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)

Neon fawn....!

This is my second post of the day. Please scroll down or click here for my CASE Study post - thanks! :)

Hey!

So happy you could join me for The Craft's Meow Blog-Hop today! Today is release day! I'm sooooooo excited as you get to see the full reveal of the gorgeous sets for sale, including my first ever stamp set, Oh Deer! What a way to celebrate my birthday today! :D



Now you should have hopped over here from my awesome teamie, Amy T. If you've not, you wanna start here as a simple comment on each blog, including the TCM Blog, by Sunday June 24th could win you the entire June release!

Now for my blog hop card, I couldn't resist inking up my set, Oh Deer. I think I've developed a bit of an attachement to it...I've got sweet fawns stamped on just about anything and everything!

I'm always tempted to try and colour my fawn in realistic colours and I fancied breaking the habit for the blog hop. I wanted to show how this sweet fawn doesn't require the most awesome artistic skills to remain fun and cute. And I guess if you're not a fan of colouring,  I've seen some awesome paper-piecing by my TCM Teamies with this fawn too! This fawn is near neon and I'm going to admit that I wish I'd added some sparkles to it for extra pizazz...I think I may just have to do that!

And before I dash, here's my set, Oh Deer, in its full reveal and available for purchase today! Yay!

And if you spend over $50 at the TCM store, then you'll receive the set, Summer Fun absolutely free!
 
Now I've babbled enough as there's a lot of hopping to be done. Thank you so much for stopping by today! Your next hop is across to the lovely Ivana Camdzic!

Catch ya later!

Card Deets
{my deer friend}
Stamps: Oh Deer (The Craft's Meow)
Ink: Tuxedo Black, London Fog (Memento)
Cardstock: True Black (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: White 6x6 Basic Collection (Basic Grey)
Accessories: Promarkers

Lovely Labels with a Twist...

This is my second post of the day. Scroll down to check out a punny, interactive card or click here!

Hey!

Back on track with day 3 of the The Craft's Meow June Release Countdown...



...today we're giving you a sneaky peek of a *lovely* set by fellow newbie to the TCM Stamp Illustrator team, Elizabeth Kushner called Lovely Labels 14.

Although this fabulous set features beautiful frames, I wanted to try something a little different with them:

This is something that can be done with any frame image. Simply stamp half a frame across the top and bottom of a card base, then cut the outline with a craft knife. This then allows you to stamp a sentiment on a separate piece of card and slide it in the slits created to finish the card. I'm thinking it would be super fun to create a set of cards with different sentiments on separate pieces of card as a gift, giving the recipient the flexibility of picking which sentiment to use with which card!

So that's my take on Lovely Labels with a twist! Be sure to check out the way the rest of the TCM DT rocked the labels, and don't forget to leave a comment on the TCM Blog for a chance to win this fabby set yourself! (Comments must be left by 9pm Pacific Time tonight.)

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I really hope you can visit tomorrow as I finally get to share a sneaky peek of a stamp set designed by yours truly! Pinch me! :)

Catch ya later!

Card Deets
{Happy Birthday}
Stamps: Lovely Labels 14 (The Craft's Meow)
Ink: London Fog, Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Sweet Blush, White (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Gems (Hero Arts)

An interactive pun...

Hey!

Takin' a diddy break from the TCM June Release Countdown to share a card that I seriously could. Not. Stop. To. Create.

The CAS-ual Friday gals are asking us to use acetate or vellum for our CAS-tastics cards this week. I always wanna play along with the CAS-ual Friday gals but hardly ever find the time. So happy that I could squeeze in the inky time to play along this week :)

Edited to add: After many requests, I will create a tutorial for this card. I'm no magician and I'm more than happy to share the tricks! *wink*

Cue my card featuring acetate:

That comfy chair is stamped using Staz-On on acetate but you gotta pull the twine for the magic to happen...

...keep on pulling...

Hee! I love a punny card even more-so when it's interactive *grin*

Thanks for stopping by today! I'll be back in a few hours to share yet another sneaky peek from The Craft's Meow so don't stray too far!

Catch ya later!

Card Deets
{Hope you're fully re-covered soon!}
Stamps: On My Couch, On My Couch Additions (Papertrey Ink)/Thanks to Thee Bee (The Craft's Meow)
Ink: Black (Staz-On)/Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Lemon Tart, Aqua Mist, White (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Seed Packet Die, Tag Sale #3 Die, Jute Button Twine (Papertrey Ink)/Acetate (Stash!)

Stitching - Stamp Stylee...

Hey!

Happy Monday! Welcome to day 2 of the June release countdown for The Craft's Meow!


Today we're giving you a sneaky peek of 2 gorgeous sets designed by Nina B that are available for purchase from June 21st. Nina's sets, Stitched Flowers and Stitched Sentiments, coordinate perfectly together for so many different occasions - you're gonna love it!

See what I mean? You'd think the sentiment and image came from the same set! Stitched Flowers contains many gorgeous flowers, but I couldn't help but play with the smaller leafy stamps. After some playing around on scrap paper, I came across the idea of creating a frame perfect for fitting a sentiment in. For extra dimension I added Glossy Accents to the outline lettering - not sure if you can see that in my pic!

Now I reckon if you take a peek at the rest of the TCM DT you'll get a good sneaky peek of the gorgeous flowers from Stitched Flowers, and also see more sweet coordinating sentiments from Stitched Sentiments. Go on, take a peek! :)

Oooh and as always, if you fancy a chance at winning one of the sets previewed today, then leave a comment on the TCM Blog before 9pm Pacific Time today!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I'll be back tomorrow with yet another sneak peek of a gorgeous set due for release on June 21st...

Catch ya later!

Card Deets
{Hello, how are you?}
Stamps: Stitched Flowers, Stitched Sentiments (The Craft's Meow)
Ink: Fern (A Muse)/Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Card: Aqua Mist, White (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Promarkers (Letraset)/Glossy Accents (Ranger)/Aqua Gems (Doodlebug)

Sneaky Peeks - TCM Stylee...

Hey!

So happy you could stop by today for the start of The Craft's Meow June release countdown!




I'm soooooooooooooooo giddy about this month's release - I'm bouncing off the walls with excitement as I get to share my first ever stamp set....eek! :D (You can check out the first sneaky peek of it here!)

However, today I'm just as excited to show you a sneaky peek of a set called, God's Blessings, designed by the fabulous Karen Baker.

Now the set is geared towards a religious theme, but I wanted to show you just how versatile this set is by going with a non-religious, congratulatory little number:

The set comes with a beautiful flourish design. I simply stamped the flourish on the lower half of the card, then turned the stamp 180 degrees and stamped above the flourish to create this frame image.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the TCM DT whipped up with this versatile set! We're welcoming  Larissa Heskett & Gayatri Murali on board with us as Guest Designers this month too so be sure to give them a wave as well :)

Fancy winning this set for yourself? Then be sure to leave a comment on the TCM Blog for your chance (comments must be left before 9pm PDT today!)

Right, I must dash - my guy and I are doing the Father's Day rounds today so it's one long road trip with lots of yummy food and good company in-between! Anyone would think it was us being treated *wink*

Thanks so much for visiting today! I'll be back tomorrow with a sneaky peek of two new TCM sets due for release on June 21st (that date is soooooo easy to remember when it's the day I'll be kissing goodbye to my twenties! Eeek!)

Catch ya later!

Card Deets
{Congratulations}
Stamps: God's Blessing (The Craft's Meow)
Ink: Buttercup (A Muse)/Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: True Black, Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: True Black Button, Silk Thread (Papertrey Ink)

An artistic license with peach....

This is my second post of the day. Scroll down to check out the new CASE Study this week. Thanks! 

Hey!

Wow - two post in one day! I'm making up for a lack of blogging this week. A week sure does fly by when you've got a double bank-holiday squeezed into it - I can't believe it's Friday Eve already!

As part of The Craft's Meow DT, we had a sneaky peek at this week's Play Date Cafe Colour Challenge (the prize for one lucky peep will be a TCM stamp set of their choice!) and I couldn't resist playing along:

Subconsciously, my fear of peachy tones was present again and my brain had converted them into a more kraft tone - ooops!

Well I still had fun inking along - even if I did take a bit of creative license with one of the colours. *wink*

Now I'd love for you to show me how to embrace the peachy passion because not only is it so on trend right now, but it gives me a complete creative block! I'll be looking out for those of you playing along this week, and I'll see if I can learn to embrace it a little more...!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Hope your Friday Eve is a good one! :)

Catch ya later!

Card Deets
{Happy Birthday}
Stamps: Typically Teen (The Craft's Meow)
Ink: Latte (A Muse)/Enchanted Evening (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Kraft, Hawaiian Shores, White (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Jute Button Twine, Canvas and Linen Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)

Patriotic Paper-Crafting...

Hey!

Happy Saturday! Happy four-day weekend! (Well four days over here for us and a full week for me - hooray for half term, yay!)

The streets around me are lined with patriotic colours and Union Jacks in preparation for celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee so I thought I'd pop by with a little patriotic number myself:



(Maybe more American with its stars and stripes but at least it uses the right colours!)

I was so tempted to re-create my Union Jack card but decided to simply indulge in the colours instead :)

This card is for our new challenge on A Passion for Papertrey - A Right Royal Challenge! We'd love to see how the Jubilee celebrations inspire you, Royalist or not!

My card features both papers from Papertrey Ink and Uniko Studio (The Classics Digital Patterned Paper Collection is my favourite digital collection right now). In fact, Uniko Studio is celebrating the Jubilee too with a sale:

I'd recommend taking a peek: there's 50% off digital products and even 20% off a few fabulous stamp sets!

Thanks so much for stopping by today - I really appreciate your visits! If you've celebrating this weekend then I hope you have a fabulous time and if you're not, I hope you still have a lovely weekend :)

Catch ya later!

Card Deets

{Thank You}

Stamps: Tiny Tags (Papertrey Ink)

Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)

Card: Enchanted Evening, White (Papertrey Ink)

Patterned Paper: Diamond Pattern from the Classics Digital Patterned Collection (Uniko Studio) Pure Poppy Bitty Stars Basics (Papertrey Ink)

Accessories: Fresh Snow Twill Ribbon, Tiny Tags Die (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)