Dog tower!!

Afternoon Folks!

Hope everyone is OK??

Just wanted to share this card with you that I finished last night for the Penny Black Saturday challenge which intrigued me over the weekend. The challenge was to CASE this card made by Debby : 

which I thought was just sooo cute!! I'd also found one of my first ever PB stamps which is nicknamed Dog Tower in our house, but it's real name is Circus Act. It hadn't seen ink for a while but it seemed the perfect shape for this challenge. It's still a stamp that makes me smile, easy to colour and I love the way most of the dogs can't see what's going on!! I've taken inspiration for the shape, layout and faux stitching from Debbys card. The papers are by Nitwits with some doodlebug ribbon and card candi! 

Thanks for looking !!

I'd also like to enter the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp - Animal Antics

Paper Pretties - Use ribbon or twine

Allsorts - Free and easy February

Crafty Ribbons - One for the Men / Boys

CYDA - Get stitchy with it!

Just some Lines - It's a dogs life

Edited to add:

BIG SMILES!!!

Here comes Santa Claus.....

Evening Folks!

Crickey , what a nightmare I had trying to get a decent picture of this card this afternoon!

Still not sure I've managed it but anyhow...

I made this yesterday for my husband for Crimbo. The stamp is a clear one from a pack by Habico which I fell in love with 2 years ago in rubber when they were going for silly money on ebay. I'm not sure but I don't think Habico done the original (???) . By the time I managed to find this set at a more realistic price, it was too late to use it and then last year I forgot about it (Shame on me) so this is it's first outing into the big wide world!! This card is very loosely based on the tag on the front of last months Craft Stamper magazine, I decided it would be good for me to do something challenging...Halfway through I began to think I was mad but after another cup of tea I got there and I'm pleased with how it turned out:

Hope you can see this!!

The image was heat embossed with silver embossing powder and then inked over with distress ink. The kraft coloured corrugated card is from some packaging. It was dry brushed with white acrylic paint and then the edges were inked and torn. The pale blue paper was dry embossed through the cuttlebug using a papermania folder and then dry brushed with paint, followed by tearing and inking the edges. Then added a couple of lines of stitching to add interest.

Mounted onto a piece of very precious Basic Grey Blitzen paper which I have been hoarding and added a ribbon knot and charm to the bottom. The tag at the top says Believe and has been inked over with a promarker because it was a bit too shiny!!

Just hope my husband likes it now!!!

As usual I can't resist a challenge:

The ribbon Girl - jingle all the way to Xmas

Crafty Cardmakers - Heat Embossing

Hooked on Crafts - Winter Wonderland

Pollycraft Monday - Xmas Fun

Oldie but a goodie - Xmas - No red or green

Everybody Art - Santa Claus

Party Time Tuesdays - Anything goes

Tuesday Throwdown - masculine Holiday card

Scrap Creations - Xmas cards

Creative Craft Challenges - Free for All

Simon Says Stamp challenge - Anything goes

Fab N funky - Anything goes

Divas By Design _ Anything goes

Cooking it up with Katie - Anything goes

For Fun challenges - Christmas cards

Basic Grey Challenges - lost & Found (recycled corrugated packaging and Blitzen paper)

Aud Sentiments - Christmas & Sentiment ( I hope Believe is OK)

Rainbow Lady - Christmas Carols

( Here comes Santa or In the Bleak mid winter because of the colours & Snowflakes)

The ABC challenge - E for Embossing ( wet & dry!!)

Delightful Sketches - let it snow

Do you Stack up - Ribbon

Stamp & Create - Vintage

Crafty Calendar - Cold & Frosty

By the cute & Girly - Let it snow

Just for fun - Winter

Artistic stamper - Xmas

The Craft Garden - Recipe ( I used snowflakes, kraft, ribbon, charm & paint)

Raise the Bar - It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Chocolate, coffee & cards - Celebrate

Totally papercrafts - Let it snow

One stop Craft Challenge - let it snow

Sweet Stampin - Snow Something

Stamptacular Sunday - Colour challenge

Sparkles Forum - One you love at Xmas

Addicted to stamps - Christmas

The Crazy Challenge - Anything goes

Baaaag -a - lope

Afternoon Folks!

Hope you're all OK and keeping warm and dry!

Just wanted to share another Christmas project I have managed to complete this week, it's an idea from Split Coast stampers to make a gift bag from an envelope, you can follow the tutorial here. I made one of these at Easter and it was really quick and easy, so I decided to make a Christmas version! I'm intending to give it to my sister who loves sheep, so I've used this very appropriate Penny Black stamp!!

Here's a closer look, hope you can see the bling gems in the corner, the light is rubbish for taking pics with today ;-(

For the main part of the bag I've followed the sketch over at Midnight madness

I'd also like to enter the challenges at:

Party Time Tuesdays - Anything goes

Craft Your Passion - tis the season

Pollycraft Mondays - Christmas Fun

Lollipop Crafts - B is for ... Baa, bag-o-lope...

The Ribbon Girl - Jingle all the way to Christmas

Stamptacular Sunday - Anything Xmas

Penny Black Saturday - Xmas, red & Embossing

CYDA - Buttons or bows

Simply Create too - All about xmas

Fussy & Fancy Friday - Anything but a card

Totally Papercrafts - Xmas

MAWTT - Ribbons & Bows

Simon Says Stamp - Anything goes

Fab N Funky - Anything goes

Divas by Design - Anything goes

Cooking it up with Katie - Anything goes

Inky Impressions - peppermint twist (red & white colours)

Thanks for stopping by today!!

Hippo Bathtime!!

Talk about last minute.com - I am that woman!! I made this easel card this afternoon after trying all week to find some craft time!! The stamp is one I bought a while ago because it made me laugh, coloured with promarkers and then added glossy accents and glamour dust for the bubbles. The easel card is cut out using scalloped nesties, I got the idea from this tutorial at In2crafting. I couldn't find any suitable papers in my stash so I decided to use inked up cuttlebug folders to make some. The bubbles paper is made using the tiny bubbles folder and the bottom paper was made using the caramelo folder, I think the flowers match those on the bath quite nicely.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Creative craft world: Easel card

Rosie D's challenges: Easel card

Secret crafter Saturday: No Patterned paper

Charisma Cards : 3D

A spoonful of sugar: Cute and girly

I am also going to enter this card into the make someone smile / cheer them up challenge at Stampin for the weekend. The second part of the challenge (optional) is to post a card to a child on Postpals. Post Pals is an organisation that was set up to create smiles for children who suffer from life threatening and long term illnesses:

" We ask people to log on to send the children featured on the website ‘happy post’. When a child is very ill, often a visit from the postman can make their day. A cheery card or letter can make them feel less alone and bring welcome distraction from what they go through each day."

I am going to send this card to Alice P who is battling Hodgkin's lymphoma, you can read her story here. I hope she likes it as she says she likes all things girly and bath bubbles!!!

Baby Elephant card!!

Hi Folks!! I'm back to the land of blogging after going AWOL for a while after Easter!! I managed to clear a small space on my desk today and get some crafting done, think I must be the worlds most disorganised crafter - or is it because I am untidy?? Perhaps best not to answer that one!!!

Anyways, here is the result of this afternoons efforts, a cute baby elephant card which might become a 'New baby card' - a family friend is due very soon or if the new baby isn't 'pink' as my nephew would say, I thought it would make a nice kids card!!
The inspiration for this card came from the Sketchy Colors challenge, this week the colours are pink, grey & white and as soon as I read them I thought of my new elephant digi stamp! This cutie is from Squigglefly and it is drawn by Crissy Armstrong who has just started a new challenge blog called Sundays with Crissy. The first challenge is 'To make it a combo' so in my usual fashion I decided to combine this card into multiple challenges!! I used the fab sketch over at Sketch & Stash along with my new digi stamp and a sheet of 12" x 12" paper by American Crafts which has been in my stash since forever (not even sure why I bought it originally!!) . Rather appropriately I think my little elephant fits nicely with the challenge recipe over at The Pink Elephant this week, which is to use 1 image, 2 dies (scalloped and plain circle nesties) and 3 favourite embellishments (layered up flowers). Allsorts this week are looking for petals and pearls and My Time to Craft also have pearls as a challenge. Crafty Angels challenge is 'My favourite things' which could be interpreted in 2 ways for this card - I love elephants (you might have guessed) and I also love flowers on my cards! Then last, but by no means least, Papertake weekly challenge is 'Cutie Pie' which I think this little Ellie definately is!!

I think that 8 should qualify as a 'combo' of challenges LOL, thanks for looking!!!

Thank you!!

For this card, I've followed the great sketch over at Just Cute Bears which was quite straight forward, but very effective I think!! I've used another Forever Friend stamp - a recent purchase but definately becoming a favourite! - and a 'Thank You' stamp by Savvy stamps. The flowers are Hydragenas by Prima, tiny buttons (cute!!) from stash and paper is by Frances Meyer. I was also brave, I've attempted my first ever faux stitching on a card after seeing some fab doodling over at the Stamp Something challenge. I was a bit nervous about drawing on a new card, but the effect is growing on me. I'm also entering the Quixotic Challenge - #18 Monochrome, as most of this card is shades of brown, the paper is a pale terracotta colour but it has come out a little 'peachy' in the pictures.... :-(

Birthday Hound!!

This is the first card I have made in ages, there is nothing like having a stinking cold and the builders in, to make your mojo go walkabout !! I think you are probably OK and not likely to catch my germs!! I needed to make some more 'masculine' cards for family birthdays coming up, and after having a good old rake through my stash, I came up with a very different colour scheme for me, I don't normally use a lot of black but I have to say I like the contrast between the black and bright colours on this one. The stamp is 'Birthday dog' by Penny Black, coloured with promarkers. Paper is by Trimcraft (I think??) and the brad is from a pack of 'Paper treats' by Around the Block which I bought many moons ago... added a touch of sparkle to the candles with some stickles. I think I might send this card to my nephew who is 'almost' a teenager soon!

I'm also going to enter it into some challenges too:

The sketch is from 'Friday Sketchers' #93 which was fun to work with.

'Craftycatz' challenge #23 which is something for the boys

Cards for Men challenge #6 which is Happy Birthday

and also Cute Card Thursday challenge #103 which is celebrations.

Thanks for taking the time to look, I'm off to find my duvet soon!!!

Mother's Day card

Being a bit new to the world of blogging and card challenges, I had been wondering how peeps found the time to enter so many challenges. After hopping around more, I realised you can enter one card into multiple challenges (I know, but I am a slow bear sometimes..)

This morning I put my thinking cap on and came up with this. I think I can enter it for EIGHT challenges!! Best of all though, I am pleased with myself for having made a Mother's Day card for my Mum in advance, so I should avoid my usual last minute panic!!

Here goes then:

Sunday sketch & stamp challenge #22 ~ A great sketch to work from:

Just Cute Bears ~ Challenge #5 ~ Lilac


Crafy Catz ~ Challenge # 21~ A fancy edge and a ribbon


Magical Crafts Fortnightly challenge ~Challenge# 9 ~ Something for Mum


Polka Doodles ~ week 8 ~ create a shaped card (hope an easel card counts??)


Secert Crafter Saturday ~Challenge 71 ~ Mother's Day


Cute Card Thursday ~ Challenge #101 ~ Feature ribbon &


Lexi's Creations ~ Challenge #8 ~ Anything goes!!

Think that's me done for today folks!!

Another Challenge Card!!

I'm on a roll today, I have managed to finish 2 cards in one morning which is pretty good for me!!! I'm entering the first one into 2 challenges:



I found a great blog while blog hopping the other evening which is just perfect for a bear fan :-), it's just cute bears challenge. The sketch was so fun to follow and having to use a teddy image was a BIG plus point for me!!


I'm also hoping that this card will qualify for the challenge at Allsorts this week, which is a recipe, 3, 2, 1.


I have used 3 papers ( Blueberry Rustic dots - Bo Bunny, and 2 from Docrafts Forever Friends For you...)

2 flowers (prima)


& 1 stamped image (Forever Friends)



The second card came together as I was about to tidy up my desk (a rare event!) I'm sending it to a forum friend for her birthday - hope she likes it!

Thanks for looking!!