Pick and mix set yourself challenge

Told you I'd be back, card in the post with an explanation so my little sis doesn't try and get me put away. This one is for hubby's sister, just one more to do though I'm not going to get that in the post and there for monday for his other sister never mind it can arrive late , it's the thought that counts and he will see this sister tomorrow as she and her hubby are coming for lunch as it's her birthday, so he can give her her card. If I make a flatish card for his other sister it might get in the post will have to see how time goes.

Well for those who pop into my wierd gabbling s regularly, you will know the other day I had a whim to bake , which I did and then ended up feeding half to the birds as I threw them on the floor. The others I decorated in pinks and gave to my neighbours daughter as it was her birthday, I did give her a card and gift too.She informed me about an hour later about 9:30 that they were lovely so I guess they quickly followed breakfast. Sad to say I forgot to take a piccy, I will try and take a piccy of the cake I've made for Kelly hubby's sis, nothing spectacular just a lemon drizzle cake but I've added some pink and lemon edible glitter and I do think it adds a little something.

Oops, gabbling on again ,my card. This is for the latest challenge over at the sugar bowl where you get to do it yourself, in the choosing of which past sketch to use and what theme and of course making your project. There is even a do it yourself element to thefab prize too you get to pick which 6 stamps you want and choose from 2 letraset pen sets, promarkers or the new aquamarkers.

My card is based on sketch 18 and I used this fab cute teddy teaparty stamp not sure of its proper name but I do think it's just so cute. The papers are freebies and the flowers I think were from some scrapbooking kit from way back not sure of the make sorry.

Sisters have a special day.

Well I didn't know that but I suppose I didn't go looking either, I found out last year there is a grandparents day ,only by chance and that they had actually changed the date from the previous year so it coinsided with something for age concern or something like that, I think it's sometime in october but if anyone knows the exact date could they let me know please. I'd also like to know if there is a special day for brothers too.

You may well be asking what I'm on about and what started this odd train of thought , well over at Daring cardmakers they have a theme of making a card for special girlfriend as it's girlfriend day on the 1st of august , I presume it's just special friend who is a girl , girlfriend or maybe it could be boy's girlfriends girlfriends too I'm not sure. It is also sister day on the 2nd of august so you can make a card for either. Well I have just finished making my catrd for my baby sis and will endevour to get it in the post for her so it arrives by the 2nd, if I'm lucky. I think I best put a note in it about sisters day though otherwise she will think I've totally lost it as her birthday is in January, and as she is a phychiatric nurse totally loosing it might be a bad thing.

The layout is from craftwork cards and I thought it lent itself well to the thought behind the card, I only have a few craftwork bits, candy and some chocolate related sentiments that were bought with my sis who is a chocoholic in mind.

I could also enter this into the stamp man challenge, I did have something else in mind so if I'm allowed I might be entering twice . Their challenge is to take 2 colours, mine here are yellow, varying shades and use to be my sisters fav childhood colour not sure if her taste has changed though and brown , my candy dots.

My cute little daisies I love making and over at Craftilicious they have a make your own flowers challenge, so I'm in. There DT have some fab examples too and all very different.

Alphabet challenges are N for nature so I guess flowers count as nature.

Cute card thursday have an intresting challenge called 'text', make your words a focal piont, I really wondered how I could do this and whilst makiong this card it dawned on me that I had actually done it.

Anyway hope you all have a great weekend and I have another card to upload later but for now I'm off to the post office.

Practical Tilda

Thought I'd do something a little different to a card, basically as I seem to be getting snowed under again with them, I can feel another bluebell wood hospice charity shop visit coming on, well at least they go to a good cause even if it doesn't save me money or replenish the coffers to reduce my wish list any.

I use to have a cheque book holder, I got it when I first opened my bank account with the Midland bank many moons ago, it nolonger exists as is part of HSBC now and it was really usefull as it kept the book straight and somehow made it easier to find. I decided it was time I had another as that one departed itself quite a while ago and I really enjoyed working out how to make it,never mind enjoying the decoration bits.

I decided I really couldn't make it too fancy as it would just get wrecked inmy handbag with everything bar the kitchen sink in there, I have all kinds of wierd stuff including allen keys so I can do running repairs on my son's wheelchair and things don't know if this is normal as I don't usually go rumaging in other girls handbags.

Well my little project, I used Tilda and coloured her blue , my colour of choice, and daisy paper another favourite and of course there has to be a bit of ribbon and sparklies too. It looks quite simple really bu8t I'm not sure if it would count as a clean and simple project if you include making the holder from scratch, though saying that I think the whole thing took me about an hour including the stickles on Tilda drying, maybe I could go into production?

I would like to enter my blue Tilda for the following challenges:-

Die cut dreams- Tilda in blue
Paperplay-open theme
Sarah Hurley-anything goes(optional sketch which I didn't use, sorry)
CAS-tastic-bling it up

A little bit of painting

All these posts make it look like I've been super busy crafting today, but have to admit , it's more that they have all been in the pipeline so to speak and either I've just finished them off or am just getting around to posting them. I would love to do crafting all day but alas it was supermarket shopping and cleaning up for most of the day. I then decided I fanciedbaking, not eating as we are all in need of loosing some excess pounds so I had it plannede that as it is our neighbours daughters birthday tomorrow , she will be the grand age of 10, I thought I could take some cute glittered cupcake round for her, as her mum rarely has time to bake as she is a student midwife. Shall we say things went to plan up to me getting them out of the oven , when for some reason I decided to throw the tin on the floor. Fortunately it landed right side up and only 4 landed on the floor but some that were still in the tin looked a little cracked from the shock. The birds will enjoy the floor 4 and when cooled I will see what I can salvage. Good job I didn't say I would bake them and it was an extra suprise. If they are a total disaster I may bake some more or depending how the mood takes me just forget the whole idea.

Well this card not my usual thing, but like the baking when I get a bee in my bonnet I have to dabble. I'm not the world's best artist by any stretch of the imagination but I love how different watercolours look and they don't have to be wishy washy colours.

I intend entering this for the watercolour challenge at Polka doodles as they have some of the new letraset aquamarker pens up for grabs and I figured I might be a better artist with those. Not sure if it's a random thingy or choice winner so I'll just have to keep my fingers and toes crossed.

Congratulations,it's a girl

Well I'm prepared if it is. Not made this for anyone in particular , but my sister in laws inlaws are having another baby so might as well be prepared, and I love these cute little booties and just had to make them. I found the pattern in a pile of papers I'd torn from a magazine  ages ago when I was having a  sort out as some of the shelves promised ages ago finally arrived, so I'm a little more organised.

I decided to keep the card simple, so didn't do much to it other than add a few buttons for a bit of intrest and balance,oh and I added some fabric for a softer background for the booties.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:-

Totally gorjuss- congratulations
Allsorts-card for a child or baby

Just a note-book

I don't know how the rest of you decide on which challenges you enter your cards/projects into but I'm a list person, and I have to write things down. I seem to have gotten into a routine now where after I've got up to make hubby's packed lunch at around 5:30am give or take and made a cup of coffee, I plonk myself in front of the computer, check my emails and then go onto blogger and check all the new posts that have arrived since the previous morning from all the blogs I follow. I then make a note of any challenges that have been posted, so when I make a card etc I have something to help me remember the themes and who's challenge it was.

I have note books to write the challenges in, it use to be scraps of paper but I found I kept loosing these, dilitary as I am and I like to decorate my books , makes them easier to find. Have I lost you all yet? there is a point to this. I have tied this last note book into the theme they have over at forever friends, as their challenge is to decorate or make a notebook, see I told you there was a point.

The cute bear I painted with H2O's paints and the letters I drew and cut out freehand from some dotty forever friends papers and just stuck it all on pink backing paper. I seem to be using an awful lot of pink lately!

Other challenges I would like to enter my notebook in are:-

 Just cute bears- clean and simple

Simon says- going dotty

Treehouse thursday - seeing dots

Forever friends- decorate or make a notebook

Lazy summer days in black and tan...

...shale and white too. A fab colour combination for the challenge at Playdate cafe.

This card will be winging it's way to tenerife for my father in law in a wee while as it's his birthday in august. A bad time for our family re birthdays as it starts with one of my nieces on wednesday and ends in september with my hubbies, we have 7 birthdays and 4 wedding anniversaries just for family and then there are 2 or 3 friends mixed in for good measure too.

For this card I used one of the fab lili of the valley male images, I coloured with promarkers on glossy card, it gives a sort of waterdamaged look, wonder if this counts as ditressing? maybe I've invented a new kind of distressed look.Love these colours together sort of strong sepia tones and thought it would be suitable for my aging F-I-L. Just an anniversarry card and one from my son now unless I can convince him to have another dabble at card making himself.

I would like to enter this card for the following challenges:-

Catch the bug-sweet sweet summertime
Cowgirl challenges- anything goes
Crafty Ho's-photo inspiration
Peartree designs-birthday
Meljens-easel card
Stamp with fun-man or boy card
Ooh la la- birthday
Alphabet challenge- m is for men
Playdate cafe- colour challenge
There she goes- an easel card

Emma wants a new design team

Emma is looking for a new design team and you don't have to make anything to apply just pop on over and add a link to your blog on the Mr Linky she has. She has opened her new store and is starting a new challenge blog, you will get a chance to post the challenges , visit and comment on all those clever crafters who enter the challenges and make some cards along the way whilst having fun. What do you have to loose pop on over here NOW!

Lotv candy

There is some fab new christmas candy up for grabs at Jacqui, Dawns and lotv ideas to inspire blogs but you'll have to be quick as they aer very near to the closing date.

Little Donkey for Michelle

What a beautiful morning , bit cloudy but no rain, that's 2 in a row on a weekend and the schools broke up on friday how unusual for the weather to stay fine, best not say too much.

My card, is  for Michele who has had the misfortune to loose the sight in one eye and the kindly folk at A spoonful of sugar have this fab meljen design digi donkey in return for making and SENDING a card to Michelle.I plan dropping mine in the post tommorrow along with a pile of family birthday cards. I don''t tend to do many digi images though I seem to be doing more as we have had some for the DT's projects over at Creative craft challenges but I'm still a rubber girl at heart. I decided to make a stand alone card with the image and coloured it in lavender and liliac promarkers like Eyore. Not much else to say really apart from here are the challenges I'd like to enter my cutie for:-

A spoonful of sugar-good wishes for Michelle
Crafty creations-happy or sweet
Papertake weekly-cutie patootie
CAS-tastic-summer(donkey rides at the beach)
Charisma- anything but square
Saturday crafter-fairytales (Donkey from Shrek)
Creative inspirations-anything goes

Now for my donkey.

Card for Mary

Morning all, got to make this quick as this morning I've got someone coming to insulate the loft and they could be here anytime between 8 and 12:30 and teenage son is still in bed , and the way things go if he doesn't get up soon they will arrive at 8 and he will be stuck in his room as he won't be sneaking around the ladder with his walking frame.

This morning I have made a card for Mary. Mary is Mandy's (a sprinkling of glitter) mum in law and has just under gone surgery which was a bit touch and go, so they are celebrating her survival, and Janette suggested it would be a nice idea to inundate Mary with cards. Mandy agreed and has offered some candy as an incentive, more details on her blog here.

I also decided that I might enter myself for the dt team at die cut dreams, the theme is pink and girly. Now as many of you will know I find pink a real challenge but I must be getting better as I've made another pink card I actually like , that brings the count to 2.

I used a Tilda image that I won in a truth or lies competition Susie runs along with one of her die cuts the papers are some freebies and some checked from stash. The flower is from k and co I think. I coloured the image in promarkers and added a bit of sparkle with some stickles.

Hope Mary likes it and makes a speedy trouble free recovery.

Cooking up a recipe

Morning all, time for some fun over at Penny's paper crafty challenges. Please come and join in as we have a fab sponser and a fun recipe that have given some very varied results form the design team, and we can't wait to see how all you talented crafters interpret it. This is my first challenge with the team at Penny's as I was away for the last one which should have been my first and I am so looking forweard to seeing all the fab entries, so please come and join us at Penny's.

See if you can guess the recipe from my card and then pop along and see what the other DT members came up with to see if you were right, 2 challenges in one but mine is just for fun.
Here's my card:-

I used Rory such a cutie waiting for his plant to grow from sugar nellie, I love their stamps. The papers are a mix from papermainia and some freebies from a magazine way back. The ribbon and buttons are also by Papermania. I coloured Rory in with promakers on glossy card, it tends to dry funny but gives a texture so sometimes this is useful.Not at all how I thought this would turn out as it's far cleaner than I had in mind but I really like how it turned out and will make a fab birthday card for my sister inlaw next month, her mum always says she has a green finger and she is a leo so perfect.

I would like to enter my card for the following challenges:-

Pollycrafts-happy birthday
Cupcake craft - cats and/or dogs (Rory is a big cat)
The Sugar bowl-fab sketch and use blue
Craftilicious-birthdays
Crazy for challenges-use buttons
ISB-clean and simple

Slowly back to normallity

Well back from my holiday in Ireland, very enjoyable with loads of beautiful country side and very windey roads with lots of hairpin bends and very wet. Washing not quite done but all sorted and the cases are packed away till next time and back to normality of things not going to plan.

Yesturday had everything planned for a trip out when my son came to coming down stairs on his stair lift and it did nothing. We had to bum shuffle him downstairs, all the while I'm planning in my head where I can put the blow up bed when I can't get it fixed before bedtime. I rang the company and she said no problem , are you going out today, my reply, well I'm not now. All well though engineer came late afternoon and chair is fixed and service done that should have been done in April, but they were behind with servicing after the bad snow in january.

Well to more fun things, how about joining in with our new challenge over at Creative Craft challenges. We have a fab theme that really epitomises summer. I know it does happen all year but you just think of it more in summer, I do, as I here the church bells when I'm in the garden. I'm sure you have all guessed but hop on over to our blog site here and join in, we have another fab sponser. What have you got to loose.

For my card I decided to make an easel card, I love the extra dimension you get. The image is a stamp I won from Michelle at the pixie cottage, I love how they are hugging or are they dancing, not sure but I think they are cute. The roses are from hobbycraft, I'm getting better with my flowers and am actually quite pleased at how these turned out. They remind me of the sugar roses I made for my wedding cake.The papers are some I got ages ago from a stall at a computer fair my hubby went to and I tagged along, I love their texture. The sentiments are cc designs, I think.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:-
Allsorts-summer day
For fun challenges-something coloured by you in your fav medium (for me promarkers)
The stampman-anything goes
Charisma-wedding card for Carlyann

Mother Nature's fairies

I seem to have had this card made for ages and just not got around to posting it, maybe as I'm not overly sure about my flwer, there's something not quite right. Might have to dismantle and start again , will update with a new piccy if I do.

I love this fun Tilda image in suit,it just so epitimises summer bumble bees , butterflies and bugs of all kinds flitting from plant to plant, I always think of them as Mother Natures fairies helping her out around her house. Probably as hubby thinks he has fairies who tidy his mess and washup after he's been cooking.

I decided to have another experiment with another ladder card, I still think I've not quite got the measurement of my folds right but it's not bad, better than the flower.

The sentiment I made up again and printed on the computer.

I would like to enter this for the following challenges:-
By the cute and girly-summer
The craft garden-fairy


Why not enter the challenges over at creative craft challenges and Penny's paper crafty challenges. Our challenges is still running and you still have time to enter.

Summer fun at Creative Craft challenges.

Well at the time of me posting this the sun was shining and the sky was blue and filled with fluffy white clouds, hopefully the weather is still as wonderful when , fingers crossed mr Blogger puts my post up to the world when I've asked him to. (providing I work out how to do it).

I have quite a few things planned over the next couple of weeks and envisage not being around much , let alone getting much crafting done , hence the planned post.

My card is made with one of the fab digi images supplied by our sponser this time,over at creative craft challenges ,stitchy bear stamps . I can't wait to see what the rest of the DT have done as we all got one from the selection they sent to do so you could see them all, and then if we had time we did more. I haven't done any others yet but by the time this goes out I may well have snuck in another.

I coloured my image with promarkers and tried to give her a sun tanned look using coral and pastel pink. I added some sakura glaze to her eyes, clear of course and to her hairband clear and sparkly.

The rest of the card I kept pretty clean and simple with just blue clear skies and golden sparkly glitter beach sand. The sentiment I made up and printed on the computer. I decided it would make the perfect birthday card for my neighbours daughter(another neighbour) as Leah loves water and the bikini goes on as soon as the sun comes out and the paddling pool gets filled. Quite amusing really as then the dog attacks it and they spend more time repairing it than playing. The embellishment was in some candy I got from just scraps, thought it just finished it off. Inside I added a flip flop sticker I found in some magazine freebies, I recoloured it with sakuras again to match my colour scheme and just added to the inside.

Thanks for dropping by and please do pop along and join in with our fab summer theme this time , we really do all enjoy looking at your creations and visiting new blogs and making new friends too.

Trying to beat my pink nemesis

Many of you will know I am so not a pink girl and struggle with pink cards. Today I set myself a challenge to make a gard that used pink. I have to admit I softened it with some daisies, and the image from sugar nellie was so easy to colour too and not too much pink.

I haven't yet decided what occassion I could use this for but think it would make a fab 1st birthday card for a little girl though I can't think of any I know at the moment.

I would like to enter this card for the following challenges:-

The sugar bowl-fab sketch layout
Paperplay-for a child or teenager
Creative cottage-summer suprises (my suprise will be if this works!)


I have also decided to experiment and try doing a scheduled post just as I know I'm going to be busy later inthe week and won't get around to making and posting anything and want to break up my little cluster of cards I've made. Not sure if I can link a scheduled blog post so if not appologies to these challenges and please forgive me. I'll put the date it should appear in my link if not and then when you read this it will all make sense or still be as clear as mud.

Here goes and thanks for popping by.

Summer birthday's

I like to mess and try new crafty things and one of the first craft things hubby bought me was some silk painting thinks. It's a bit time consuming getting set up streching the silk etc but so theraputic watching the paint travel through the silk fibres, and over far too quickly but I do love the finished effect. Here I have slightly cheated and used a predone gutter(outline). Predone always seems flatter than when you do your own and you don't have to wait for it to dry either.

I know tulips are more a spring flower but the lady I've done this for has a birthday later this month and adores tulips so tulips in summer.

I wish to enter this card for the following challenges:-
Rosie-D's -summer birthday
Every body art-birthday
Pocket full of posies-one for the girls and use flowers