Frosty Fun

This little card was part of a competition I ran on my FB page not too long ago. It was loved, and I hope the lucky winner either gifts this or displays it proudly on her windowsill or mantelpiece come the festive season. 

LOVE this little scene. 

I used a little image from a coloured pad by LOTV to create this card. I cut a stepper card template on my cameo and decorated it using a little slice of old Basic Grey paper as well as some gorgeous striped ribbon. I stamped an Amy R sentiment and adhered that near the bottom of the card.

The holly die is from Wild Rose Studios. LOVE it! Gonna spend an hour or so running that through my faithful old Bug and get a whole stash sorted! 

Thanks for stopping by! xo

Congrats, It's a Girl!

Sorry it's been so quiet over here, again. I've been getting my Christmas on LARGE and have made over 30 cards this past week. I'm getting a little bit bored of the green and red (luckily I can throw some blue and purple into the mix) so I took a break on Saturday night to create this card for the new challenge over at Passion for ProMarkers today! 

Oh Baby!!

I used the adorable Pushchair stamp from Lili of the Valley for my card. I bought this cutie a while back, but this is the first chance I've had to get her coloured up. I need my wrists slapped! I stamped the image in Angel Pink ink from Memento. I really think this LOTV images lend themselves well to the no line colouring technique.

I wanted to keep the colouring pretty neutral with only a pop of colour (for girl or boy) on her little hat and baby grow. I wasn't 100% sure of the papers I wanted to use either (which is very unusual for me, I rarely colour an image without matching it to papers first) - although it just turned out that the pink I had chosen matched perfectly with First Edition - Bird Song papers.

That's all from me tonight! Better bury my head back into Christmas before I hit the hay! Thanks for stopping by. xx

Warmest Winter Wishes

Morning guys! :)

It's time for a new challenge over at Passion for ProMarkers.

This week we wanna see your feminine makes! 

MAKE IT FEMININE

I wanted to go against the grain a little, so I opted out of pink and frilly. Instead I went with blue and texture. I hear ya, I hear ya! ..but I took some inspiration from a gorgeous photo I came across while scouring Pinterest! 

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/474918723177846146/

I loved the colours and the texture in this photo. So I used this as my starting point to create this card. I wanted to create a winter card, so I used the gorgeous Super Cute Hat from Time for Tea Designs.

I really wanted to practice my hair, as I feel like I've let it slip after concentrating on folds and creases for so long, so this was the perfect image for that. This took me almost three hours to colour up - good job I wasn't in a race.

I added an embossed panel to a kraft mat before layering a doily and my image on top. I then added a strip of snowflake paper from LOTV and edged it with some loopy trim. I then dug out some die cut vellum snowflakes and attached them by stitching white buttons over the top.

I added my sentiment from Amy R Stamps before looping some white cord around and around and tucking it under the image panel. I adhered it with glue dots and kept fiddling until I like how it looks. I really like how that turned out - I'm glad I've now found a use for all the colours of cord I seem to have sitting in my stash that go unloved! 

To finish the card off I added a sprinkling of Doodlebug sequins here and there to match the doily which I also sprayed silver with my Fireworks (although you can't really tell from the photo, it's super shiny IRL).

That was that! I hope I've inspired you to think a little more outside the box with this challenge. 

Be sure to stop by the Passion for ProMarkers blog to see what other amazing girls have come up with! xo

Christmas Letters

Morning guys! Happy Thursday.

It's time for a new challenge over at Little Miss Muffet Stamps, and we have the best theme ever for ya! Anything Goes! :)

This little cutie has been coloured up since the beginning of August, and she has sat patiently waiting. I used a digi for my card, but this beauty is available in red rubber HERE.

Swings 'n Slides - Happy Mail.

I coloured her up in pretty neutral blues and beige and BAM with the red post box. This is just a lickle 5" card, so it didn't leave a lot of room for froofroo, although I still managed to squeeze some on.

I added a sentiment from Amy R Stamps which I embossed and cut using and Xcut die before adding it to my card with brads. The gorgeous organza ribbon and jewel button are from The Ribbon Girl, and I finished the design off with some vellum snowflakes and little red rhinestones.

Here's a close up of this cutie! I love her outfit. 

Thanks for stopping by today! xo

Button It!

Good morning guys! :) This blog post is gonna be a total chore to type up.. I think I've busted my space bar.. it didn't take long did it? Meh. Onwards.

It's time for a new challenge over at Passion for ProMarkers this week! Team 1 are giving Lisa loads of BUTTONS.

Just one of my favourite things! 

This week we wanna see BUTTONS!

This could be good old fashioned buttons, an image that includes buttons, button die cuts.. go crazy. I can't wait to see what you guys come up with.

We're being sponsored by Sassy Studio Designs. I chose the ever so glam Bubble Bath Sassy which my teamy Coops also used, and rocked! 

I coloured her up to be a red head, just as something a little different. I gave her pink bubbles, which I ended up blinging up with time AB gems and Stickles. I really did add depth to the white bath tub with my Ice Grey PMs, but it really doesn't show up great in the photos. Perhaps I need to work on my editing skills.

Anywho, with the pink bubbles I gave the posh free standing tub some gold feet to match my papers from My Minds Eye (yet another pad I'm close to the end of) before adding a whole bunch of BUTTONS and other delicious embellishments like brads, sequins and liquid pearls.

I added some very pink stitch grosgrain ribbon, and tied a little comb charm around the knot. To finish this card off I added a sentiment from LOTV and bam. Jobs a good'n.

Thanks for stopping by today guys. Be sure to stop by the Passion for ProMarkers BLOG and join in with us.. I know you all have buttons somewhere you gotta use. xo

Corey Bear

Who doesn't love James Bear from Lili of the Valley? We all do, right?!

This was a recent commission for a lovely lady who came to my FB page after being recommended by a fellow card maker - incredibly sweet!!

The lady was after a bear - I showed her James and BAM.. she was more in love than I already was! :) I coloured him up to be a cute little brown bear and matched him with some papers from Echo Park. 

I added a birthday sentiment and a personalised name. A big twill stripe bow and a bunch of buttons, brads, sequins and liquid pearls.. as always. I'm really making a concious effort to add buttons to my projects lately, as I want to order more, but also wanna use up the ones I have first. It's such a vicious cycle! LOL!

That's all I got for ya today, I hope you likey. xo

Embossing at PFP

Hello guys! It's great to be back again to provide another dose of inspiration for the new challenge over at Passion for ProMarkers this week!! I never really mention it, but I'm so honoured to be a part of this team. Not only is boss lady Denise awesome, but my teamies are super talented too!!

I see more and more crafters turning to the dark side each and every week, and I'm proud to say that each and every one of us over at Passion for ProMarkers are still very much in love with our chosen medium.

THE HUMBLE PROMARKER

So enough of all the soft talk.. and onto the card. The theme this week is..

EMBOSSING

You could use your trusty old embossing folders, blast your card with a little heat for some traditional embossing or go all out and modern with some embossing paste! The choice is entirely your own.

I chose to use one of my favourite embossing folders (which is actually a Basic Grey Christmas design from Sizzix) and some heat embossing on my sentiment (which wouldn't show up no matter how many times I retook the photo - so you'll have to take my word for it! ;)

Image - My Favourite Friends LOTV

ProMarkers and FlexMarkers

Sentiment - Sophie's Sentiments Lawn Fawn

Cardstock - Neenah, Stampin' Up!, Papercuts

Patterned paper - Teresa Collins

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Memento Luxe Rose Bud

The Ribbon Girl

Doodlebug brads

Liquid Pearls

Dew Drops

clear embossing powder

Memory Box die

Sizzix embossing folder

doily and corners cut on Cameo

How are you guys liking this little list set up?

Concise with less waffle - my fingers are a fan, and I manage to get a blog post done in half the time.. surprisingly! LOL!

Thank you for stopping by today guys. Be sure to visit the Passion for ProMarkers blog to get even more inspired by the lovely ladies and join in with us. xo

For You

I'm back today with some more inspiration for you guys using the Art Pads from Lili of the Valley.

I thought I would really struggle matching papers up with these, but it's actually easier than my OCD first thought.

This time round I used the gorgeous dog and bunny hugging.

I dug out some older papers from Teresa Collins that I hadn't even broken into yet *slaps hands* and went to work. I LOVE that grey floral paper, and the B side of that was this coral coloured hexagon pattern so I just had to use the two sides together.

Lili of the Valley Art Pad - Set 2 Jack, Patch and Puss

Teresa Collins paper pack

Avery Elle Oh Happy Day sentiment

Memento Luxe Gray Flannel ink 

Xcut dies 

Woodware brads

Organza ribbon from The Ribbon Girl

Liquid Pearls and rhinestones from my stash

Jobs a good'n. xo

Good Luck Tiree!!

Today is a very sad day for us Home Bargainers!! 

We have one of our longest running members of staff leaving us, as she has been promoted to a new store.

I could cry.. but I'll try and keep this professional. Just know, that by the time this post goes live.. I'll probably be sobbing my little heart out. 

It's her last ever shift with us today. Boss lady give her the present and card we all grouped together for.. so I thought I'd best share it with you all.

I know I had a few people on FB asking me for inspiration when using these gorgeous Art Pads from Lili of the Valley. Here is one way. I used some delicious papers from My Minds Eye, and I stuck to pastel shades to match with the colours on the image.

I stamped a Paper Smooches banner and added a sentiment to it using some Lawn Fawn alpha stamps. A little froofroo with some organza polka dot ribbon, a button and a La La Land Crafts banner cut from vellum.

This time, it truly was what was inside the card that counted! I hear it made her cry. Haah. :)

That's all from me this afternoon. Thank you for stopping by.

I'm off to find a clean tissue now! LOL! xo

Delightful Daffodils.

Hey guys. Time for a lazy Sunday..

Like every Sunday ain't lazy! Muuahahahah!

This was a commission from last month.

For a lady who loves daffodils and Celtic designs.

I grabbed a beautiful image from a Lili of the Valley - Art Pad Wild Flowers and went about embellishing the card. I found a gorgeous Celtic border designs over at Silhouette and decided to cut that from some vellum to layer under the image.

I added a Lawn Fawn sentiment, some Studio Calico letter stickers, some Liquid Pearls and Stickles and a strip of orange gingham ribbon. Job done.

Such a pretty image. I'm hoping to get a couple Mother's Day cards made up with some more sheets from this Art Pad! :) Thanks for stopping by today. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. xo

Feeding the Robins

Happy Boxing Day, guys! 

If you've taken time out of your day to stop by here, thank you ever so much! :) 

Just a quick little post from me today to share another commissioned card with you.

Nanna and Grampy. Feeding Robins.

How cute?! 

Very!!

This is an older LOTV stamp which I've coloured up using my ProMarkers to match older papers from Basic Grey. I added a couple of Whimsy Stamps tickets, some die cut vellum snowflakes and some olive green rhinestones.

A super sweet card, perfect for Christmas.

Enjoy the rest of your Christmas festivities! xo

To You All..

Good morning! TGIF!

The eve of the last weekend before Christmas - I KNOW!!

Here's another commission I thought I'd pop in and share with you. 

A quick post today. 

This is an older set from LOTV, which I've coloured using my ProMarkers.

I've added a custom sentiment - which was the whole point of the card - and I've gold embossed it! 

A couple of die cut vellum snowflakes, a polka dot button, a red rose, a holly charm and some doodles. 

DONE!!

Thank you for calling in! xo

Husbands Christmas

I had a couple orders over Christmas for cards for husbands.

I had to use this lovey-dovey image from Lili of the Valley.

I used traditional colours on both cards, but switched it up a little each time. You know me, I can't want won't make the same card twice. 

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I used Echo Park 'tis the Season on this card. I matted it onto some red cardstock.

I added a postage stamp edge around my image panel.

The sentiment was created using Lawn Fawn alpha stamps, and I die cut it using an oval die.

I added a die cut Christmas tree, a snow flake charm, and some green grosgrain ribbon.

 ***********************************************

For this card I used a paper pack from My Minds Eye Lost and Found Christmas, which has a slightly more vintage feel. Love that burgundy damask.

I added a scalloped edge to the circle image panel.

As for embellishments, there are some die cut vellum snowflakes, a little gingerbread man button from Doodlebug (LOVE) some khaki buttons, and some gold Liquid Pearls.

 ***********************************************

I coloured both images using my ProMarkers. I added Viva Decor Pearl to the snowflakes on the stamped image. I definitely see me using this image again for a few cards next year, and I think I'll be adding a night time sky to a few of them - it may make it feel even more lovey-dovey! Heh.

Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. xo

Ohhh, James Bear

Saturday, Saturday. Saturday, Saturday!!

Today I'll be trudging along at work - trying to make my way through the swaaathes of people coming into the shop - just standing around like they've all the time in the world - developing selective hearing when you interrupt their conversation to scream excuse me as you try and make it passed them with the heaviest box you've ever carried as it starts slipping from your grasp.. you get the idea.

There is a Christmas market on in Whitley Bay today, so naturally the shop will be absolutely heaving. I foolishly agreed to help all day! Hah. How silly am I?! Extra pennies I suppose. That's the only thing that'll get me through the day.

Anywho..

Onto happier things, here's another little LOTV creation I made to share with you all.

Outta all the LOTV stamps, I gotta admit that James Bear is hands down my favourite. He's freakin' adorable!! What's not to love?! He is always a dream to colour too. This time I shook it up grey scale. Usually I colour him up as a brown bear, but I went with my papers from Echo Park for inspiration and that lead me down the grey route.

I'd love to enter this card into these challenges:

- Craft All Day - Winter (1st Challenge)

- Card Makin' Mama - Christmas and New Year

xx

Traditional Christmas

I'm trying to have a post a day throughout December, and so far it's looking pretty good! I mean, it's not like I haven't got 1001 Christmas cards to share with you all!!

This card was part of an order for a lovely lady. I made her wedding cards earlier in the year, and we have kept in touch ever since. 

I used a classic LOTV stamp, coloured with PMs to match my papers from a waaaay old Basic Grey paper pack called.. Jovial.

It has been my mission this Christmas to use up those older paper packs before I get sick of the sight of them in the bottom of my drawer and kick off with myself for not using them. Yuh, I'm weird. Like.. sometimes I feel like I have to hoard paper.. and then every few months I'm like.. REALLY?! You REALLY gotta just keep all this? So then I'm like hell.. let's just use it up!! MAKE WAY FOR THE NEW STUFF!!

Thanks for stopping by. xo

Bomb Site!!

Hello guys! I'm stopping in tonight with a card I created for a particular challenge, which is not something I do too often.. but recently, I seem to have accumulated a bunch of coloured images which I've completed while sitting watching T.V lately - and trying to make my brain switch off every now and again.. which unfortunately never happens.

Anywho, after a 10 hour shift at the day job today, I just couldn't be bothered to tidy my desk to take a photo.. I'm not gonna lie.

It looks like a bomb went off.. look..

You see the slight gap in the disaster just at the back of the desk there? That's where my laptop was.. which is now on my lap. Make no mistake that there was a free bit of space on there!! Hah!

So.. onto the actual card, you know, the thing you visited my blog for. Doh!! (Again, apologies for the crap photo..)

So, I spotted this new challenge over at The Ribbon Girl Blog (I cannot tell you how lovely it feels to be making a card and entering a challenge, just because I fancy it..) 

Their Lovely Lili October Challenge is Anything Goes - the only rule is, you gotta use a Lili of the Valley stamp. Simples!! 

Of course, this is James Bear in the Snow. I had to use him. Had to. Didn't I? He's adorable! He's one of the first stamps I ever bought from LOTV, and I think he still remains as one of my favourites!

I've used one of my oldest stamps, with some of my newest papers from Echo Park - Tis the Season. I added some cheesecloth behind the image - I bought this from The Ribbon Girl soooo long ago, with REALLY good intentions.. but I don't think it's in me to use this without a whole load of excess faff and time wasting! LOL!

I stamped a sentiment from Whimsy Stamps onto a grey slice of paper from the paper pack and backed it onto the decorative die cut which matches the stamps. I die cut some vellum snowflakes with an older MFT set and added them here and there to the layout. 

That's all from me tonight. I'm off to take myself to bed soon - I've got this stupid cough, and the only time it doesn't annoy me is when I'm asleep!! FRIDAY TOMORROW!! Good times.

Loves. xo

Gardening Mae

Some of you who follow me on FB will have already seen this card, but I thought I'd share it here on my blog too.

This card was part of an order for a lady who was saying goodbye to some of her work colleagues. She wanted something super personalised - so after finding out a bunch of what each of the ladies was about, I come up with this card for.. Judith.

I used the adorable Gardening Mae from Some Odd Girl and coloured her up with ProMarkers to match my papers from My Minds Eye. Judith liked earthy green colours, so that's the palette I tried my best to stick to.

I created the sentiment using an alpha set from Lawn Fawn, I spelled the name out using some Cosmo Cricket alpha stickers and the circle sentiment is from Lili of the Valley.

Some delicious trim and ribbon from the Ribbon Girl, and a mixture of flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts and Petal Lu finish off the embellishments.

I'm trying to keep these blog posts relatively short and sweet this week so I can cram more in! :)

Thanks for stopping by. xo

Button it Up at Passion for ProMarkers

A fortnight since I posted on my blog. I'm getting a little ridiculous, am I not?! Yikes!!

Well after Monday nights stock take at work I was in no fit state to type up my post for Passion for ProMarkers. So here I am on Tuesday night, only a few hours late. You gonna let me off?!

It was my turn to pick a theme this week, and I went with

"BUTTON IT UP"

I want you to break out those buttons. I know you've got them, and if you're anything like me, you hoard them. Use them up. You'll feel better for it. I promise.. ;)

Here is the card I created using the gorgeous Wryn in the Fall from Tiddly Inks.

I've coloured her up in blacks, blues and a hint of lemon to match my papers from My Minds Eye. I created this card for my Mam for Mother's Day. She isn't a massive fan of pink and girly stuff, so I went with a more.. neutral card. She loves walking and she's always wrapped up in her coat and scarf, so this Wryn was perfect! :)

The sentiment is from a LOTV set which I have stamped onto some Bazzill Bling cardstock (although you can't tell from the photos) with some Brilliance Graphite Black ink. Crisp. ;)

As for the buttons, I've used them to create some movement across the card - kinda like a gust of wind which Wryn has been caught up in. Starting in the top right and crossing down over/under the image to the bottom left, containing the sentiment circle in the same line. I used a total of.. FIVE buttons on this card. Hell, for me, that's quite an achievement. Can ya beat me? I challenge ya! ;)

Head over to the Passion for ProMarkers blog for details on sponsors and prizes!! 

I'd like the enter this card into these challenges:

- PHC A Little Bit Crafty - Anything Goes

- Sparkle and Sprinkle - Use a digi

- Heart to Heart Challenges - Button Up

Thanks for stopping by! Off to schedule some blog posts before tea.. if all goes to plan! ;) xo

La-La Land Catch Up!

Evening guys! :) I'm stopping by with a little catch up post with my La-La Land Crafts projects from the last fortnight! :) I've had the most delicious Saturday I've had in a long while, and now I'm just taking the time to sit and chill for a while.

So, last week we had the theme of 'Special Lady' - so I decided to make a 21st birthday card for a girl I work with who turns.. well.. 21.. at the end of this month! :) I used the gorgeous Heart Balloon Marci and sat her on the Garden Bench! :) I added the 21 to her balloon in MS Word and added some colour with a matching ProMarker. 

I die cut a slice of vellum using the gorgeous Bird Cage Die, which is *quite possibly.. my favouritest. Ever. to add something behind the circle sentiment. I went with a little nautical theme with the red, white and blue. I used a gorgeous paper pad from My Minds Eye Come Away With Me!! Gorgeous! I've added a bunch of WOC and Ribbon Girl goodness as well as some baby blue Liquid Pearls here and there. Oh, and that banner has been created using the little banner stamps from Whimsy Stamps. Fave!!

This week our theme was 'St. Patrick's Day', so naturally, I had to use Leprechaun Luka! :) I've coloured him with the usual ProMarkers and FlexMarkers and made a bright, spring card! He had to have ginger hair, right? I've coloured him up in greys and greens. I think he looks very fetching, and those stockings. Heck yes! LOL!!

I've die cut a few Lily of the Valley from vellum and added them behind the main image panel. I've kept the card pretty simple by just adding a slice of patterned paper and an embossed panel. I think the bright cardbase helps it all pop and the yellow glow around Luka ties the whole design together! :) 

So that's me caught up with it all! :) I'ma hit FB and catch up there! Nighty. xo

One for the Ladies at Passion for ProMarkers

I'm back! :) Eventually. I gotta admit, I'm finding it very hard to get back into the swing of DT commitments, but hopefully the decisions I've made over the past few days are gonna help. I've decided to take a step back from a couple things until I have the energy and the ability to free up some of my time for crafting. I've been feeling very drained lately and a lot of things have been getting on top of me.

All of that aside, who's ready for a new challenge over at Passion for ProMarkers?

You? Well we want to see you're creations FOR THE LADIES. Do you have a special woman in your life? You mam, grandma, daughter, sister, close friend? Make something which celebrates them!!

I decided to make a welcome home/ get well soon/ Mother's day/ thinking of you for my Grandma! :) I used the gorgeous Roses are Red, Violets are Blue from Saturated Canary and coloured her up with.. ProMarkers! :) These images are perfect for practicing hair, especially this one. Look at it all. It's gorgeous! :) 

I've used some left over papers from a My Minds Eye collection. I love the orange and pale teal combo. I didn't want to go all pink and girly, as that's not how Mamar rolls!

I've used a circle sentiment from Lili of the Valley 'You Make Life Wonderful' - so sweet. I've die cut it using a Spellbinders circle die and tucked it under my triple bow I've made using my bow easy. I added a bunch of Wild Orchid Crafts goodness. I've tried to add some movement to the card by arranging them in a kinda swirl to the left and right of the image. I added some gems, pearls and liquid pearls to fill in the smaller gaps. I like how it turned out.

Lastly, I've created a little banner using some Whimsy Stamps which I stamped with Brilliance Graphic Black ink onto the little scraps of patterned paper I had left sitting about. :) Waste not want not. I think I'll get another card out of that collection and then it'll be another one done and used up! Yippeee!!

Head over to the Passion for ProMarkers challenge blog and see what my amazing teamies have created for the lady in their lift! :)

So.. I'd like to enter this card into these challenges:

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-

-

Thanks for stopping by! xo