A big welcome to all of my lovely followers and visitors to my little space in the crafting world of blogland! I love colouring, drool over every embellishment and love to 'look' at papers (never mind using them) - some are just TOO good to use lol. I hope you enjoy your little wander through my creative world and would love to feel that I may have inspired some of you in some small way. Happy Crafting to you all and I hope you will stop by again soon!

Sunday 28 April 2013

Challenges 4 Everybody #19 - Anything Goes

Hello lovelies, I'm back for the start of Challenge #19 over at Challenges 4 Everybody.

Our fab sponsor for this next fortnight is Sassy Studio Designs and, as always, the theme is the all time favourite ANYTHING GOES!

The image I chose to have a play with this time is the villainess Ursula from the fabulous film The Little Mermaid.  From being 4 years old, my eldest daughter (who is now a whole 26 years old) has adored this film ..... you know how some children have a comfort blanket, teddy, pillowcase etc - well, this wonderful film was my daughter's 'comfort blanket' so to speak! As a child, if she was feeling a little under the weather or a little sad, this was the film she would snuggle up with - she knew every word (and still does lol) and would sing away to her heart's content :)

Onto my card now and here's my version of Ursula ...


I coloured her up with Copics using B12, B93, B95, B97 for her skin and underneath her tentacles and a touch of C0, C1 to her hair. I had a little play with my black and white stickles and merged them together onto her tentacles to try and give a glittery effect but still showing a bit of light and shade .... not sure if it worked but I had fun trying!  I matted onto my gorgeous Maja Spring Design papers from Live & Love Crafts and added my flower displays, which also include a little bit of sea-life from my stash mingled amongst them! My cute little bottle is from my local craft shop - I added glitter and cut out some little musical notes and attached!  This being my interpretation of Ariel's voice locked up in a bottle for the Wicked Ursula to take at her will ... ha ha :)


I hope you like my take on this villainess honey and would love for you to pop over and check out the other creations by the DT, as well as enter your fabulous makes whilst you're there!

I'd like to enter this into the following:

Copic Marker Europe #16 - Girls Aloud (only female images)
C.R.A.F.T Challenge #204 - Queen for a Day/Fantasy/Bling it up/Land of Make Believe
Crafty Catz Ch #180 - The Colour Purple
Delicious Doodles #33 - Something Fishy
Left of Center Creative Challenge #4 - LOC or Bling it up
Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge #124 - Anything Goes
Shelly's Images - TTT Challenge - April Showers bring May Flowers
Through the Craftroom Door - Anything Goes

Thanks so much for stopping by and your comments are warmly appreciated.
Hugs, xx

Lacy Sunshine Ch #7 - Monochrome

Hey Everyone - hope you're all enjoying a lazy Sunday!  I have some really exciting news to share with you all today ..... I've been bursting at the seams trying to keep it in, but I can now reveal I am officially a SUNSHINE GIRL!

A couple of weeks ago, the lovely and extremely talented Heather Valentin, invited me to join her fabulous team over on the Lacy Sunshine Challenge Blog.  As you may be aware from my last few blogs, I'm a little lot besotted with her images and so, of course, my answer was a very excitable YES!!! I feel so honoured to be asked to join this amazing team and would like to thank them all for making me feel so welcome!

Heather has an amazing array of images to choose from, which can be found HERE at
The Official and Only Authorized Shop for Heather Valentin Digital Stamps

Today is the start of Challenge #7 - Monochrome

We've been having a lot of fun with The Gnomes of Gnarly Wood over the last couple of weeks and, for my card today, Heather sent me this fab new image called Winston - Something Fishy!


I just love this image - poor old Winston getting in a right proper pickle and Mr naughty black and blue fishy (obvious choice of colours for a fish ....) having a good old chuckle at Winston's expense!! 

I coloured this fab duo with my Copics:
Black tones:  C0, 1, 3, 5, 7      Blue tones:   B12, 93, 95, 97   Skin tones:  E000, 00, 21, R11


The sentiment is from a Daisy & Dandelion clear stamp set and the backing papers are from the NitWits collection 'Candle and Cakes'.

We'd love for you to pop on over and see what some of the other gnomes have been getting up to - and, of course, to take part in this fabulous challenge.  The DT have created some fantastic inspiration for you all.

I would like to enter Winston into the following:

Card Crafter's Circle #72 - Boys to Men
Paper Crafting Journey - Use a Sentiment
The Paper Shelter #109 - For the Boys
The Stamping Chef - All Boy

Thanks so much for popping by today!
Big hugs, xx

613 Avenue Create Ch #17

Good morning all - and what a beautiful morning it is in this part of the world! The sun has got his hat on again today, which makes yours truly a very happy bunny! 

Today is the start of a fresh challenge over at 613 Avenue Create and, for this week, the theme is ANYTHING GOES with an optional PHOTO INSPIRATION.

This week we are sponsored by Shelly's Images who are offering a $6 Gift Certificate to our challenge winner!

My card showcases the very sweet 'May Flowers' image, which I thought would be very apt seeing as we're almost through our April showers and shall be blossoming our way through to some pretty May flowers.

...... and here is the photo inspiration, of which I chose to follow the colours


For my card I used my pretty Daisy & Dandelion backing papers, which I've had for an age - but were perfect for the colour choice.  I also dug out one of my message bands from Craftwork Cards and attached ribbon and a coloured sentiment to it.  

I coloured my image in Promarkers this time - shock, horror! Lol - I've been neglecting them a bit recently and had actually forgotten how lovely they are to use!  I fussy cut around the image and added 3d foam to adhere to my grass and sky background - grass coloured with PM's, sky with Copics :)

I'd love for you to pop over and take a peek at my DTeamies fab designs and interpretations on the fabby photo inspiration this week - and we can't wait to see what you create this week!

I hope you like my pretty display this morning and I will be back in a little while with some very exciting news ...... 

I'd like to enter into the following:

Crafts 4 Eternity R#121 - Perfect Papers
Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge #124 - Anything Goes
Stamping with the Dragon - Spring has Sprung
Wags 'n Whiskers #102 - May Flowers

Big hugs, xx

Saturday 20 April 2013

The Gnomes of Gnarly Wood

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE
I love you ..... Gnome-atter what you do!

Hi everyone - well, the sun is shining brightly today so, not only do we need our sunnies on this beautiful Spring day, you may need them for this super bright post too!

I've been colouring up a storm and have almost used every colour of the rainbow in my little creation for you today, showcasing some of Heather Valentin's fabulous new digi images from her Lacy Sunshine store.


Introducing Lovely Larry and Lexie's Naughty Chair Gnome, nestling amongst their beautiful home in their lovely clearing of Gnarly Wood .... aren't they just the sweetest?  Their fabulous home comes in a digi bit set, which also includes the little toadstools and some flowers.  I decided to merge them all together to create a little scene, added some grass, sky and rocks and voila!!

Well now, Miss Lexie is a very naughty little gnome and, more often than not, you will find her on her chair!  However, Lovely Larry is such a forgiving little dude and can't help but adore Lexie - his love is so unconditional, he's happy to offer her his last sunflower to cheer her up!  In his eyes, she can NEVER be as naughty as all of the other gnomes say she is .... and there are quite a few other gnomes in the Lacy Sunshine store who would strongly disagree with the Lovely Larry!

Of course, I know my little tale is very believable, however, the actual story of  Lexie and her naughty chair is revealed in the fabulous Linda Simpson's post of today, which can be found HERE.  You'll also be able to take a peek at Linda's fabby take on the naughtiest gnome in Gnarly Wood :)

I coloured my little scene up with Copics, but I will spare you all on the colours otherwise the list would probably be longer than this post ......

I would like to enter my little colouring fest into the following:

Crafty Creations Challenges - No patterned paper
Jellypark Challenges - Make us laugh and smile
Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge - Use a sentiment
Stampin for the Weekend - Friendship
Sweet Stamps - A Rainbow of Color

Thanks so much for popping by today - have a fab rest of the weekend!

Hugs, 

Sunday 14 April 2013

Molly Fishing and a fabulous new sponsor!

Good morning everyone and a big 'Hi' to my lovely new followers!  

It's time for the start of a fresh challenge over at Challenges 4 Everybody today, which, as always, is everyone's favourite ANYTHING GOES!  I'm super excited to tell you that we also have a brand new sponsor, which is the fabulous Heather Valentin of Lacy Sunshine.  Our winner will receive a huge $20  voucher to spend in the Lacy Sunshine store and our runner up will receive 2 digis of their choice! Heather's beautiful images are definitely not to be missed so be sure to enter to be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize!

The team have created some gorgeous makes using these beautiful images and I'd love for you to pop over and take a peek.

Here's my creation today showcasing the adorable Molly Fishing!
 Oh my gosh! How incredibly cute is she?!?

For today's card, I followed this week's fabulous sketch from A Gem of A Challenge.  The beautiful backing papers are Maja Design Spring Basics and can be found HERE at Live and Love Crafts.  The lilac and white flower sprays, as well as the shabby seam binding, can also be found at LLC.  Flowers and lace are from my stash and my cute little fish charm is from The Hobby House.   The beautiful butterfly is a Cheery Lynn Designs die.
I coloured up little Molly with Copics in the following colours:

Skin:  E000, 00, 21, R11   Green tones:  YG11, YG06, G14
Hair/Bucket:  W1, 3, 5, 7  Purple tones:  BV02, 13, 31

I'd like to enter Molly into the following:

A Gem of A Challenge #75 - Sketch
A Little Bit Crafty - Anything Goes
Anything Goes Challenge #90 - Heavy Metal (Fish Charm)
Digistamps4Joy - Anything Goes
Fab 'n' Funky Challenges #166 - Spring Colours
Flutter By Wednesday #235 - Anything Goes with a Butterfly or Fairy
Little Red Wagon #180 - Lovely Lace
Papertake Weekly Challenge - Bingo (I've used lace, free, blooms)
Sister Act Card Challenge #2 - Anything Goes
Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Pastels
Totally Gorjuss #179 - Spring Shades

Thanks so much for popping by today!
Hugs,

Challenge #15 at 613 Avenue Create

Hey everyone - it's challenge time again at 613 Avenue Create.

As always, we welcome any project and, should you so wish, we have a fabulous sketch by our very own Kathi to follow!   Our sponsor for this next fortnight is the fantastic Bugaboo, who are kindly offering 7 digis to our winner! 

I thoroughly enjoyed creating my card with this sketch, and of course with the cute little Fancy SB Umbrella. Here's my little take on it ....


The gorgeous papers are the NitWit Collection - Bear Necessities, and you can find them HERE.   I die-cut the Memory Box Madeira Corner twice to create the corner flourish and added flowers from my stash.  The pearls and little buttons on the flags are also from my stash.  


I coloured Fancy SB Umbrella up with my Copics in the following:
Umbrella/Dress:  B000, 00, 12, 24   Hat/Jacket:  E00, 02, 95  Shoes:  E51, 53, 57 
and added liquid pearls to the edge of the scallop die and stickles to add a bit of sparkly rain :)

I'd love for you to pop on over and see the amazing inspiration from my teamies and cannot wait to see what you create for us this time!

I would like to enter into the following:

2 Sisters Challenge Blog #139 - Hats
Crafty Calendar April Challenge - Sunshine & Showers
Digi Haven - Rain/Umbrella
Heck of a Challenge - Just add water
Simon Says Stamp Challenge - April Showers and/or Spring Flowers

Thank you for visiting my little space today and enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Hugs,

Saturday 13 April 2013

Creations of a 6 year old ...

Hey everyone! Hope you're all keeping well.  I'd like to share with you my little boy's creations, which he is extremely proud of ..... and, of course, so am I.

Seeing as the weather is still proper gloomy, there was no questioning ..... it was going to be a crafty day today.  My little boy, George, loves creating and often perches himself in my craftroom to chill, craft ..... and talk, and talk, and talk ....... hee hee!  He has his very own stash (some which has been pinched from yours truly)!  

Here's a little card he made - the only part of the card that I had a hand in was literally cutting the backing paper to fit the card!  
He is very independent and insists on doing most things himself and so everything from the design and sticking including the matting of the backing paper, decoupage and even rolling the roses was all done by his fair hands :) 

I recently bought him some miniature glass bottles - well, I bought myself some and I bought George some at the same time as I knew he'd only go and pinch mine lol.  Anyhow, he's also been making 'potions' today and this is what he produced .......
He made all of these gorgeous little potions with washing up liquid (red, yellow and blue)!  He experimented mixing them up, adding glitter, beads, sequins, water, stirring, not stirring ..... 

He has even given them all names, which, from left to right are:

Dragon Potion
Golden Glitter Potion
Fire Potion
Fairy Potion
Bead Magic Potion
Reddy-Pink Potion - think he ran out of ideas at this point lol
Rainbow Potion

Hope you like George's creations as much as we do :) Thanks for looking today and I'll be back here tomorrow!
Hugs, 
 & George xx

Sunday 7 April 2013

Lizabeth - Key to my Heart

Hiya lovely peeps!  I'm finally here today to show my latest card using another fabulous image by Heather Valentin!  So, without further ado, here is the beautiful Lizabeth Key to my Heart and you can find her in the Lacy Sunshine store here.


You may notice a dome shape to the card ..... my original attempt of adding 3d glaze to the lovely Lizabeth ended in disaster!  Of course, we learn by our mistakes and so, after printing and colouring her again ....... I went and did the SAME thing!!! The glaze was quite clearly too much for the whole of the pic and poor Lizabeth had a distorted face.  After much debate with me and the light bulb in my head, I decided to round her back to normal by pushing the front of the card forward to create the dome and adhered to a separate piece of card behind to keep it in place.  


I framed Lizabeth using a negative from my spellbinder scalloped oval to create a frame and added flat backed adhesive pearls to the scallop points.

Copics used for this little beauty are:
Skin:  E000, 00, 21, R11   Greens:  G99, 94, 85, YG63
Plums:  V06, 15, 12, 000  Blacks:  C0, 1, 3, 5, 7


The beautiful papers are from both the Maja Vintage Spring and Summer paper pads, which I bought from Live and Love Crafts - as is the gorgeous plum shabby seam binding, twine, pearl string, bark heart and berry flower sprays.  I made the little scroll (inspired by a beautiful card from one of the lovely LLC designers).  The inside of which is obviously very private as it is for the eyes of the key holder only ;) 


Although I had a bit of a drama initially with my card, I'm really quite chuffed now with the whole shape of it and may even do another one ..... 


Thanks so much for popping by today and I'd love to hear of any crafty disasters turned good, which you may have encountered along your crafty journeys.

I'd like to enter Lizabeth into the following:

2 Sisters #138 - Anything Goes
CMC Challenge  #65 - All About Hair
Crafting for all Seasons #49 - Floral Delight
Lacy Sunshine Challenge #5 - Anything Goes
Little Miss Muffet Challenges - #58 - Anything Goes
Little Red Wagon #179 - Be a Negative Nellie
Live & Love Crafts #10 - Bingo (I have used Metal (key), Pearls, Flowers)
Make It Monday #135 - Linky Party
Mema's Crafts - April - Anything Goes
Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Look at Scallops

Crafty hugs, xx