Claire's Crafty Corner

Forever Friends Challenge

2010-09-17T12:35:00.004+01:00

Here is a quick gift bag I have made for the challenge over at the Forever Friends Challenge Blog - hope my creation is good enough for the challenge, all the DT examples are lovely.

The challenge is to make something for sweets - I normally make sweets or chocolates as little 'extra' Christmas gifts and so this challenge was perfect to get me back into crafting. I have made a bag topper for the challenge and all I need to do now is make loads more of these so that I am ready to fill them at Christmas!

This is the first bit of crafting I have done for ages, apart from a few special birthday cards. The crafting bug has bitten again and I can't wait to find more time to indulge my hobby! You'll have to excuse the photography; I packed my light box away last year and haven't yet had the chance to get it back out and set it up again!

The image is a Forever Friends stamp which I have coloured using water colour pencils and also stargazers pearlescent water colours. You can't see from the photo but the parcel and the white trim on the hat are pearly and glittery! The green background paper is one I created in photoshop to match the holly on the image.

Best wishes

Long time no post!

2010-09-17T12:28:00.002+01:00

Hello to everyone who still visits this blog. I cannot believe how long it has been since I last posted a message on here; but I'm back and hope to be getting back to my crafting and blogging. Although I know I probably won't be posting as many cards or creations as I used to - I will try to keep up to date.

I notice since I've been away my visitor counter has gone over 10,000, so thank you to everyone who does still visit my blog.

My craft stash has been calling to me for a while now and I have at last found some time to spend crafting again. I have been looking through the challenge blogs for some much needed inspiration and have already started making a few bits and pieces. Hopefully I'll be back later today to show you what I've managed to get done.

Post soon!

Birthday Card

2009-04-17T09:00:00.001+01:00

Here's a card I made last month for a member of the birthday list on the CM&P Forum. For anyone who visits my blog you will recognise it is very similar to the card I made for Mother's Day. However it is different colours and the inside is slightly different.

The card:

The inside:

Best wishes

Cupcakes

2009-04-16T09:00:00.002+01:00

I attended a baby shower for an ex-colleague a few weeks ago and made these cupcakes to take with me. We weren't sure whether the baby was going to be a boy or girl so I decorated them with both pink and blue.

The cakes are a plain sponge with a raspberry jam centre baked inside and the frosting is white chocolate flavour.

I made the flowers with a simple punch cutter and then piped a small yellow dot in the centre of each. The butterflies were cut out using a 'Patchwork Cutter' and then decorated with shimmer powder This was the first time I had tried any of the Patchwork Cutters; it took me a while to get the hang of them but I was very happy with the end results.

Some of the photo's haven't come out very well, but hopefully you get the idea!

2009-04-14T10:37:00.000+01:00

I made 2 cards for a friend of mine. She was due to have a baby just before I went away on holiday and I knew I'd need to send a card whilst away. My problem - was it going to be a boy or a girl? I decided the simplest answer to this was to take 2 cards and send whichever was appropriate. Therefore I have made two new baby cards which are practically the same, the only difference being one design of paper is girly and one is for a boy.

I went for a very simple design, made templates for the letters on the computer and simply cut the out and embellished them a little. Simple but striking, well that's my opinion anyway!

Here they are:

Handbag box

2009-04-13T09:00:00.000+01:00

I've used another free download from Seneca Pond Crafts to make this handbag box. It was so easy and looked great without any embellishments but I decided to decoupage both the butterfly and the flower to add some dimension. I have given this away as a little extra birthday gift to a friend. I made some chocolate covered honeycomb and popped a little bag of it inside.

I did change one thing before giving it away and that was the ribbon handle, I swapped it for a pink one instead as I just wasn't sure about the green one after attaching it!!

The front:

The back:

And from the side so you can see the decoupage and also the shape of the bag:

Best wishes

Bookmarks received

2009-04-12T10:07:00.000+01:00

I have received some amazing bookmarks from people who have joined in my swap, I thought I'd show you some other peoples work today. There are quite a few more to arrive but here are the ones I have received so far.

Sally:

Kerrmiya:
Rhea:

I'm sure you'll agree they are all great

Bookmarks

2009-04-11T10:07:00.000+01:00

I'm currently hosting a bookmark swap on the CM&P Forum. I spent ages trying to come up with a design for my bookmarks which was interesting and a bit different. I finally decided; why does a bookmark have to be a rectangle?? So mine are round!

The swap is for 3 bookmarks and each of mine has the same basic design but a different image.

The back reads:

A book is pages, pictures and words

A book is animals, people and birds

A book is stories of queens and kings

Poems and songs - so many things!

Curled in a corner where I can hide

With a book I can journey far and wide

Though it's only paper from end to end

A book is a very special friend.

I found this poem on the web and I think it is just perfect.

Thanks for looking

Easter Weekend

2009-04-10T09:00:00.000+01:00

I know it's not really Easter until Sunday but I just wanted to say to everyone -

I hope you have a lovely long Easter weekend, don't eat too much chocolate!!

Fat Page RAK

2009-04-09T09:00:00.000+01:00

The two fat page swaps are being hosted by a lovely lady and I wanted to make her an extra page to thank you. I've made a page which is very similar to my favourite of the four I made:

The front:

The back:

Thanks for looking

Black & White Fat Book Pages

2009-04-08T09:00:00.001+01:00

There is a second fat book page taking place on the CM&P Forum at the moment and I thought while I was making the oriental pages, (see yesterdays post), I may as well make some Black and White ones as well! The swap is for another 2 pages.

Here's the first:

And the second:

I forgot to take a photo of the back of these ones!

Thanks for looking

Oriental Fat Book Pages

2009-04-07T09:00:00.003+01:00

I haven't really joined in with many swaps on the CM&P Forum for a few months now as my crafting mojo was awol for quite a while. However as it seemed to make a welcome return about a month ago I thought I'd sign up for a new swap. I thoroughly enjoyed making these and am glad I signed up, can't wait to see the swaps I get in return.

I was required to make two fat book pages, (for anyone who doesn't know they are 4 inch squares), to the theme of 'Oriental'.

Here's the first:

Here's the second, a waterfall fat page:

And the backs:

Thanks for looking

Another jar

2009-04-06T10:07:00.000+01:00

I've decorated another jar, this time I've put orange flavoured chocolates inside, sorry the photo's are not my best:

The chocolates setting in their little moulds:

Out of the mould:

And in the jar, with the little teddies peeping out!:

Best wishes

Chocolate box

2009-04-05T09:00:00.000+01:00

I also made my Mum some chocolates for Mother's Day and couldn't get away without making another box for them to go in!

The chocolates were all laid out beautifully but when I propped the box up to get a better angle on the photo the box twisted and they all slid forward so apologies for the dodgy photography.

From left to right the chocs are:

Dark chocolate with a whipped coffee truffle centre

Chocolate flavoured with orange

Plain chocolate

White chocolate with a Tia Maria truffle centre

I haven't made chocolates for ages and I have to say these aren't my best effort but they tasted great!

Best wishes

Gift box

2009-04-04T09:00:00.000+01:00

This is a box I made for Mother's Day, I actually used a sketch from Sketch Saturday but by the time I was able to put the picture up on my blog I was too late for the challenge so I saved it to show you now!

The box contains a necklace, not hand made I must admit, but when I saw it in the shop I knew Mum would love it so I bought it.

Best wishes

Mother's Day Card

2009-04-03T09:00:00.000+01:00

Here's a picture of the card I made for Mother's Day. As you all know I love butterflies and I think this blue one gorgeous. It's a very simple card design but I think it turned out to be quite an elegant card.

The front:

And inside:

Thanks for looking

Going Away

2009-04-02T09:00:00.000+01:00

Just a quite post to let you all know I am not going to be joining in with the challenges for the next couple of weeks as I'm going to be spending some time in Devon. I have scheduled some posts to show you what I've been busy making recently so do come back and check on those.

Wishing you all well

Chocolate covered honeycomb

2009-04-01T10:15:00.000+01:00

I really have re-gained my love of cooking over the past few months. I used to make loads of homemade treats including cakes, biscuits and confectionery but for some reason practically stopped a while ago. I really enjoyed making some truffles for Mother's Day so I thought I'd have a go at something else.

I've made chocolate covered honeycomb, mmmmm yummy!

Here's my honeycomb just set:

Cut into rough squares:

And the best bit dipped in melted chocolate:

I've put it in the jars I showed you yesterday and am going to give them away as treats. Don't worry though there's enough left over for me too!

In case anyone is interested here's the recipe for the honeycomb:

400g caster sugar

100ml water

2 tbsp golden syrup

4tsp bicarbonate of soda

Put the sugar, water and syrup in a heavy bottom pan, bring to the boil and cook slowly until it reaches 150 degrees centigrade. Take it off the heat and add the bicarb, stir in quickly, the toffee will foam and double or triple in size. Quickly pour it into either a silicon cake pan or a well oiled high sided cooking tray and leave to set.

When set break into small pieces and then dip in chocolate if desired.

Thanks for looking

Decorated jars

2009-03-31T12:22:00.005+01:00

I intend making some sweets tomorrow for some little gifts but I've been wondering what to put them in to give them away. Well, I finished a jar of jam and when rinsing it out ready for recycling thought - hey this would be great decorated! So that is exactly what I've done.

I rescued a couple more jars from the recycling cupboard and have decorated the lids and some of the sides. The pictures on the lids are decoupage images I downloaded from a website and the flower on the side of the small one is cut out from my own template. I haven't over-decorated the side as I wanted people to be able to see easily what treats are inside.

I also notice that the challenge over at Kaboodle this week is anything but a card so I'm entering them for that as well.

Here they are:

Thanks for looking and do come back tomorrow to see if I've had any success with the sweet production!

Hot Cross Buns

2009-03-28T12:20:00.002Z

I've been busy baking again this morning. I've made some hot cross buns although I have to admit to being too lazy to put the cross on with pastry so I just slashed a cross in the top before baking!

The house smells wonderful and all I need to do now is wait for them to cool enough for me to able to sample my creations.

Hope I've made you all hungry!

Easter Baskets

2009-03-27T09:36:00.004Z

I've found a fantastic website which sells pattern downloads and images. There is also a free download each month. Being a 'try before you buy' kind of girl I've downloaded a couple of the free designs and have been busy making fantastically easy Easter baskets. The company is called Seneca Pond Crafts, if you like the baskets please click here to go and see all the other amazing things which are available. I will certainly be going back and will, I fear, be spending lots on the downloads! If anyone knows of any other sites with great pattern downloads or similar, why not leave a link in my comments section so we can all go and check them out.

Anyway here's my basket:

It was so easy, just print and assemble and I think the effect is lovely. You could embellish these any way you like but apart from attaching the handle with eyelets and hanging the tag on, I've left them pretty much plain. I've made a few of these and will be popping to the shops later for some goodies to fill them!

Thanks for looking

Our Creative Corner

2009-03-25T14:51:00.002Z

I've made a card using this weeks sketch over at Our Creative Corner. I love using blacks and greys and have accented this with a touch of red.

Here's the sketch:

Here's the card:

Thanks for looking

Papertake Weekly Challenge

2009-03-25T09:00:00.001Z

There's a great sketch over at Papertake Weekly Challenge this week. I've made a birthday card using it but don't think I've done the sketch justice at all. For some reason I just don't like this card, not sure if it's the colours or the combination of papers but hey ho we learn from our mistakes and I don't think it's that bad that I can't show you all!

Here's the sketch:

Here's my card:

Thanks for looking

Dutch Dare & ABC

2009-03-22T10:10:00.003Z

My father asked me to make a card for him to give to my Mother for Mother's Day. I've used the sketch at Dutch Dare as a basis for the card and have also managed to cover the challenge at ABC as well.

ABC Challenge blog - F is for flowers. There is a flower in the image and I've also added a flower embellishment.

Dutch Dare -

Here's my card:

Thanks for looking

I won!!!

2009-03-21T10:09:00.005Z

Look at what I got in the post this morning ;-). (I couldn't wait to give it a go so it's already mounted on one of my stamping blocks!)

I was chosen as the winner on the stamp something challenge blog last week and the prize was this gorgeous Whiff of Joy stamp. I can't believe how quickly it got here and I am so happy with it. I have already stamped it loads of times and am now going to sit and watercolour a few of the images ready for some card making.

I'd just like to say a huge thank you to Stamp Something. Can you tell I am really happy!!!!

Saturday Challenge no. 23

2009-03-18T09:06:00.002Z

The challenge over at Saturday Challenge this week is 'Have your cake and eat it'. This could be anything as long as there was a picture of a cake somewhere on your item.

I've made an individual muffin/cupcake box.

The colours haven't come out very well in the photo, the blue and yellow are both a lot more subtle and not as bright as they look in the pictures.

I made these cakes the other day and froze them, so these may look appetising and if you really can't resist be careful because you might break a tooth on a frozen solid cake!! They are carrot cakes with cream cheese frosting. Yummy, I think I may accidentally forget to put one back in the freezer!

Thanks for looking

Friday Sketchers No. 43 & Stamp Something

2009-03-17T09:00:00.002Z

I've managed to cover 2 challenges with one card today.

Stamp Something - The challenge over at Stamp Something this week is 'Something Green' - All you need to do is use the color green as the main part of your project

Friday Sketchers - Sketch no. 43:

Here's my card:

Thanks for looking

Cute card Thursday no. 51

2009-03-16T09:06:00.001Z

Gosh, all I seem to be showing you are birthday cards - you're going to get really bored of them before long!! This card has been designed based on the sketch over at Cute Card Thursday. Cute Card Thursday blog is one year old this week so a huge congratulations to them for producing a fantastic challenge blog and Happy Birthday.

Here's the sketch:

Here's my card:

Green is not a colour I use very often but I like the contrast with the pink in this card.

Thanks for looking

Papertake Weekly Challenge

2009-03-15T09:00:00.002Z

Good Morning, I've made yet another birthday card! Now I've started making cards again I am really enjoying it and seem to have got my creative spirit back. Today I've made a card using Dawny's sketch over at Papertake Weekly. Dawny P has made a card which really inspired me. She has used lots of greys and blacks and I really liked the look of the card so I gave it a go myself. I don't think mine is any where near as good but I'm still happy with the overall finished look of the card and I love the little bit of red.

Here's the sketch:

Here's my card:

Thanks for looking

2 Sketches 4 You

2009-03-14T09:59:00.003Z

Good Morning to you all. I've feel like most of the day should already be over, yet it's only mid morning. I've been up since dawn baking bread and Belgian buns, mmmmm. I'm sure they don't have any calories in, right!!??? I couldn't sleep so thought I may as well do something useful.

Anyway I've also made another birthday card, this time I used the sketch over at 2 sketches 4 you, which was designed by the talented Laura. I think you may have already noticed this but I really love butterflies and especially love this blue one.

Here's the sketch:

Here's my card:

I've used:

Yellow paper from my stash
Clear gems
Blue wire
Oval nestabilities
Fiskar border punch
Patterned paper from DCWV

Thanks for looking

Forever Friends Challenge

2009-03-14T09:00:00.001Z

Here's another card I've made. This one was inspired by the sketch over at the Forever Friends Challenge Blog.

Here's the sketch:

Here's my card:

Thanks for looking

Sketch Saturday no 41

2009-03-13T09:00:00.002Z

Here's another card I've made using a sketch from a challenge blog. This time it is Sketch Saturday.

Here's the sketch:

Here's my card:

Thanks for looking

Friday Sketchers no. 42

2009-03-12T09:00:00.001Z

There's a great sketch over at Friday Sketchers this week and I loved using it as inspiration for my card.

Here's the sketch:

Here's my card, I was really inspired by the card Beatrix from the DT made, so mine is quite similar to hers:

Thanks for looking

Spoonful, Cupcake & Stamp Something Challenges

2009-03-11T19:30:00.004Z

Having not joined in with any challenges recently I quite surprised myself when I managed to make one card which covered three challenges. They are:

A Spoonful of Sugar ~ Challenge no. 42 a sketch

Cupcake Challenge ~ Challenge no. 30 Spring I think this card is very Spring like with the butterflies and the colourful flowers

Stamp Something ~ Favourite Somethings My favourite embellishment on a card has to be butterflies

Here is the sketch I worked from:

And my card

You can see from this picture I have layered the butterflies and made them three dimensional.

Hope you like the card and thanks for looking, I'll be back tomorrow to show you another one.

Apologies for absence

2009-03-11T19:27:00.002Z

I don't think there are enough 'sorries' to express how I feel about neglecting my blog. I have no excuses I just simply lost all enthusiasm for crafting and therefore blogging. So to all those people who still came and visited just in case I had actually done something I am truly sorry.

I've spent quite a bit of time recently baking, I have always enjoyed this but I am really getting into it now and so there may be some cakey type posts in amongst the cards from now on!!

Anyway I finally had some crafting inspiration and made some cards this afternoon, so here they are:

Another Card

2009-01-20T09:00:00.002Z

I've made another 50th birthday card for a colleague but I think I'm going mad - let me explain!

I made this card a couple of days ago and followed a sketch on one of the challenge blogs, however now that I come to blog the card I cannot find the sketch I used anywhere!! I know it's out there somewhere and I'd really appreciate it if someone would let me know if they recognise the sketch from my card. I'll update my post as soon as I either find it or someone points me in the right direction!!

Here's my card:

Thanks for looking

Sketch Saturday No. 34

2009-01-19T14:14:00.002Z

I was asked to make another card for one of my mother's work colleagues. It is for a 50th birthday and I've used the fab sketch which is available over at Sketch Saturday this week.

Here's the sketch:

I've altered it slightly by making a rectangular card rather than square but other than that it is the same.

Here's my interpretation:

Thanks for looking

New challenge

2009-01-13T09:00:00.000Z

There's a new challenge over on the Cuttlebug Challenge blog. In addition to their usual challenges they are also now hosting a weekly sketch. The first sketch is from Aymee and I loved using it.

I've also covered the challenge at Daring cardmakers, which is to use something recycled on your card. The image I've used is a used gift tag which I was given amongst a lot of other bits of paper a while back.

Here's the sketch which I've rotated for my card:

Here's my card:

Thanks for looking

Spoon full of sugar no. 33

2009-01-12T12:10:00.004Z

I've made a quick card for a couple who have just had their first baby, a little boy. I've used the sketch at A Spoonful of Sugar and I've also inadvertently covered a couple of the other challenges taking place this week:

Stamp Something - The challenge this week is 'No Stamping Allowed'

Our Creative Corner - This weeks challenge is a colour challenge; 'Use 2 shades of blue', there's obviously lots of blue on the card but I'm using the flowers in the corner to cover this challenge!

Here's the sketch:

Here's my card:

The footprints are actually a metallic blue in real life but the camera just didn't seem to want to pick this up so they look black in the photo.

Thanks for looking

I've been busy in the kitchen

2009-01-06T11:28:00.000Z

I haven't made a card today so I thought I'd show you what I've been up to instead.

Just before Christmas I decided to go to the library and take out a load of books and promised myself I would make time to read them over Christmas. I love reading but I just never seem to find the time. Well, I got through 15 books over the Christmas week and I loved every single one of them.

There was one I read called 'The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder' by Joanne Fluke. Not only was this a great book but it was also interspersed with cookie recipes. Before I take the book back to the library I thought I'd have a go at one of the recipes. I've made 'Merry Berry Cookies', which are cookies flavoured with berry jam and also have a little splodge of jam on the top.

I think they turned out well and they certainly taste absolutely gorgeous, although I did put too many on my cookie trays so they all joined together in the oven - so they are not perfect little circles but they still taste good!

There are lots more recipes to try and also other books in the series so I think I'll try and get some of them and may be doing lots more baking - yummy!!

Sketch Saturday and my first card of 2009!

2009-01-05T13:42:00.003Z

Well I've finally got around to tidying the craft room so that I could actually see the desk and also able to make a card! I think it took longer to tidy than it did to make this card!! I've used the sketch over at Sketch Saturday to make this card which is for one of my Mother's work colleagues. She wanted a card for her husbands birthday and he really loves cycling.

Here's the sketch:

Here's my card, (the corners are actually red although they look orange in the photo):

Thanks for looking

Hello to everyone

2009-01-03T16:15:00.002Z

Apologies for not being around for a while. I've been so busy over the Christmas period and then I managed to catch the virus that seems to be doing the rounds, so I've been in bed for the last few days.

I love baking and have been seriously considering buying a Kenwood Chef for the last year but I just haven't been able to justify the expense. Well guess what I got for Christmas - yes my parents carried in a great big box and inside was a brand new shiny Kenwood Chef. It's amazing and I've got so many recipes I want to try, first will be meringues, I'll let you know how I get on. Hope everyone else had a happy festive season and got want they wanted.

As I didn't get a chance to say it a couple of days ago - Happy New Year to you all. Wishing everyone a very happy and healthy 2009.

Blog candy winner!

2008-12-26T10:41:00.003Z

Firstly I hope everyone had a great day yesterday and you are all having a lovely relaxing day today.

Secondly apologies for not posting much over the past week, I've been rather busy as I'm sure you will all appreciate and understand!! Hopefully I'll be back with some more of my creations in the next few days.

Thirdly and most importantly I've drawn the winner of my blog candy. Thank you all so much for joining in. Now for the important bit! I'm afraid I didn't use any high tech method of drawing the candy; I put all your names on pieces of paper and then put them in a little basket, I then stood at the top of the stairs and emptied the basket. The piece of paper that travelled the furthest was the winner!!

Drum roll please:

The winner of my blog candy is:

Hazel from My Crafty Outlook

Congratulations to you, please send me an email with your contact details and I'll get your prize in the post although I don't think I'm going to have the chance to post it until the New Year.

chalfontcrafts@hotmail.co.uk

Congratulations again

5000 Hits Blog Candy

2008-12-25T23:59:00.003Z

This post will stay at the top until the candy is drawn, please scroll down for recent posts.

I'm really chuffed that my counter has gone over 5000 hits. I know it's not that many especially when I see some peoples blogs which are getting 10,000 hits in a couple of months, (how do they do it, lol). However I am really happy that people want to come and see my humble creations and like them enough to come back and visit regularly.

Anyway as promised I am going to give away some candy; I have been scouring the shops and also my stash to find suitable goodies and I think I've done quite a good job, if I say so myself! Here's a photo of the candy, (sorry the photo isn't great):

It includes:

Forever Friends rubber stamp
Selection of 8x8 & 6x6 papers
Foam sticky dots
Papermania ribbon selection
Dimensional flower stickers
Small decorated frames
Adhesive ribbon
Selection of glitter (not shown in photo)
Selection of ribbon (not shown in photo)
Selection of stamped images (not shown in photo)
Selection of die cuts (not shown in photo)

And here's what you have to do to be in with a chance of winning -

I am going to make this as easy as possible, but there is a twist!

First of all to be entered into the draw once simply leave a comment on this post and a link back here on your blog.

If you want to be entered into the draw twice then leave a comment and a link on your blog plus make use of the sketch I have drawn below. You can make anything, a card, an atc, a fat page etc etc... I'd love to see your creations and will visit every one's blogs and see them all. (To make it easier for everyone to find your creations, please leave a direct link in your comment if possible.)

Ok, so here's my sketch:

Which has been taken from this card I made a while ago:

The winner will be drawn on Christmas Day, so you've got lots of time to enter.

Good luck to all and thank you for visiting.

Friday Sketchers No. 33

2008-12-21T09:00:00.002Z

I've finally done it! This is my last Christmas card of the year and is for my Father. I've used the sketch at Friday Sketchers but I have changed the layout of the tag in the centre slightly.

Here's the sketch:

Here's my card, hope you like it:

I've used:

Papermania paper
DCWV paper strips
Gems from my stash
Chipboard embellishment from the £1 shop!

Thanks for looking

Arty Girlz no. 65

2008-12-20T09:00:00.005Z

The challenge over at Arty Girlz this week is - Small Art - we'd like to see small creations this week so it could be a great time to make an atc, an inchie, alter a domino, a topper for a card...anything goes as long as the size is no bigger than an atc (3.5" x 2.5")

As soon as I saw the word domino it reminded me that I bought a load of them a while ago and hadn't done anything with them; even though at the time I had loads of ideas. Anyway after searching for what seemed like ages I finally found my little tin of domino's and started decorating. The only problem was I couldn't stop, so I haven't made one item for this challenge but 6 and I'm still going! I've made all the altered domino's into necklaces and have managed to sort out a couple of last minute Christmas presents I needed with them!!

I've used a variety if techniques and paints etc. All of them have been embossed to seal the finished item and most have been painted with acrylic paints. Sorry the last photo hasn't come out too well.

Thanks for looking

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge no. 11

2008-12-19T19:15:00.005Z

I'm just sneaking this one in before the deadline!! The sketch over at Saturday challenge is great and once again I knew exactly what I wanted to do as soon as I saw it.

Here's the sketch:

I've made one of my last Christmas cards using the sketch, this card is for my Mother and I think all I now have left is my Fathers card, unless of course I receive some unexpected cards!!!!

I've used:

A Forever Friends Sticker
Card and gems from my stash
Merry Christmas stamp from Papermania

Thanks for looking

2 Sketches 4 You & Cute Card Thursday

2008-12-18T13:39:00.005Z

So sorry for not posting anything for a couple of days. I was suddenly swamped with things I just had to get done. I'm happy to say the panic is now over, I've finally finished writing Christmas cards, all my parcels are posted and I did a mammoth Sainsbury's shop this morning so apart from a few last minute bits and pieces I think I am actually ready for Christmas - yay!! Although I do still have a couple of special cards to make, so watch out for those.

The challenge over at Cute card Thursday this week is an open challenge, you can make whatever you want, so I've decided this card is for that challenge!

I've also used the sketch over at 2 Sketches 4 You, this week is Laura's sketch no.15:

I've flipped the sketch onto it's side to make this:

Thanks for looking

Our Creative Corner

2008-12-16T09:00:00.003Z

The challenge over at Our Creative Corner this week is to make a gift card holder. I needed to make a voucher holder so have submitted this for the challenge. I was so inspired by one of the DT members holders so you will see the similarities between mine and Denises' although I have turned it around and altered it slightly.

Thanks for looking

Friday Sketchers No. 32

2008-12-15T09:00:00.003Z

I've made another Christmas card using the sketch over at Friday Sketchers.

Here's the sketch:

Here's my card:

I've used:

Papermania Christmas Paper
Hobbycraft snowflake punch
A decoupage Father Christmas image

Thanks for looking

Sketch Saturday No. 29

2008-12-14T19:01:00.001Z

I still have so much left on my to do list and one thing I really need to get a move on with is making my gift tags. This is my first one of the year and I've used the sketch at Sketch Saturday to make it.

Here's the sketch:

Here's my tag:

I've used:

A Forever Friends image coloured with water colour pencils
Papermania 8x8 Christmas Blues paper
Snowflake stickers
Card from my stash

Better get back to it and hopefully tick a few more things off the to do list!

Thanks for looking

One Stop Challenge no. 8

2008-12-13T09:00:00.000Z

This week is by second and final week as a guest Design Team member at the One Stop Challenge Blog. I am really proud to have done this and even happier as I also got to set this weeks challenge. So my challenge is 'Buttons & Bells' - use either buttons or bells or both on your creation.

I have created a little pyramid gift box and have managed to use both buttons and bells on it. I'm really happy with the end result and don't know if I'm going to be able to part with it!! I've taken photo's from a few different angles to best show you the whole thing.

I've used 2 forever friends images on 2 of the sides.

Two of the sides are the same with a flower on each, there is a light blue button in the centre of each flower. I used a template I designed a while back to make the flowers.

The pyramid is tied closed with some gold cord and hanging from the ends of this is some beading with bells on the end. I haven't had my beading tray out for a while and really enjoyed making these little dangly bits!

Thanks for looking and I hope you like my box

Four challenges in one card

2008-12-12T13:36:00.006Z

I've done it again! I've managed to cover 4 challenges with one card without trying!! I made this card for a friends little boy using the sketch at Sketch Saturday. I then looked at the other challenges this week and realised it also covers another three:

Lots to do - Challenge 38 is 'Christmas'

Cute card Thursday - Challenge 40 is to use punches on your card

Thank God It's Friday - Challenge 63 is 'Santa Claus'

Sketch Saturday - Sketch no. 28

I've used:

X-cut snowflake punch to cut three snowflakes which I have then covered with holographic/blue glitter glue although this does not show up so well in the photo
A Santa decoupage sheet
Lacy Christmas sticky border for Lakeland crafts
Papermania Christmas paper
Oval nesability die

Thanks for looking

2008-12-11T18:46:00.003Z

There's some more fantastic blog candy up for grabs, this time it's at Crafting Diva's blog. Please go and have a look at her blog and wish her a happy birthday if you're there tomorrow!

Good luck

Blog Candy

2008-12-10T12:46:00.002Z

There's some great candy up for grabs aver at Pollys card heaven. It is to celebrate reaching 1000 hits, so congratulations. Please pop over and have a look at all the fantastic goodies on offer and don't forget to have a look around while you're there.

Papertake Weekly Challenge Dawny's sketch no. 4

2008-12-09T20:59:00.003Z

Well I'm back and I've made a birthday card. I've used this weeks sketch at Papertake Weekly.

Here's the sketch:

Here's my card:

I've used:

Forever Friends stamp coloured using water colour pencils
Prima flowers which I have painted with glitter glue and added a gem to the centre of each
Paper from my stash

Thanks for looking

Forever Friends Challenge

2008-12-09T19:32:00.002Z

The challenge over at Forever Friends this week is to make anything as long as it's not a card!

I've made a little gift box which I am going to give to my Mother with her birthday present in. It's her birthday tomorrow and I still need to make a card so for that reason this is a quick post and depending on what inspiration I manage to get I may be back later with a card!!

Thanks for looking

Cutie Sunday no. 22

2008-12-08T13:59:00.004Z

There's a fantastic sketch over at Cutie Sunday this week, as soon as I saw it I knew exactly what I wanted to do and I did!!

Here's the sketch:

Here's my card:

Unfortunately I didn't take the photo from the right angle to be able to see the decoupage layering on the teddy, but there are 5 layers in all.

Thanks for looking

Our Creative Corner

2008-12-07T12:23:00.002Z

There's a great sketch at Our Creative Corner this week. I suddenly realised yesterday that I have run out of birthday cards as I seem to have been concentrating on Christmas for quite a while, having said that I still need some more Xmas cards, I thought I had enough but when I sat down to write them yesterday I realised I am quite a few short, aaah the panic is starting to set in!!!

Anyway, enough waffle, here's the sketch:

And my card:

I've used:

My new Forever Friends stamp coloured using watercolour pencils
Paper and a pink gem from my stash
A flower template I made a while back

Thanks for looking

One Stop Challenge no. 7

2008-12-06T09:00:00.003Z

I was lucky enough to win challenge no.5 over at One Stop Craft Challenge. The prize was to become a guest design team member for 2 weeks. I am so excitied about this, it is the first time I have never designed anything for a team and I feel so priviledged to have been chosen.

The theme is 'Something Blue' and I have made a card for the challenge, here it is:

I've used:

A stamp from an 'elusive images' set which I stamped in blue and then heat embossed with silver pearl powder
Paper from the Dovecraft 8x8 Christmas Blues pack
Blue gems
Ellison cut and emboss photo corners

Thanks for looking

Friday Sketchers, Dutch Dare & Kaboodle Doodles

2008-12-05T17:08:00.004Z

One card to cover three challenges but it's not as clever this time as two of the challenges are quite similar!

Kaboodle Doodles ~ Challenge no. 14 - This week the challenge is all about Scallops. So go get your scissors, punches, circle templates, nestibilities and get a scalloping :)

Dutch Dare ~ Challenge no. 26 - We want you to use some scalloped edges somewhere on your card

Friday Sketchers ~ Challenge no. 30 - The sketch this week is from Claudia and it's a great one, I've changed the size of the card slightly and hope that is ok.

I've used:

Forever Friends stamp coloured using watercolour pencils
Prima flowers
Paper and ribbon from my stash

Thanks for looking

Awards

2008-12-05T13:40:00.003Z

I have received an award from Joanne aka Bubbles. She has very kindly passed on the Kreativ Blogger Award and I am so happy and appreciative that she chose me amongst others. I love visiting Joannes blog and would urge everyone to go and have a look at all her fantastic creations.

Imagine my surprise when I also looked at Sally's blog and realised she has also given me the award.

I don't know if there are any rules which go with this award. Both Joanne and Sally have passed it on to 5 people but I would like to give it to everyone whose blog I visit as they are all so special and I find it very difficult to choose my fave 5 because they are all so different and my favourites in different ways.

So if you don't already have this award please feel free to take it from here and put it on your blog.

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge no. 9

2008-12-05T10:29:00.004Z

There is a great sketch over at Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge this week and I'm just in time to join in!

Here's the sketch:

Here's my card:

Thanks for looking

Sketch Saturday No. 27, Our Creative Corner & Papertake weekly

2008-12-04T19:46:00.004Z

I've had a busy few days and have only just managed to settle down and make some cards for this weeks challenges, here's the first.

Our Creative Corner - The challenge is to incorporate snowmen or snowflakes (or both if you'd like) on your card/project.

Papertake Weekly - This weeks challenge is to use the following on your card: Ribbon, rectangles and small, round embellishments (zooms, eyelets, brads, buttons, gems etc!)

Sketch Saturday - Sketch no. 27 -

Thanks for looking

Decorated tins part two!

2008-12-02T09:00:00.002Z

Here are the second two tins I have decorated, they do a really good job of keeping everything organised and in it's place. Or they would if I remembered to always put everything away after using it!

Thanks for looking

Decorated tins

2008-12-01T09:00:00.002Z

I decorated a tin a while ago for a blog challenge and have been using it for my lining pens.

I kept looking at the window sill and thinking that the other pencil pots now looked rather boring so I have jazzed them all up, I now have 4 which hold all manner of bits and pieces and also another couple half made just waiting for me to have a spark of inspiration!

Here are the first two:

Gift bag

2008-11-30T09:00:00.001Z

I have also made a little gift bag for the booties I bought for my friend's new baby.

I popped over to see her a couple of days ago and had a lovely snuggly cuddle with a little baby bundle, what a cutie.

Thanks for looking

Baby Card

2008-11-29T09:00:00.003Z

A friend recently had a baby and I finally got around to making a card for the new parents and their lovely little boy.

I wanted to do something a bit different so as much as I think the card is quite traditional in decoration it does open like an envelope rather than a card, if you see what I mean!

Anyway here it is:
Thanks for looking

Great Ormond Street Card Appeal

2008-11-28T09:00:00.002Z

I have finally organised myself and got all the cards ready that I am sending to the Great Ormond Street card appeal.

For those of you who have not heard of this~

The details can be found on Kate's blog, who is organising this. The general idea is to send the cards to the children for them to give to the nurses/doctors/their families. The people who mean so much and do so much wonderful work each and every day. This is a great way for the children to be able to say thank you to them and give them a special hand crafted card.

Here are the cards I'm sending:

Cute card Thursday no. 38

2008-11-27T13:40:00.004Z

One more quick card before I go.

I needed to make a 'thinking of you' card for a neighbour who is not well and realised it would fit in with the challenge on Cute card Thursday this week. The challenge is 'Lilac'. The card I've made is similar to my thank you card from a few days ago but not the same!

Here's the card:

I've used:

Sizzix 'Swirly'
Gems from my collection
Prima paper flowers
Pearl brads from Papermania
Forever Friends stamp coloured with watercolour pencils

Thanks for looking

Going Away

2008-11-27T12:08:00.000Z

I'm going away for a few days. My intention is to return on Wednesday next week.

If you are kind enough to leave a comment on my blog then I promise to return it as soon as I am back and have time.

In the meantime I've scheduled some posts to appear and I hope everyone enjoys their weekend.

Post soon

Kaboodle Doodles Challenge 13

2008-11-27T11:34:00.003Z

I've made a quick card for the Kaboodle Doodles Challenge this week. You have to make a card without using any squares or rectangles, now this is not something I have ever tried before, as much as I often put circles or ovals on cards I've never made a card which was not either square or rectangular in shape.

So this is my first circular card, I've gone for a clean and uncluttered look but somehow it just doesn't look right to me, a bit too simple if you know what I mean!

Anyway here it is:

Thanks for looking

This Thursday no. 23

2008-11-27T11:09:00.003Z

The challenge at This Thursday is to make a card using the colours - lime green, pink and chocolate brown.

I love those colours but wasn't sure what I was going to do so I started hunting through my craft drawers and came across a pack of chipboard embellishments I bought a while ago from the £1 shop. They are all predominantly pink and green and fitted with the challenge really well.

As soon as I had the embellishment the card just came together really quickly, hope you like it:

The ribbon is cerise pink but looks a bit red in the photo, I didn't get the lighting quite right.

I've used:

Xmas tree embellishment from the £1 shop
Paper from the Papermania 8x8 'Retro Floral' pack
Snowflake punched using a Hobbycraft punch
Pink ribbon and backing paper from my stash

Thanks for looking

Our Creative Corner

2008-11-27T09:00:00.001Z

Here's a card I've made using the sketch at Our Creative Corner, here's the sketch:

And here's my card:

I've used:

Papermania papers
Dovecraft 8x8 paper from the Christmas Traditional pack
A Forever Friends image I cut off my pack of FF stamps when I bought them!
A Papermania 'Merry Christmas' stamp
A sticky gem from the £1 shop

Thanks for looking

Forever Friends Challenge, Stamp Something

2008-11-26T13:29:00.004Z

The second card for today is for two challenges, these are:

Stamp Something - giving thanks or saying thank you.

Forever Friends - a sketch:

The sketch is teeny tiny but I think/hope I've got everything in the right places!!!

I've used:

Papermania spotty paper
Opalescent purple paper from my stash
A Forever Friends stamp coloured with water colour pencils
Sizzix 'Skittle dee do' alphabet
Sizzix 'Swirly'

Thanks for looking

Papertake Weekly, ABC & Arty Girlz

2008-11-26T13:18:00.003Z

Well, I had a hectic evening but got everything done I needed to do and also managed to start a couple of cards. I've had a few minutes spare this morning so I've finished them off.

Here's the first card, which I've made for the following three challenges:

ABC - S is for Snow

Arty Girlz - Favourite colours - my favourite colour changes weekly if not daily and is dependant upon what I'm doing at the time. However I was lucky enough to win the Kaboodle Doodles challenge last week and my prize was a free download from their website. I chose the green paper pack, hence my fave colour at the moment is green.

Papertake weekly - This week the challenge is a sketch, sketch number 3 from Dawny, I've stretched the sketch a bit to fit a rectangular card but all else remains the same:

I've used:

Paper from the green download pack from Kaboodle Doodles
Forever Friend stamp coloured with water colour pencils and glitter glue
Snowflakes punched using a x-cut punch

Thanks for looking

Spoonfull of Sugar no. 27

2008-11-25T19:59:00.003Z

Sorry just time for a really quick post tonight as I've got a mountain of things to do before tomorrow.

There is another great sketch at A Spoonfull of Sugar this week:

Here's my card:

Thanks for looking, (told you it was going to be a quick post!!!)

One Stop Sketch no. 5

2008-11-24T10:46:00.003Z

There's a great sketch by Maggie over at One Stop Craft Challenge this week:

I needed to make a 25th Anniversary card for an order and decided to combine it with this sketch, here's what I came up with:

Thanks for looking

Claire

Cutie Sunday, Secret Crafter & ABC

2008-11-23T14:24:00.002Z

Well it's a cold and miserable day here today. I woke up o snow this morning but it soon disappeared when the rain started and it hasn't stopped yet. So a nice warm cosy day in the craft room was called for! I've made a couple of cards today, here's the first:

I love it when you make a card for one challenge and then realise it fits in with others. I made this card using the sketch at Cutie Sunday and then realised it also covers:

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge 8 - Decoupage

ABC - R is for ribbon

Here is the sketch:

Here's my card:

Hopefully from the photo's you can see the decoupage effect.

Thanks for looking

Claire

Sketch Saturday No. 26

2008-11-22T20:28:00.002Z

There's another great sketch over at Sketch Saturday this week. As soon as I saw it I knew exactly the card I wanted to make.

Here's the sketch:

Here's the card I've made:

I've used:

Dovecraft 8x8 paper from the 'Christmas Traditional' pack

Old Father Christmas stamp

2 buttons from my button box

A poinsettia - I had a question regarding the origin of my poinsettia's, the last time I used one on a card. It is not a die cut or a bought flower, it is a template I made. I had looked around the shops but couldn't find a poinsettia flower to use so decided to make my own!

Thanks for looking

1 Card 4 Challenges!

2008-11-22T09:00:00.002Z

I made this card using sketch no. 37 over at Cutie Sunday and have realised it also fits in with three other challenges which are running this week. These are:

Papertake Weekly - This weeks challenge is snow, anything snow related - snowmen, snowflakes, snowy scenes etc!

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge 37 - This week would like to see 'snow' or snowflakes on your card

Rainbow Lady - Challenge 40 - This week your challenge is to make something for Christmas using SNOWMAN OR MEN (or women of course.)

Here's the sketch:

Here's the card:

I'm not too happy with the colouring on the scarves or the hats of the FF or the snowman this time, I tried some new water colour paper and I think I need a bit more practice with it!

I've used:

Dovecraft 8x8 paper from the 'Christmas Blues' pack
Snowflake punch from Hobbycraft
Glitz it glitter glue - Irrid sparkle
Circle sentiment I quickly made in Photoshop
Forever Friends Stamp coloured with water colour pencils

Thanks for looking

I've been tagged twice!

2008-11-21T16:02:00.004Z

I'm happy to say I've been tagged twice in the last few days, once by Sally and also by Claire, thank you ladies. Please go and see their lovely blogs and their wonderful creations.

Now as I understand it I have to tell you 7 strange/obscure things about me and also pass this on to another 7 bloggers. I'm sure a lot of people would say everything about me is strange!!

Well here goes, I'm not good at telling people about me as you can probably tell from my profile, but I'll give it a go!

I'm going to be 30 in a few months and can't believe it. I don't feel any older than I did ten years ago but I just don't know where the years are going!
I've never been abroad for a holiday, I've been to Calais for the day twice but that's the extent of my foreign travelling.
I often dye my hair and particularly enjoyed my purple phase.
I've been crafting for as long as I can remember, thanks to my Mother who introduced me to sewing etc at a very early age.
I'm still on my diet and can now happily say that I have lost 3 stone and am now getting into size 10 bottoms and 12 tops, although when I look in the mirror I can see very little difference!
I once did a parachute jump for charity even though I hate heights, I think being strapped to a rather nice RAF man helped a bit!
I have a passion for sports cars but sadly am without one at the moment, I opted for something sensible last year but am regretting the decision and am wondering how I can justify changing the car again.

That took me longer than making a card, I just couldn't think of 7 things I thought you would all want to know. Hope you found it interesting.

Now to tag 7 more people. This is going to be even more difficult as there are so many wonderful blogs out there and I like to visit so many, but here's my list:

Friday Sketchers no. 29 & TGIF

2008-11-21T15:49:00.002Z

This is the first DL sized card I've ever made and although I found it a bit of a strange size to begin with I am quite pleased with the results.

This card cover two of todays challenges, the first is Thank God It's Friday, where the challenge this week is 'vintage' and also Friday Sketchers. The sketch is below:

I've used:

A vintage image which I had saved on the computer, but not sure where it originates from, sorry.
Dovecraft 8x8 Christmas paper
Snowflake punch from Hobbycraft

Thanks for looking

Ooh La La no. 24 & Spoonful of Sugar no. 26

2008-11-20T09:00:00.001Z

This is a card I've made to cover 2 challenges. Its another birthday card as I realised yesterday how desperate I really was for a few more!

The challenge at Ooh La La this week is paper folding and the Spoonful of Sugar challenge is 'Blooming Marvelous'. The flower is made from folded circles of paper, (Dahlia Fold). I've used some black pearl embellishments and gone a bit overboard on the faux stitching!!!

Thanks for looking

Forever Friends Challenge

2008-11-19T17:38:00.005Z

The challenge on the Forever Friends Challenge Blog this week is 'Round the Bend'. You have to make a card with circles on it somewhere.

I've made a Birthday card this time, which is a nice break from Christmas and as I've got quite a few birthdays coming up in December it was also needed!!

Here it is:

Thanks for looking

Blog Candy

2008-11-19T12:46:00.001Z

There's some amazing blog candy over on Debbie's Blog. And when I say amazing I mean AMAZING. You will need to go and have a look yourself and don't forget to check out all the wonderful creations while you're there.

Good luck

2 Sketches 4 You Laura's Sketch 13

2008-11-18T09:00:00.002Z

There's a great sketch at 2 sketches 4 you this week. I keep looking at these vintage snowman images I have but am never inspired enough to actually do anything with them. I decided I would have a go and use one on this sketch. I've stretched the sketch from a square to a rectangular card and my image is a bit bigger than it should be, I'm not sure I'm happy with the end result, but I can't decide!

Here's the sketch:

Here's my card:

This is a real odds and ends card, I've used

A snowman image which has been hanging around my desk for far too long!
Backing paper from the bottom of my drawer!
A Paper mania domed sentiment sticker.
Black and red gingham ribbon which has been at the bottom of my ribbon box for ages!

Thanks for looking

More Blog Candy

2008-11-17T11:24:00.001Z

Found some more fantastic blog candy over on Sharon's Blog. She is celebrating reaching 5000 visitors so congratulations Sharon. Why not pop over and have a look at all the wonderful creations and join in with the draw - you've got to be in it to win it!!!!

Good luck

Sketch Saturday No. 25 & Cute Card Thursday No. 36

2008-11-17T09:00:00.002Z

Another card for another 2 challenges, this time it's for:

Sketch Saturday and Cute Card Thursday.

The challenge at Cute Card Thursday was to make a red and green card, not too difficult at this time of year! And here's the sketch from Sketch Saturday:

Thanks for looking

Blog Candy Alert

2008-11-16T21:37:00.002Z

On my blogging travels tonight I have come across the following blog candy, and boy is it a good one! Ruby is giving away some fantastic candy to celebrate her 1000th post. Congratulations to Ruby and good luck to anyone who joins in.

Kaboodle Doodles, One Stop & Dutch Dare

2008-11-16T20:01:00.005Z

I'm back, all cards are done and I've spent some time today catching up on blogs and even some other things not related to the internet!!

Here's a quick card I've made for the following challenges:

Kaboodle Doodles challenge this week is a monochrome card - As soon as I read this I thought of black and white, but then I changed my mind and used the literal meaning - 'one colour'. So I've used all different shades of brown.

One Stop Craft Challenge this week is 'Pretty Petals'.

The challenge over at Dutch Dare this week is not to use a stamp. You are allowed sentiment stamps but I decided to leave this card blank as I'm not sure who or what it will be for yet.

I'm off to catch up on some more blogs now, if you've left me a comment over the past week and I haven't returned it then I apologise, I will try and get round every one's blogs but there are just so many wonderful things to see that it takes me ages!

Post soon

Sorry......

2008-11-13T18:09:00.001Z

No card today. I've got a rush order for 200 cards which need to be done by Saturday so I've not had time to look at all your lovely blogs or the challenges or in deed do anything other than these cards!

Hope I'll be back to blog hopping and challenge card making soon.

Papertake Weekly Challenge Dawny's sketch no. 2

2008-11-12T09:00:00.000Z

Yet another great sketch over at Papertake Weekly this week. This one is designed by Dawny and was so inspirational that I actually had the card made on Monday evening within half an hour of the challenge being posted!

Here's the sketch:

Here's my card:
Very traditional colours which I always seem to struggle more with, but I like this one.

I've used Dovecraft paper, a chipboard embellishment, red gems and a sentiment stamp from Papermania.

Cuttlebug Challenge 6 & Cupcake no. 13

2008-11-11T09:00:00.002Z

This card covers two of this weeks challenges:

The Cupcake challenge is 'Spots and Dots'
The Cuttlebug challenge is a sketch:

When I first looked at the sketch on the cuttlebug blog last week I had no ideas of what paper etc. to use at all, but I came back to it yesterday and this is what I came up with. I've used the Swiss Dots embossing folder and I'm really pleased with the end result.

4000 Visitors

2008-11-10T15:54:00.002Z

I've just noticed my counter has gone over 4000. So thank you all for visiting me and most importantly liking what you see enough to return. It makes my day to know there are people who appreciate what I make.

I promised to do a blog candy give away when I reached 5000 so only another 1000 to go, I'd better get my thinking cap on and come up with something great to give away.

Friday Sketchers no. 27, Arty Girlz no.59 and Kaboodle Doodles no. 11

2008-11-10T09:00:00.001Z

There's another great sketch at Friday Sketchers this week. As soon as I saw it I had ideas buzzing around my head but unfortunately they didn't seem to want to come out of my head and be made into a card! I left it alone for a couple of days and came back to it yesterday. I came up with a card I am happy with.

Here's the sketch:

The challenge at Arty Girlz is to use something hand drawn. I have drawn on stitching lines but thought I ought to be a bit more adventurous so I've also drawn swirls around the poinsettia, (which I also drew and cut out), and at the bottom of the card. I'm normally too nervous to draw freehand but I decided to just go for it and am quite happy with the results although I much prefer the swirls at the top of the card to those at the bottom. This is the first time I've joined in with the Arty Girlz challenges, I hope I did alright. I'll certainly be back and joining in again in the future.

The challenge over at Kaboodle Doodles is 'buttons and bling', well I haven't used any buttons but there's certainly some bling on this card. There are small gems at the end of each of my swirls and they glisten in the light beautifully adding another dimension to this card.

Here's my card:

Post soon

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge no. 6

2008-11-09T09:00:00.000Z

The challenge over at Saturday Crafter this week is a sketch and I love it. It took no time at all to come up with an idea for this card or to make it.

Here's the sketch:

I've used a Forever Friends image again, I think I'm falling in love with these little bears. The background paper is from Anitas Classic Christmas Black pack and is the most gorgeous shimmery silver colour. The sentiment is a Papermania stamp.

Sketch Saturday no.24

2008-11-08T16:50:00.000Z

There's another fantastic sketch over at Sketch Saturday this week. I found it really inspiring and will certainly be using it again.

Here's the sketch:

I've adapted it slightly by stretching it to fit a rectangular card rather than square and also folded the corner of the image over rather than cutting it off, if you see what I mean!

The Forever Friends stamp is water coloured and the snowman has been glittered with an iridescent glitter so he sparkles and changes colour as you move the card, unfortunately the photo doesn't do this justice.

Post soon

I've got an award!

2008-11-08T16:38:00.003Z

Just a quick note to say thank you very much to Kerry aka Angelwings_2 for giving me this award. It was a lovely surprise and I really appreciate it.

Please go and check out Kerry's blog which is full of the most wonderful creations.

I believe I am now meant to pass this award on to 7 more people but I'm having a problem with this - how do I narrow it down to 7, there are so many wonderful crafty blogs out there so I'd like to award it everyone whose blog I visit regularly, you know who you are, and believe me there's lots more than 7! Hope that's ok.

Thanks again

Spoonful of sugar; Challenge 24

2008-11-07T09:47:00.004Z

There's a great sketch over at 'A Spoonful of Sugar' this week. I really enjoyed using it to make this card and think I may be using this one lots in the future.

Here's the sketch:

Here's my card:

I just love this Santa stamp, it's the first time I've used him but I think I'll certainly be stamping a lot more of him!