up with - you'll be surprised at how many different styles and interpretations come from just one point of CASEing!

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)
Andrea Ewen
Jean Martin
Julie Smith
Lenet Mos
Melyssa Connolly
Sue Kohler
Teneale Williams
Heather Pulvirenti (November's Muse)

Need more tempting to play along? Well one randomly chosen participant will win an All Season Swirl stamp set courtesy of Christina Franco from The Angel Company!

Have a super weekend if I don't see you before! We've got a fun Saturday night planned; Chris and I are off to a birthday party where you gotta dress up as your favourite character or toy as a kid....definitely had to put my thinking cap on for that one! I'm thinking Daphne from Scooby Doo - it's either that or Wilma Flintstone which could get a bit chilly with nothing on my feet! Ha!

Thanks so much for stopping by my li'l corner of Blogland :)

Catch ya later!





P.S I'm still catching up, but this card fits the Papertrey Peeps Challenge #18 too! One day, I'll catch up with all those fabby challenges...*sigh*

Card Deets
{Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy Birthday!}
Stamps: Birthday Bash Sentiments, Polka Dot Basics II (Papertrey Ink)/Ledger (Hero Arts)
Ink: Sweet Blush, Hibiscus Burst, Raspberry Fizz, Smokey Shadow (Papertrey Ink)/Versamark/Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Hawaiian Shores, Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Hibiscus Burst Grosgrain Ribbon (Papertrey Ink)/Bling (Hero Arts) /Chompy (Corner Chomper)

How much do I love thee? Let me count the buttons...

Hey!

What a glorious Sunny Sunday in Sheffield it is today - this is the kinda autumn that I love! Hope you've all had a super weekend so far...(it's not quite over yet so let's make the most of it!)

Excuse my twist on the famous Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem for my title today, but I just couldn't resist! Y'see if you look at the card I'm sharing with y'all today, I think you'll understand why:

Get it now?! Yup, who else could I use so many precious green buttons on one card for but my gorgeous guy! I've had this card waiting ever-so patiently to be share with y'all for nearly a month; but due to life taking a turn towards the chaotic it's had to wait until now! It was made for our 10 year anniversary. Yup, 10 years ago on Oct 14th we decided that life would be much more fun spent together and it couldn't be more true!

Although it's a kinda CAS card it still took some thinking out so if you fancy trying this yourself then here's a few design tips:

• There's method to the madness with placing those gorgeous green buttons. Chris' fave colour is green (just one of the many things we have in common) but in particular his fave shade is British Racing Green so check out the singular button in that shade at the centre of the heart to not only help to provide a focal point for your eyes to follow, but to represent where he is in my own heart (altogether now - "Awwwwww!")

• I didn't feel pressured to use a 'happy anniversary' sentiment on his card. I think these three words sum up our fabulous 10 years together so far perfectly! I don't always feel bound to use what would always be the usual sentiment for an occasion!

• For that li'l extra detail, and to balance the card I stamped a text background using Versamark. Without this, the card looked far too plain around the outside, and over-the-top busy in the centre (it hurt my eyes LOL!)

• Last but not least, if you can find a guy that doesn't have the same favourite colour as you, then it reduces your anxiety levels loads when using so many buttons up in his fave colour *wink*!

I'm off to re-stock on green buttons....

Catch ya later!





Card Deets
{Live laugh Love}
Stamps: Text Style, Round and Round (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento)/Versamark
Cardstock: Fresh Linen, Kraft (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Mixed Green Vintage Buttons (Papertrey Ink)/Cuttlebug/Concentric Hearts Die

Finally!

Hey!

I'm back after a long while away - sorry to have left you but it's still been busy this end visiting my Dad. The good news is that there has been talk of him coming home soon. I'm desperately trying not to get my hopes up too high for fear they'll be dashed, but I'm keeping everything crossed in the hope he does!

This is positive news means that I have finally found some inky time! Yay! I felt a little rusty at first; I think my mojo needs warming up! I've got quite a bit to share with y'all but for now let me focus on today which is Friday Eve which also means it's time for:

Hooray! A CASE study I was able to prepare for this time and boy am I glad I did as my fellow Papertrey Peep, Heather Pulvirenti is our Muse for November. I love Heather's style; it's so bold and fabulous - I mean, check out the card up for CASEing this week:


Now I just know that I'd struggle to make those colours coordinate half as well as Heather has so I took a few elements of her fab card and put my 'own spin' on it:

The changing of the clocks over here means I hardly get any natural light to photograph my cards so sorry for the poor pic!

It's been so long since I've had a good inky session that I had to cut the seal off the patterned paper pad for this card! Now it's open, it's gonna be used as I love it!

In need of more inky, inspiration? Then check out the awesomely talented CASE study DT - be sure to check out the new members of the DT too! So sad to see both Carole and Cindy leaving - I'll still be stalking their blogs though when I get the time *wink*

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)
Andrea Ewen
Carole Kisch
Cindy Lee
Jean Martin
Julie Smith
Lenet Mos
Melyssa Connolly
Sue Kohler
Heather Pulvirenti (November's Muse)

So I hope that you can play along too if you find any inky time! If you need any more tempting, then up for grabs for one lucky random crafty peep this week is a $20 gift certificate from Paper Maniac!

Right then, I'm off to try and get updated with y'all via Google Reader; I have 1000+ posts to catch up on - eek! So much happens in a week or so here in Blogland LOL! Oh well, means I'll get a good dose of inspiration to help kick my mojo into gear *wink*

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Thank You}
Stamps: Turning a New Leaf, Round and Round (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Kraft (Papertrey Ink) Antinque Linen (Distress Ink)
Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento)
Patterned Paper: Library Ledger Collection (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Dark Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon (Papertrey Ink)/Chompy (Corner Chomper)/Clear Gems (Zva)/Promarkers