Olympic Inspiration

Afternoon guys. Late? Yip. Sorry? Nope!! LOL. This is the result of a whole weekend in the garden, in the sun. BBQing it large and having a blast!! After spending a week cooped up at work when it's glorious outside.. I make the most of my free weekends in the fresh air!! Now don't get muddled - I'm still as white as a sheet, but I ain't big on all of this tan stuff anyway. Good job though, eh? :)

Okay, okay. Enough of the mindless waffle. My blog is ridiculous right now - my posts are like buses!! For that, I apologise - but now, while I'm sitting.. I'll get a few scheduled for the coming week. :)

So this week - Team 1 - over at Passion for ProMarkers has some awesome inspiration for this weeks challenge criteria.. 

 

Debs has chosen an Olympic themed inspiration photo. You can use the rings themselves, a sporty theme, or even just the colours. As usual - you've gotta use your Letraset products to be in with a chance of winning.. 

The prize this week is a £10.00 voucher from our sponsor - Joanna Sheen, to spend in her online store.

 

So here goes!! 

I used a gorgeous (uninked) Simply Sassy image, and coloured her with ProMarkers and FlexMarkers - naturally. I love her little pose and those.. pom poms? are a treat to colour. This is Team Spirit. I've cut her out using a Labels Two and added some of my faux stitching using a Real Red SU! Marker.  

Blush, Soft Peach, Rose Peach, Baby Pink

March Hare, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Cocoa

Red, Berry, Crimson, Burgundy

Azure, True Blue, French Navy

Blender, Cool Grey 1, 2

Cool Grey 3, 4, 5, Black

Blender, Soft Aqua, Pastel Blue, Cool Aqua

Sandstone, Tan, Cinnamon

I've created the sentiment using my trusty Lawn Fawn Alphabet - Harolds ABC's. AMAZING set - like.. amazing. Gotta get my hands on more Lawn Fawn Alpha sets. I've stamped their names in Real Red ink to tie in with the rest of the card. This card is to give to my boss and a lass I work with who are doing the Race for Life next month. :) A little bit of encouragement for them.

I've used some papers from My Minds Eye Lime Twist - Out of the Blue. I've added a slice of yummy pencil stripe ribbon from The Ribbon Girl and some Doodlebug brads to my sentiment/ name panel which has been cut using an xCut die. :)

Me thinks that's about it - so I'm off to scout for some challenges to enter:

Celebrate the Occasion - Anything Goes

Creative Craft Challenges - Patriotic Colours

Oldie but Goodie - Anything Goes

My Simply Sassy stamp - been sitting unloved for a lot longer than 6 months *sad face*

Make it Monday - Anything Goes

That's it from me for today!! :) Thank you for stopping by.

Designed To Color - Challenge #1

Hey guys, did you know you still have just over a week to enter our very first challenge over at Designed To Color? Yip.

Every month we're gonna hold a new challenge over on the blog for you to join in with for a chance to win some amazing prizes. This month the lucky winner will receive THREE DIGIS from the ever amazing Krista Smith of Saturated Canary!

This months theme is..

ROLLED FLOWERS

So here's what I came up with. :)

This is the gorgeous Poppy from Saturated Canary which I've coloured using ProMarkers and FlexMarkers. :) As for those rolled flowers - I created them using a Marianne D die and some double sided patterned paper from My Minds Eye. I also used a flower punch on the very bottom to add a little extra interest.

Head over to the Designed to Color Blog now and see what the other awesome ladies have got to inspire ya to roll those flowers!!

Passion for ProMarkers 3rd Anniversary

Morning peoples. Thank you for stopping by today! :) First day back at work after a week off today. I'll be dead come 6pm! LOL.

So some of you may or may not know that I'm now part of the amazing talent on the Passion for ProMarkers DT, and us new girlies -  Jane B, Jane M and Jen - joined at just the right time. We've got a brand new challenge to celebrate..

Passion for ProMarkers
3rd Anniversary

We would really love to see those BIRTHDAY CREATIONS. We can never have enough on hand, so now is your perfect chance to add to your card stash. We've got some awesome prizes up for grabs, so make yourself a hot drink, sit back, and let us show you what we've got.

 

Letraset are offering 3 lucky winners 1 pack of Limited Edition “Summer” promarkers.

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Joanna Sheen are offering 1 prize of a £10.00 voucher to spend in her online store. 

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Crafty Emma’s store is offering one lucky winner a £10.00 voucher to spend in her online store. 

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Polka Doodles are offering 2 lucky winners a copy of her mini CD collection “Pretty Sweet”.

 

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Bugaboo are offering once lucky winner 7 digi images of their choice.

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Pink Gem Designs are offering one lucky winner their digi set called “Ewe make me smile”.

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DigiStamp Boutique are offering 6 digi images to one lucky winner.

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Bearly Mine Designs are offering one lucky winner 2 digi sets of their choice.

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Whimsy Stamps/Michele R Designs are offering one lucky winner a prize of $15.00 worth of digi papers.

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Now are they amazing prizes? Or are they amazing prizes? What more reason do you need to join in this time round?! Incase you're STILL not feeling inpired.. head over to the Passion for ProMarkers blog and see what the ladies have come up with to get those creative juices flowing!! Here's my attempt..

I've used the super cute Joyce from The Greeting Farm. She's a digi and I've printed her onto Neenah Solar White cardstock. I've coloured her using ProMarkers and FlexMarkers - naturally! ;)

I've added a blue glow behind her and a few little flowers and stuffs around her feet - told you I loved that right now! :) I've cut her out using a Labels Eighteen nestie and adhered her to the card using dimensionals. My papers are from First Edition and I've used the last of my baby blue twill stripe ribbon on this card!! Need to place an order with The Ribbon Girl veeeery soon!! I've used some delish flowers from WOC as well as a button from Basic Grey and and some rhinestones, also from WOC.

The sentiment from Amy R has been stamped in Pretty in Pink ink from SU! I've cut the end into a banner shape and adhered it under the image. I took some left over papers and created two extra little banners to adhered to the top of the card to fill in the blank space in the corner.

So before I waffle anymore and put you Passion for ProMarker followers off coming to my blog ever again, I'ma wrap it up here!! LOL! Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to head over to the BLOG  now and join in with our ANNIVERSARY celebrations by making up an extra special birthday card to share with us!!

I'd like to enter this card into these challenges:
Robyn's Fetish - Anything Goes
Inspire me Friday's - Always Anything Goes

Flowers, Flowers, Everywhere at TInks

Morning Tiddly Inkers! :) We've got a sweet new challenge for ya to join in with this fortnight..

FLOWERS, FLOWERS, EVERYWHERE!!

Easy, peasy, right? There's a million and one ways you could incorporate flowers onto your project - I've gone all out and tried to cram them in in.. four ways? Heehee. First up.. Wryn - Spring Bling was the natural choice, wasn't she? With the pretty bunch of flowers she's holding. So I've coloured her up to match my papers from First Edition - Bird Song. I then added a little field of flowers all around her using light strokes with my PMs and FMs to create blades of grass, then touching the very tip of my pen to the top of random blades to create pretty little flowers. This has gotta be my fave technique right now - I do it on almost all of my images! LOL.

So my two patterned papers I've used both have floral patterns, then to finish off the card and to add a little extra interest and dimension I used some delicious Wild Orchid Craft flowers in aqua, mint and 2 tone ivory and pink to match the other colours on the card. I've looped a few little lengths of baby pinks grosgrain ribbon and layered some lace behind the image too. I always like to add texture through fibres on my projects. Just a fancy way of saying I've got an addiction to ribbon! LMBO!

So what are you waiting for?! Get your flowery projects uploaded to the Tiddly Inks Challenge Blog NOW so we can pop by and have a mooch!!

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

One Stitch at a Time - Anything Goes

Paper Sundaes - Pretty in Pink

Pile it On - Patterns; Mix your Scales

Card Caravan - Flowers

You'll wanna come back later and see the exciting first post I've got as a Passion for ProMarkers DT member! ;) All I'ma say is.. PRIZES GALORE! 

Over and Out. 

Good Hair Day

After the positive reaction I received last night about my SMASH* page for the SOG Fun Day Challenge which you can see HERE.. I thought I'd share another of my pages with you all. :)

Thank you for all of your kind comments! Each and everyone is truly appreciated. My boyfriend was watching me schedule a couplea posts last night and said.. "Lou, I really don't know how you can be bothered" I was like.. what do you mean? He meant the amount of stuff I type up, the editing I carry out on my photos before I upload them, all of the links I include in my posts and stuff.. Wanna know why I can be bothered?! Because I love to hear the feedback from you guys!! Makes it all worth while! :)

So here we have a SMASH* page in my Green Eco book about GOOD HAIR DAYS! ;) Oh yeah. I know some of you girls will feel my pain. I usually only have good hair days when I have absolutely no where to go! Typical huh. On this very rare occasion I actually had somewhere to go AND I was having a good hair day. A result of overly positive thinking, I reckon! LOL.

The base of my page is on top of a slice of 6x6 Basic Grey Basics White paper. Helps to keep my journalling straight. I've used stamps and punches from SU! to decorate the page in blues and greens. I've added my own journalling and a few alpha stickers and stuff. I've recycled a little glassine bag that I get my twine in from The Ribbon Girl and used it as a pocket. I've added a Tim Holtz ticket, and a stamped image of Abbey from TGF which I neeeed colour colour. As I love her hair! :) I've also stamped the same image onto a little kraft tag from Papermania. I've threaded some green and blue bakers twine through the tag and attached using a Doodlebug brad. I've created a pocket on front of my pocket using a Starburst wrapper. It happened to be lying on my desk when I was making this page and thought it went with the whole colour scheme perfectly.

What else? Hmm.. a Sassafras button flower which I've been hoarding for ever. A Basic Grey brad with a little birdie on.. love. A green stick pin.. some Prima gems and pearls.. some liquid pearls.. Stickles.. an Echo Park banner sticker.. ohh and some washi tape. :) Lovely. All smashed in there! LOL.

That about wraps it up. It's all I've got for ya today. That cough I woke up with on Wesnesday, has, unsurprisingly, turned into a full blown cold. You don't even wanna know where I spend the majortity of my time last night! LMAO!! I don't do being ill very well at all. I'm like a dying duck!! 

So me thinks, as I'm actually on time with this.. I'll join in with the one and only Kellie Winnells SMASH*ing Sunday! :) I totally missed out on the 24 Hour SMASH* action over on FB this weekend. I'm useless. I know. :/ Maybe next time, huh?

Over and Out.

Some Odd Girl - Fun Day

Super late post, I know. Really.. I should be in bed, but all I've done is cough today - so dropping off to sleep is proving a little more difficult than I'd like. So I thought I'd stop by and share the project I made for the Some Odd Girl - Facebook Fun Day Challenge.

I don't know about you guys, but I've had a blast today. I haven't really been feeling 100%, and I've been in and out of the house, but I think I've caught up on most of the action. The mini tutorials and quick sales, along with the banter all of the ladies have been providing on FB has been fantastic! :) I really hope Kristy and the team make it a regular thing! :) 

So.. before I waffle on anymore. Got washing to sort out and fold before bed yet. Goodness.

 Now be warned.. I think this is the first SMASH* post I've made on my blog, although I have done a few more pages.. so.. I hope the photo is clear enough - I've been playing around with the best angle and stuff, and cannot for the life of me get it to look straight. I took about 8 pictures of the same page and they're all skew-whiff. So I've chosen what I believe to be the best two to show ya..

Still the most wonky thing ever.. but.. meh. I've used the gorgeous and oh so cute Shy Kaylee. I've printed her out at 5.5" which is a little bigger than I normally would, and I had a blast colouring up the creases in her top. Of course I had to add some turquoise tips to that quirky hair style of hers too! :)  

So the challenge was a BRIGHT COLOURS challenge. You guys know I love teal/turquoise yeah.. and what colour goes so well.. only ORANGE?! How much brighter could ya get? Heehee.

Polka dot socks. Yes please! :) I really do despise my handwriting, but as a load of ladies have said.. it's your SMASH* book and your own hand writing is the ultimate personalisation. Right? I've added a heap of stuff.. Pebbles stickers, Cosmo Cricket alpha stickers, MME papers and rub-ons, Sassafras button flower, Papermania and Doodlebug brads. Washi tape, twine, twill stripe ribbon. Yummity stuff.

So I'm off to get the rest of my chores finished up then off to bed for me. I oh, so hope Mother Goose allows a lie in tomorrow - I'm pooped! LOL.

Over and out.

Spots and Stripes at LLLC

*waves good morning*

So by the time this post goes lives.. me and the boyfriend should *hopefully* be well on our way to Edinburgh Zoo!! Excited much!! Naturally I'll have this post scheduled as I'm host this week, so it should all go according to plan. Here's the deal..

We've some new inspiration for ya over at La-La Land Crafts in the form of..

SPOTS AND STRIPES 

Probably my most fave criteria of all time. Give me spots or stripes.. or even better.. BOTH.. ANY day! :) Love them. So versatile, and I love that.

So I decided to merge two images for my card today..

Watercan Marci

Fence

Skin - Blush, Soft Peach, Rose Peach, Burnt Orange, Lavender, Baby Pink
Hair - Mare Hare, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Cocoa
Orange - Peach, Mango, Bright Orange, Orange, Spice
Blue - Turquoise, Island Lagoon, Marine, Petrol Blue
Fence - Terracotta, Cocoa, Saddle Brown
Path - Sandstone, Nutmeg, Tan, Umber, Warm Grey 3-5
Grass - Aniseed, Chartreuse, Emerald

I stamped my Kraft cardbase using Hero Arts Polka Dots cling stamp using some Pumpkin Pie ink from SU! I then wrapped some orange bakers twine and tied it in a tiny bow off to the right. I tried to keep this card pretty flat, as I was going to be mailing it - so having the image centre stage makes doing that pretty easy. :) I punched some butterflies with a Martha Stewart punch and adhered them to the image panel. I then wrapped some washi tape on each side of the image to balance the weight of the sentiment and largest butterfly. Job done.

Be sure to stop by the inspiration blog to see what everyone else has for ya today! ;) 

I'd like to enter this card into these challenges:
I <3 ProMarkers - Anything Goes 
Truly Scrumptious - Anything Goes 
Bunny Zoe Crafts - Anything Goes 
Simon Says Stamp - Clean and Simple

Fabulous Friday - Sending Happy Thoughts

Morning guys. I'll have been up well before this post me thinks.. heading up to Edinburgh Zoo for the day with the boy! Cannot friggin' WAIT!! This week has been a total blast so far and there is still so much more to come. So because I'm scheduling this post with loads of time to spare.. it will more than likely be filled with waffle. :)

This is a birthday card I made for the extremely loooovely Melissa.. for.. well.. her birthday! By the time she spies it over at the Tiddly Inks DT blog I have my fingers crossed it'll have made it in the post over the pond - if not, then shame on airmail for spoiling the surprise!! Slow asses.

I used the gorgeous Wryn - Fairy Friends from Tiddly Inks. LOVE this girlie. Infact, I'm loving all of these wild and wonderful fairies and pixies I'm seeing around blogland lately - they're so dreamy and remind me of when I was young and carefree, although I don't exactly know why.

I've coloured her up using ProMarkers and FlexMarkers and gone a little crazy with the grass at the bottom of her deliciously coloured toadstool. I've used some left over papers from My Minds Eye - Mabel collection alongside some ribbon and twine from The Ribbon Girl, a circle postmark stamp from Whimsy and some brads from Doodlebug.

I didn't make a note of all of the combos, but here are the few I did..

 Hair - March Hare, Tan, Cinnamon, Umber

Toadstool - Tea Green, Aquamarine, Pastel Green, Mint Green, March Hare, Sandstone, Tan, Cinnamon

Yellow - Buttercup, Pastel Yellow, Mustard

I tried to keep this card pretty flat, so it was easier to mail. I've doodled around all of the edges and added the whole thing to a Kraft cardbase. I wish I'd taken a closer picture of her wings - I tried to make them gradiated (is that even a word?!) from blue to yellow.. it looked pretty good IRL if I do say so myself!

That's about all from me for this one! Hope you likey, and be sure to stop by the Tiddly Inks blog to see what the other ladies on this amazing DT have got for ya to dribble over!! 

Just wanted to share a few little photos of my Darts Presentation night before I pop off. :)

Me and Mother Goose. :)

The gorgeous flowers the ladies on my team got me! :)

Over and OUT. 

Grandma.

Afternoon everyone. :) Just checking in between eating dinner and colouring. Thought I'd share a picture of my Grandmas birthday card. She was 81 on Saturday just gone! <3 Love that woman. She's lucky enough to still have all of her marbles, although she has disability issues she still plods on.

I've used some yummy papers from First Edition Bird Song - I LOVE pink and green together. I don't know what it is.. but I kinda struggle to use pink any other time - pair it with green and it's easy peasy! :) I've kept the layout super simple. I've used the last of my pink twill stripe ribbon from TRG - best get another order placed soon, huh? - aswell as a cute little button from SU! I've trimmed the mini tags from the patterned paper and adhered them under the bow.

The 'Grandma' has been pieced together using letter stamps from Lawn Fawn and stamped in Soft Suede ink. The cameo from WaltzingMouse has been stamped in Pretty in Pink and the border in Crumb Cake. Lovely :) I've used Blushing Bride and Pear Pizzaz cardstock from SU! for my cardbase and layering. Job done.

Seems to me like I took the right week off work - it's been jam packed from the word go! Monday was Durham. Tuesday was pictures with the boy to see Hunger Games then my Darts Presentation Night. Today I'ma be catching up with orders, DT work and making a start on my friends baby book. Thursday is a house warming/ birthday party. Friday is Edinburgh!! Here was me looking forward to a lie in or two!! LOL.

A few pictures to share with ya..

Durham. :) Beautiful little city. 

Hope you guys enjoy your day. I'm off to finish my sandwich and make another coffee.

No rest for the wicked.

Some Colour Inspiration at Pollycraft

Yoohoo!! Just me, slightly late. What's new?! :) Quickly gonna try and get this typed up before I rush off to get ready for a girly day in Durham. I'm sure I'll be back with some lovely pictures to share with my new camera! :) Yeehhaaa.

So today it's time for a new challenge over at Pollycraft. The lovely Sheena has some colour inspiration for us!! It's a beautiful picture. So many gorgeous colours, lots of layers, a gorgeous shape, some cute little novelty items - birds, tea cups, tea pots, roses, spoons. You get the idea. This picture can inspire you in loads of ways!

 

You can use this photo in any which way you like to inspire your project!! I've tried to look past all of the pinks and whites.. and more into the greens and golds! I've used an older stamp - Earth Fairy. Love her and her simplicity. :)

I know what you're thinking.. woah.. that image is bright. You'd be right.. but I just had to try out some of the new Limited Edition 2012 ProMarker colours. Tropical Orchid and Summer Sun. So puurddy!!

I've kept the layout pretty simple, and used some new papers from First Edition. I've added some gold crinkle ribbon from The Ribbon Girl to pick up on the gold from the picture. I've used some yummy WOC flowers for the first time in ages. The sentiment from Amy R Stamps has been stamped in Soft Suede ink onto the image panel. Perfect fit! :)

So.. that's my quick post! LOL. I had massive plans of adding colour combos and all sorts.. but I've waffled enough. So head over to the Pollycraft Challenge Blog and see what the other ladies have created for ya. Lots of inspiration, let me tell ya! ;)

To Celebrate Mothers Day at TInks

Hey guys. Sorry this post is going up so late.. geez.. I've been really out of it this last week or so. Don't know what is going on.. think I've just got a lot going on right now - barely got five minutes to myself what with work and home. I've been tryna get my room/ desk area more organised so it works better for me from a practical point of view.. but it's one of those things you wish you'd never started. You know the ones.. LOL!

Anyway. Enough of that. I've been a bad DT member on all points, sucked at replying to messages and emails and even worse at keeping my blog up to date and scheduling posts!! On the bright side though.. I have treated myself to a new camera and some SU! goodies. So that should get me going.. once I actually get the time to sit down at my newly organised (ish) desk. I still gotta get that finished. Gahh.. the list is never ending!!

So the new challenge over at Tiddly Inks this fortnight is..

MOTHER'S DAY

Now that has been and gone here in the UK.. so I decided to create a tag I can use on a SMASH* book page about my her. More of that later on in the month I'm hoping.

So I decided to use Wryn - Close to my Heart for this card, and I've coloured her with PM's and FM's to match my new papers from First Edition. I seen the brown and blue combo with the splashes of grey and blue and knew I had to have these. Had to. :)

Blush, Soft Peach, Rose Peach, Baby Pink

Pastel Yellow, Ginger, Terracotta, Cocoa, Walnut, Black

Lipstick Red, Red, Berry Red

Ivory, Buttercup, Mustard, Sunflower, Gold

Pale Blossom, Sorbet, Tea Gree, Pebble Blue, Grey Green

Warm Grey 2-4

I fussy cut Wryn and adhered her to the card using 2mm dimensionals - tried to keep it pretty flat. Don't want a fat SMASH* book that won't close now, do I? :) I used my craft knife to cut the area out between those amazing shoes of hers - I need a lot more practice at that! 

I created a 'Mam' sentiment using some Studio G alpha stamps and some Sage Shadow ink from SU! I tied some ivory jute twine.. I think that's what it's called? through the eyelet at the top and voila. Job done.

Head over to the Tiddly Inks Challenge Blog now and see what my other awesome teamies have got for ya to drool over!!

I'll try and check in more often guys. I promise.

All Wired Up at LLLC

May? Already? I know. Time is FLYING, and guess what? This is my last month as a LLLC designer! *boooo* So I'm planning on making the most of these adorable images. This week we've got some brand new inspiration for ya in, in the form of.. wires. 

ALL WIRED UP

Now, it may be a surprise to some of you.. but wire is probably the one thing I don't have in my stash. SO. I improvised. You can use any sort of metal, chain... wire.. LOL.. on your creation, so I've made what can only be called faux chain. :) Stroke of genius, if I do say so myself.. although it didn't quite turn out how I wanted. Grr.

This is Sitting Luka. Love this guy, don't ask what happened with his pants.. or his hat - musta been colouring in the dark. Or with my eyes shut. Or maybe I just need to practice more! Shame on me for thinking outside the box and tryna come up with some new colour combos! :/ 

Skin - Blush, Sunkissed Pink, Coral, Cinnamon
Greens - Grass, Emerald, Lush Green, Pink
Blues - Turquoise, Marine, Petrol Blue, Midnight Blue
Greys - Cool Grey 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Trousers - Mustard, Soft Khaki, Warm Grey 4

As usual I've coloured this guy with ProMarkers to match my patterned paper from My Minds Eye. I tried to create a little scene with my scraps. A wall with the chain hanging, the sky, the grass. You get the idea. I've added a sentiment from SU! and some vellum clouds cut with some PTI dies to break up that busy chevron.

Talking about DIES have you seen the BRAND NEW Exclusive Steel DIES!? If not, take a look - YOU'RE missing out if you haven't. 

Pop over to the LLLC Inspiration Blog and see what the other teamies have made for ya to drool over on this miserable, grey Friday morning.