Many Thanks!

If you've visited from Gallery Idol you can find my post here - thanks!

Pssst - voting for Gallery Idol ends tonight at 7pm UK time! Have you voted yet? I'd love it if you could take a peek and maybe cast that all important vote (there's a direct link to my card if you click on the piccy in my sidebar *wink*)

Hey!

Seriously? Friday Eve already? Where did this week zoom by to? I'm already a sixth of my way through my holidays - eek! I'm determined to do something fun every week and this week has consisted of going out Bowling with friends and having some work friends come check out my new place (or not so new now!) later today for a fuddle (I think that's a Derbyshire term - it basically means everyone brings something yummy to eat and share it all out in a feast-styleee!)

So I've gotta be quick here - I've got food to buy and I need to make this place look spotless! But before I do any of that we need to celebrate Friday Eve in the traditional way:


Yup! A nice new CASE study for you to get your inky mitts into :)

Now it's our muse, Dawn Woleslagle's, last week with us *sob* I'm sure you'll agree that her creations have been so much fun to CASE and great for getting my mojo into gear. This is her fabulous card up for CASE study this week:

You can check out the original post of this beauty here!

I was immediately drawn to the layout and the way the sentiment was stamped vertically - I love that little unique feature!

Here's my take on it:

I was also inspired for this week's card by the Moxie Fab World Challenge: Fanatical about Botanical for this leafy creation :)

Ahhhh glorious green - how I've missed you so! It's been a while since I indulged in my all time fave colour and I knew that this had to be the shade paired with white to give a crisp, clean feel to my card.

Lots of texture on this card too! My new love is using the linen and canvas impression plate on a piece of card and then stamping over it: it gives a bit of a rustic kinda feel to solid images - love!

I thought the sentiment was pretty fitting for this moment in time as I want to thank you for all your messages of support throughout my time in Gallery Idol. It really has made me feel so blessed and lucky to have so many wonderful people rooting for me and even if you haven't voted for me, but left me an encouraging comment - that counts too! I know it's tough when you only have one vote. The results are out tomorrow and it's the calmest I've felt yet. I think I've just accepted that I've had a wonderful time and that if it's my time to go, then it's my time to go! I always think it's best to have a happy surprise than a shock disappointment :)

Right now enough babbling from myself, you know what to do: join us! Come and grab your supplies and be inspired by Dawn's creation - show us what you've got!

Still feel the need for more inspiring? Then check out the amazing CASE study DT

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)
Andrea Ewen
Clare Buswell
Debby Hughes
Cristina Kowalczyk
Jean Martin (taking an inky break)
Julie Smith
Sue Kohler
Teneale Williams
Dawn Woleslagle (July's Muse)

And before you dash, have you checked out the news about next month on CASE study? Read all about it here - you're in for a real treat :)

OK now I've really gotta get things in order around here for today's fuddle which I hope will be full of fun with fabulous food with fabulous friends (check out that alliteration! LOL!)

Thank you so, so much for stopping by!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Many Thanks}
Stamps: Turning a New Leaf (Papertrey Ink)/Frame-it - sentiment- Waltzingmouse Stamps
Ink: Simply Chartreuse (Papertrey Ink)/Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Simply Chartreuse (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Linen and Canvas Impression Plate, Simply Chartreuse Grosgrain Ribbon (Papertrey Ink)/Cuttlebug & Distressed Stripe Embossing Folder/Border Punch (EK Success)

A challenge I tried to get away with :)

If you've popped across from Gallery Idol - please click HERE - Thanks!
If you've not voted yet, why not? Click on my sidebar for a link to my card. If you likey then please, please votey! :D

Hey!

Two posts, two days...you can tell it's the summer holidays LOL! Don't worry I won't keep this up!

I'm back today with a card for our fun new challenge on A Passion for Papertrey!

The challenge is called, 'The Sky's The Limit' and we want to see you be inspired by things you'd find in the sky. Once you think about it, there's so many things you could incorporate into your design (clouds, butterflies, planes, stars etc...)

Admitedly I went with a bit of an out-of-the-box approach to this challenge. I'm not even sure if I'll get away with it so I better quickly think up of something good.....hmmm......well......

1. Bling! Yes the bling will represent the stars you can find in the night sky.
2. Vellum! Yup - I reckon I could suggest the vellum represents clouds.
3. Blue! I can totally blag this one - the blues represent the different shades of the sky from day through to the night (I mean even two colours of the cardsock are named after the skies!)

Well, do you think I've gotten away with it?! :)

If I have then you can too! Come join in the fun with us this fortnight - we'd love to see what you can come up with!

OK gotta dash as I have a few errands to run today (and some household chores *sigh*) if you do get a chance to vote on Gallery Idol you know I'd really appreciate it (and if you cast your vote for #9 then you may just make my heart skip a beat *wink*)

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Celebrate Your Day!}
Stamps: Signature Greetings (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Versamark
Cardstock: Enchanted Evening, Spring Rain, Blueberry Sky, Vellum Cardstock (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Bling (Hero Arts)/White Gel Pen (Ranger)/Detail White Embossing Powder (Stampendous)

Fabric....Aimes style!

Hey!

Happy, happy Monday everyone! Super duper happy today for me because:

1. It's the first Monday lie-in of the summer holidays - bliss!
   
2. It's time to kick of Round 3 of Gallery Idol 2011!

Y'know all weekend I've tried to get my ahead around the fact that I'm still in this competition - it all still feels like a dream to me! But thanks to you lovely, lovely people I'm still here and ready for the next round which just so happens to be the Semi-Final of the competition! This is where things heat up a little - and in my case they heated up literally if you read on...

The design brief was to create a card which incorporates fabric...

....yup....

....non-seamstress me......and.....

....fabric...*shudder*

Did you hear me scream from my place when I read that? LOL!

As most of you will know, my kinda material is paper and that's about it! I can push it to ribbon but anything else just scares me (and don't even get me started on my love/hate relationship with my sewing machine - Machiney!)

But a challenge is a challenge and with a place in the Final of Gallery Idol up for grabs I just had to think of something! So I rooted through my supplies and dug out some sheets of organza material that I'd purchased super cheap years ago (seriously - years ago!) and started to play.

Here's my end result:

I promise you that I actually made that flower without a single stitch! No sewing required at all! Even better - I attached that flower onto a clip so you can remove it from the card and place it on anything or anyone for extra prettiness :)

Now that's my kinda fun with fabric :)

Wanna make your own? I've gotta confess that I'm slightly addicted myself; you will be too after following these simple steps:

Step One
Get your supplies!

• Few small sheets of organza material
• die cutting machine and circular dies of 3 different sizes (don't worry if you don't have them you can just hand cut them!)

And in addition to this:

• Small candle and matches
  
• Heatproof surface (for step 3!)
  
• Tweezers (to prevent burnt fingers!)
  

Step Two
Cut out a couple of sizes of each circle



Step Three
Here's where any kids will definitely need an adult's supervision!
Light a candle on a heatproof surface, and with tweezers gently hold the edges of each circle of organza about 10cm above the flame.

Yup - Gallery Idol 2011 - the competition is *seriously* heating up!

You'll notice the edges curl and seal; the more random your edges, the more realistic your flower will look (trust me - I skipped this step on my first attempt and my flower looked pretty lame) Move each piece around so all edges are affected. There is a knack to this and it's easy to get the gist of - trust me; if I can do this, anyone can!

Step Four
Here's what you should now have:


Now simply layer the circles on top of each other and place a brad through the centre to secure - the nature of organza means you can just simply push the brad through all layers in one go! You may choose to omit layers or even add some more - it's totally up to you. Just position the layers until you're happy!

Step Five
Add desired centre. I went for an arrangement of bling with a poppy-style centre but you could use pearls or buttons - the world's your oyster!

Step Six (Optional)
Adhere flower to small clip (I'd recommend a hot glue gun for this to ensure that your flower stays secure!)

Ta-dah!

Here's a close up:

To attach the clip to the card I simply punched two holes to thread the clip through. The front layer adhered to the card base on raised foam-pads so the inside of your card stays nice perfect :)

I also went ahead and stamped a flower on my card front and dusted with shimmer chalk. It's a little finishing touch that means once the clip is removed, the card still looks somewhat complete!

And of course - I've had my mascot, Pigster, cheering me along from my desk throughout this whole competition so it's only fair that Pigster got a chance to shine too, right?!

*grin*

Finally just a few design pointers that you might not see from my pics:

1. The front panel of my card is matted on a layer of vellum. This continues the floaty/transparency theme of the organza flower. It's also a super idea to use vellum for layering onto coloured card-bases for perfect colour-coordinated layers.
   
2. The leaves are stamped twice each side of the flower to add more depth when dusted with chalks.
   
3. The sentiment and gems are placed to reflect the design of the flower and leaves (with the sentiment reflecting the position of the flower and the gems reflecting the position as the leaves)
   

Phew! I think that's everything!

So do you likey? If you do then be sure to vote for it! This is the semi-final and the only way I can get into the final is with your votes! Be sure to check out the rest of the other amazing entries too and make your vote count because you only get one! (you can click on the link in my side bar for a direct hop across to my entry *wink*)

Thank you so, so, so much for all your support and encouragement! I'll be needing all of it if I'm to move through to the final. But still, if I don't I have had an awesome time in this competition and feel blessed to have had such fabulous support!

Thank YOU!
♥

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Celebrate}
Stamps: Sentiment from Frame-It (Waltzingmouse Stamps)/Leaves from Turning a New Leaf (Papertrey Ink)/Flower from Hope Blooms (Verve Stamps)
Ink: Versamark
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Vellum Cardstock (Papertrey ink)/Grey (Craft Supply)
Accessories: Cuttlebug (Provocraft)/Nestabilities (Spellbinders)/Linen Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)/Organza (craft supply)/Gems (Hero Arts)/Brad (We R Memory Keepers)/Shimmer Chalks (Dovecraft)/Hair clip (my own!)

Gatecrashing....blog stylee!

Hey!

Happy Friday!!!! My first official day off for the long sweet summer holidays - yay!!! And my day couldn't have started much better with the fabulous news that I've made the Top 10 of Gallery Idol!!!!! OMG! WOWZERS! PINCH ME!!! And the thing is that I couldn't have ever made it that far without YOU! Honestly, words can't express how thankful I am for your support - I want to come and give you all the biggest hugs EVER! ♥

Ok, ok that's enough of hitting the caps lock key for me. I'm actually popping by today to share a kinda fun blog thingy with ya. I'm actually being a blog gatecrasher! Yup, I've got full control of another blog - well, I s'pose it doesn't count as gatecrashing if you've been invited but I like to feel like a rebel sometimes y'know *wink* Jill Foster has trusted me with her blog - Inspired By - for a day whilst she has a blast at CHA.

Jill had the super fun idea of me being inspired by one her creations - it's usually the other way around if your familiar with Inspired By. I had a toughie picking just one card of hers but here's my card I made for the post:

(Hey, Diva! I cracked open those fab new Verve stamps! Gave 'em a good smell too :D)

This card seems pretty appropriate today with that sentiment! :)

Be sure to pop across and check out which card of Jill's I was inspired by (as well as checking out all of her other fabulous creations!)

I'm also going to enter this card into the Moxie Fab World Challenge: Fanatical about Botanical. I never thought I'd be a fan of botanical but as it turns out, if it's got a clean or graphic design to it I love it :D

Right, I've really gotta try and get my brain around the next round of Gallery Idol - have you seen that it's to use fabric? You know me and my lack of seamstress skills don't ya? I'm gonna need all the help I can get!

Have a super duper weekend! For those of you attending the PTI Stamp-a-faire have a blast for me and get seriously inked up - so wish I could be there!

Catch ya later






Card Deets
{Enjoy Today}
Stamps: Hope Blooms (Verve Stamps)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White,Kraft (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Spring Rain Bitty Dot Basics (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Promarkers (Letraset)/Glossy Accents (Ranger)/Pearls (Hero Arts)/Cuttlebug (Provocraft)/Tag Sale #3 Die, Cream and Jute Button Twine (Papertrey Ink)

Mojo's missing but summer is H.E.R.E! :)

Psst! Round 2 voting of Gallery Idol 2011 ends today at 7pm UK time! Cast that vote if you haven't already *wink*

If you've hopped on over here from my Gallery Idol to check out more about my entry, click here! Thanks! x

Hey!

Happy Friday Eve!!! Oh today is the most fabulous of Friday Eves for myself as it's the last day of school! C'mon and sing along now, "Schoooooools out for SUMMER!" *grin*

You know why I'm here today, right? No, no, no - not purely to nag you about voting in the second round of Gallery Idol 2011 (though please do feel free to pop across and vote of course - check out #14 LOL!) , but to share a super new CASE study.


Our muse this month, Dawn Woleslagle, is so fun to CASE! I love her designs and the fact that they include lots of stamping - gotta love me a good dose of inky fun :) It's the same with this beauty of Dawn's for our CASE study this week:

You can check out the original post of this card here

Now apologies in advance for my card - I've been burning the candle at both ends this week and my mojo feels like it's exited the building after the stressful (yet fun!) participation in Gallery Idol. But still, I had fun making it and getting very inky fingers after a spot of distressing (distressing ink that is, not myself LOL!)

More apologies for the quality of the picture - taking photos into the early hours of the morning does not show my cards looking their best (much like myself!)

So can you tell I was inspired by Dawn's layout? I tweaked it a li'l and added some ribbon: the card needed some balance on the left hand side on my own design. I have to say, I think I'm falling in love all over again with that large Classic Design Cling stamp by Hero Arts :)

Right then, you know the deal by now: be inspired by Dawn's creation and show us what you've got! Whether you're a beginner or super experienced we welcome you with open arms to come and join in the fun!

Now I know some ladies who have mojos bursting with creativity to inspire you more: the CASE study DT of course! Be sure to check out their fabulous takes on this week's CASE study. Oooh and we also have a new member to our DT too - how exciting! We're so happy to have Clare Buswell on board with us now (Recognise the name? Yup, Clare's in the Top 15 of Gallery Idol too!)

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)
Andrea Ewen
Clare Buswell
Debby Hughes
Cristina Kowalczyk
Jean Martin (taking an inky break)
Julie Smith
Sue Kohler
Teneale Williams
Dawn Woleslagle (July's Muse)

I'm off now to complete my last day at school/work - I'm totally shattered but I keep focusing on that sweet time of 3.30pm when I can officially P.A.R.T.Y (and by that, I mean collapsing on the sofa with some sweet treats and maybe a glass of champagne *wink*)

Thank you so, so much for popping by! I'll be posting here tomorrow with a super fun post that you may wanna check out...I can't tell you any more than that! My lips are sealed!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Wonderful Friend}
Stamps: Classic Fabric Design (Hero Arts)/Think Big Favourites #4 (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Vintage Photo Distress Ink (Ranger)
Cardstock: Fine Linen, Kraft, Ripe Avocado (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Satin Ribbon (Craft Supply)/Apron Lace Border Punch (Fiskars)/Green Vintage Buttons (Papertrey Ink)

Love is in the air....

Hey!

Happy Monday! This Monday is particularly happy for me for a couple of reasons:

1. It's my last working Monday before we break up for the long summer holidays - yay!
2. It's another start of a fun/nerve-wrecking round of Gallery Idol 2011!

Yup! I'm still totally blown away with the news that I made it through Round One and straight into Round Two! Honestly, thank you so much for those of you who have supported me - through commenting here on my blog, through Facebook, through sending me emails, and even through sending me texts - THANK YOU! Ooops and I forgot just one more category - those of you who voted for me of course! *wink*

Well I guess I'm feeling very emotional, you could even say that love is in the air for you lovely peeps...cue a card:

My love poured out in the form of a pun-based card for Round 2 of Gallery Idol :)

The brief was to be creative with die cuts - now I've no idea if this is out-of-the-box-creative-enough but I know it uses dies in a non-conventional way and it made me and my guy smile; Love is literally in the air! *grin*

I used a negative die cut cloud as a stencil to sponge those cute clouds on to my blue cardstock, and the negative of a heart-shaped die to frame those buttons. Ooh and I finished the card off by blingin' up a sweet little die cut heart to compliment my overall theme. Are you all died-out yet?! LOL!

Ready for the grovelling part? I thought so - so I won't go there don't worry. As you probably know I'm already on cloud 9 making it this far. However, I will try my best in directing your way to checking out all of the entries for Round 2 and voting for your favourite (voting ends on Thurs!) and if it just so happened that this entry was your favourite, then I'd really appreciate your vote *wink*

Gotta dash as I'm out tonight for a celebratory end of academic year dinner - hooray for summer!

Thanks once again so much for stopping by and for your support - you've no idea how much it means to me!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Love is in the air}
Stamps: None!
Ink: Fresh Snow (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Spring Rain (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Concentric Hearts Die (Provocraft)/Fresh Snow Vintage Buttons, Cloud Die, Heart from Tiny Tags Die, White Button Twine (Papertrey Ink)/Red Alphabet stickers (Cosmo Cricket)/Alphabet transfers (Doodlebug Design Inc)

Two Birds (or should that be butterfly?), One Stone..

Hey!

Happy Friday Eve, Peeps! Oooh the weekend is approaching, and before that, voting ends on the current round of Gallery Idol 2011 today at 7pm UK time! Cast that vote if you haven't already *wink*

Now I need to distract myself from the results of Gallery Idol 2011 Round One, and I can't think of a more perfect way than to have a lovely new CASE study to share with ya:

I am seriously loving having Dawn Woleslagle as our muse this month! Her creations are fabulous, and even when I thought I had no mojo left after a highly creative/pressured weekend, she goes and inspires me completely with this gorgeous card:

You can check out the original post of this card here

Isn't this just a beautiful card along with a fabulous layout?

For my CASE of this, I tried to hit two birds with one stone: it was a my colleague's birthday yesterday and I know she loves purple, pink and butterflies and I had to create a card for CASE study. So what's a gal to do? Well combine both of course and hope you've hit the mark with both *wink*

I know it seems a world away from the original card of Dawn's but if you look it uses the same layout. I just substituted leaves for butterflies and got stuck into a new pack of PTI's Royal Velvet cardstock. Lemme tell ya, I'm not a purple lovin' kinda gal but this shade of purple I could learn to love a li'l...*grin*

So that's my take on this week's CASE study, now it's time to show us what you've got and join in the fun! If you need some extra inky inspiration then be sure to check out the awesome CASE study DT, including our newest and fabulously talented member, Debby!

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)
Andrea Ewen
Debby Hughes
Cristina Kowalczyk
Jean Martin
Julie Smith
Sue Kohler
Teneale Williams
Dawn Woleslagle (July's Muse)

Right, I now need to find something else to keep my mind occupied before the results of the first round of Gallery Idol 2011.....Well I'm sure the students at work will have no problems keeping me busy LOL!

Thank you so, so much for popping by!

Catch ya later!







Card Deets
{Hope your day is Fabulous}
Stamps: Butterfly Dreams, Signature Greetings (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Royal Velvet, Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Versamark/Purple (Whispers Dye Ink)
Accessories: Butterfly Die, Fresh Snow Satin Ribbon (Papertrey Ink)/Cuttlebug/ Gems (Hero Arts)/Detail Clear Embossing Powder (Stampendous)

A very graphic sea side...

Hey!

Well, we're over halfway through the week - woo hoo! Only 4 teaching days of work left and 2 fun ones until the summer holidays commence and I can R.E.L.A.X! Man, it can't come soon enough...

It well and truly feels like summertime now and it just so happens to be the theme of our new challenge over on our PTI blog *wink* We'd love to see your creations inspired by summertime!

When I was younger, the first week of the summer holidays would involve a trip to the sea-side with my family. Although I'm much older now, I'll still be visiting a sea-side destination in my holidays and I can't wait. A trip to Wales is on the cards and it's perfect for me as I'm not very good in super hot, sunny weather (just take a look at my skin to work out why!)

So inspired by the sea-side, I put a graphic spin on my inspiration with this card:

A truly graphic sea-side methinks! Although the seagulls, bucket and spade are missing, I still like this beach :)

What sums up summer to you? Put it into your creations and join in the fun (you only need to use one PTI product to qualify for entry)

OK I've gotta dash again as I've got another card to whip up for a new CASE study tomorrow. My mojo is feeling a little low after feeling kinda drained after last weekend's card making antics so apologies in advance if my card is a little 'meh' LOL! If I do get through to the next round of Gallery Idol, I've no idea how I'm gonna get my mojo back...BTW: Voting closes tomorrow so if you haven't registered your vote, then go do it now!

Thank you so much for stopping by and for your sweet comments - especially regarding Gallery Idol 2011. You know how to put a gal at ease :D Come back tomorrow to check out a shiny new CASE study!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Hello}
All Papertrey Ink Supplies Unless Stated
Stamps: Background Basics: Chevron Strips, Modern Basics (Sentiment)
Ink: Hawaiian Shores/Tuxedo Black (Memento Ink)
Cardstock: Lemon Tart, Stamper's Select White
Accessories: Orange Zest Vintage Buttons/Fine Line Black Pen (Letraset)/Chompy! (Corner Chomper - We R Memory Keepers)

Don't delay and vote - TODAY!

Hey!

Happy Monday! Monday here marks D-Day - the day of the next round of Gallery Idol 2011 (eek! I still cannot believe that I am there! Pinch me!)


So this round's challenge was to use handmade Embellishments. I admit I did freak a little when I saw that...anyone who knows me knows that I have a love/hate relationship with Machiney (my sewing machine) and that fabric isn't my best medium to work with.

But as I was spending the day at work trying to come up with an idea, it struck me - it didn't have to involve Machiney or fabric at all (no hard feelings, Machiney - but this is too bigger deal for you to have a temper tantrum over! LOL!) I just had to think of something I could happily work with to create into an embellishment. I was sat at a table at work which had a tub of pencil crayons on it and it hit me. EUREKA! Yup - pencil crayons look so pretty altogether; a complete kaleidoscope of colours. Surely I could make an embellishment outta them.

So I got busy and administered minor surgery on my own stash of pencil crayons to come up with this as my entry:

Now I've no idea if this is good enough for Gallery Idol 2011 but I do know that I'm happy with it. Not only hitting the on trend style of rainbows, but also giving the sentiment a truly literal interpretation (yup, you literally colour my world with pencil crayons LOL!) To add a bit more 'oomph!' to my card I de-bossed it with the linen impression plate to give it a canvas look - again tying in with the arty/pencil crayon theme.

Voting for the next round is open NOW! The top 15 creations out of the 20 move through to the next round. So here comes the shameless, begging, grovelling and plugging part...ha! Not really, don't worry - I'm not too comfortable doing that! But honestly, I urge you to check out the other 19 awesome creations and vote for your favourite; if this card just so happened to be your favourite, then obviously vote for it *wink*. You've got until Thursday 12pm EST to cast your vote so don't delay and vote today! BTW you only get one vote per round so make it count!

In fact, I'm about to pop over there myself and take a good nosy for a mojo boost :)

Thank you so much for stopping by and for your continued sweet words of support ♥

Catch ya later







Card Deets
{You Color my World}
Stamps: Sentiment - Tiny Treats: Valentine (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, True Black (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Cuttlebug (Provocraft)/Linen and Canvas Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)/Clear Gems (Hero Arts)/Fine line black pen (Letraset)/Pencil Crayons (Craft Supply)

What a hoot!

Oh.

My.

Word.

I am seriously in shock over the news of making the Top 20 of Gallery Idol! Honestly - I'm totally speechless and gob-smacked! Thank you so, so, so much from the bottom of my heart for all the sweetest words of support - you've no idea how special those words are and how much I'm clinging on to them for the next round.

I wish I could share the card I've made for the next round with you but you're not allowed a peek until Monday - nope, not even one sneaky peek! So lemme share a card with you that I made for one of my sweetest Bloggin' Buddies ever, Emma:

Emma is a 'hoot' and her work is fabulous. I adore the 3D items she creates too - be sure to check 'em out! It was her birthday a while back but I'm playing catch-up here on the blog (even with Royal Mail delivering the card, she's definitely got this by now LOL!)

Right, seeing as I spent all of yesterday coming up with something for the next round of Gallery Idol - I've got a lot of things to catch up on today!

Be sure to check back on Monday for the next round of Gallery Idol and be sure to join in the fun and vote. Obviously I'm gonna be secretly hoping that someone, somewhere out there will vote for me but I won't be pestering you (too much *wink*) Needless to say, I still have the same attitude I entered with: I'll be happy riding the creative wave as long as it lasts, even if it's only for a week because honestly, the talent in that Top 20 is phenomenal!

Thanks so much for stopping by and for all the support - I appreciate it more than you could ever imagine! ♥

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Happy Birthday}
Stamps: Sentiment from Frame-It (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Ink: Versamark
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Fine and Dandy - True Blue 6x6 Collection (My Mind's Eye)
Accessories: Lemon Tart Grosgrain Ribbon (Papertrey Ink)/White Detail Embossing Powder (Stampendous) Chompy! (Corner Chomper - We R Memory Keepers)

It started with a novelty paperclip...

Hey!

Happy Friday! Yay! The weekend is H.E.R.E! :D

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, many of you will be aware of Gallery Idol 2011. Whether you're entering or cheering from the sidelines it's a super fun atmosphere full of creativity! Today, the top 20 will be announced - seems like an impossible task with over 1,500 entries, many of them fabulous!

I only submitted one card but it's one I'm kinda happy with:

Can you believe I used no stamps on this *gasp!*

The whole design started with the '@' paperclip. It's true that I'm not only a hoarder of inky goodies, but of many stationary/office items too. Quirky things like novelty shaped paper clips hit my weak spot: I buy them, never use them and admire them every now and again. So it feels good to break at least one paperclip free for creation!

Good luck to everyone that's entered the competition! I think I'll have just as much fun cheering from the sidelines as entering: my mojo will be overflowing with ideas from admiring all the fabby creations. So needless to say, if I don't make it past open auditions I'll still be a happy gal :D

Oooh and before I dash - yes, I've changed my profile pic. I thought it was due an update and I've recently had some pics back from a fabby hen weekend in which we got a 1950s makeover and photoshoot - fun times!

Have a super duper weekend, y'all!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Congrats on your new job}
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, True Black (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug Oliva Alphabet (Provocraft) Computer generated sentiment, Novelty @ Paperclip and Mini Binder Clip (from my office supply!) Gems (Hero Arts) Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers) Fine Line Black Pen (Promarkers)

Fun with flowers (of the graphic kind!)

Hey!

Happy Friday Eve, Peeps! Can you taste the sweet weekend approaching? I can for sure :)

So let's get the party started with a brand new CASE study for ya:


And we've got a li'l extra 'fizz' for this party on CASE study as we have a brand new muse for this month! I'm so excited to spill the beans, along with the rest of the CASE study DT, and introduce the fabulous Dawn Woleslagle - the fabulous lady behind WPlus9 Design Studio LLC stamps - as our muse for July!

Ok time to party on with this fabby card of Dawn's up for CASEing this week:

You can check out the original post of this card here

Oh I just know that I'm gonna have inky fun CASEing Dawn this month *grin*

And after tearing open some new inky goodies, I came up with a pretty CAS and graphic CASE:

I'm so happy to finally have my inky mitts on Modern Basics from PTI. There's so many inky possibilities with that sweet set; I think I spent a good hour just stamping random patterns on scrap paper :) I had to think outta the box a little when stamping the flower stems - it's actually a side of one of the frame stamps from the Waltzingmouse Stamps set, Frame-It.

But enough of me gushing on how much I love that set or how I created flower stems, it's now time to show what you can come up with and join in the fun! If you need some extra inky inspiration then be sure to check out the awesome CASE study DT:

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)
Andrea Ewen
Cristina Kowalczyk
Jean Martin (on an inky break this week!)
Julie Smith
Sue Kohler
Teneale Williams
Dawn Woleslagle (July's Muse)

Right, I've gotta sign off now. I have to plan some birthday surprises for my guy this weekend; I love that our birthdays are so close together it's like one long party for us :)

Thanks so much for stopping by my li'l corner of Blogland - I really appreciate it!

Catch ya later!







Card Deets
{Hello}
Stamps: Modern Basics (Papertrey Ink) Frame from Frame-it for the flower stems (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Cardstock: True Black, Stamper's Select White, Vellum Cardstock (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Plum Pudding, Simply Chartreuse (Papertrey Ink)/Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Accessories: Button (Papertrey Ink)/Gems (Hero Arts)/Fine line black pen (Promarkers)/Chompy! (Corner Chomper - We R Memory Keepers)

A misbehaving card...

Hey!

Happy Monday! Ooh and Happy 4th of July to my American buddies - hope you're having a fab day celebrating!

I've been a bit MIA in Blogland recently. My main excuses have been celebrating my birthday way beyond its day; the chaos leading up to the end of the school year and squeezing in as much Wimbledon viewing as possible (shame Murray couldn't make it to the final but boy oh boy what final it was yesterday!)

So needless to say, I haven't really had any inky time in my inky corner. So I'm gonna cheat instead and share some recent publications of my cards you can find in CARDS magazine:


Do you recognise it? This was the card I made from ribbon scraps ages ago and it got picked up by CARDS for their May 2011 issue.

I was relieved to finally see this card in print, as at one point it looked like I wouldn't: y'see this card went on a postal diversion didn't reach its destination. Eeek! Cue a mad dash to make another identical card (hard to do when under pressure!) and send it off again. End of the story? Well in a word, nope! What returns to me with some goodies and two copies of this issue? Yup, you guessed it, the original card I'd sent! So out there, somewhere version two of this card is on an adventure...hope it's a goodie :D

And before I leave ya, here's a card you can find in the June 2011 issue of CARDS that I haven't shared with you here:

I found it hard to part with this mini-card; I think those jewelled brads were calling me to keep it *wink* No drama or shenanigans with this well-behaved card though. It's typical that the easiest of cards to make are the ones I never need make another exact replica of in a hurry, eh?!

Super big thanks to CARDS for publishing my work and for being super understanding when my cards misbehave in the post :)

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

{Celebrate your day!}
Stamps: Signature Greetings (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Hawaiian Shores (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Green Boutique Collection (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: New Leaf Twill Ribbon (Papertrey Ink), Jewelled Brads (Recollections - Michael's), Apron Laced Border Punch (Fiskars), Chompy! (Corner Chomper - We R Memory Keepers)