Stamp With Fun # 14 - Tina's Sketch....

Hooray! Yippee!! Woohoo!!! It's Friday and the weekend will soon be upon us, YAY!

I'm planning a chilled out one - hubster is working and the kids like to relax, so I doubt we'll do much. Our local cinema have a deal on at weekends called 'Kids AM' where you can see a slightly older film for £1.70 per child and adults go free!! This weekend they're showing Hotel For Dogs which we missed when it was first released, so we might pop along.

Well my Summer kit arrived from Magnolia yesterday and I'm lovin it! Has yours finally arrived Tab, lol?! Last night I inked up this little beauty enjoying her ice cream and followed Tina's fabby sketch over at Stamp With Fun. I had a good nosy through my Basic Grey pads and came up with these papers from the Blush range, rather yummy me thinks but then I say that about all the Basic Grey releases, lol! I did some faux stitching with a pricking tool and my white gel pen and added a butterfly from a Kay & Co die cut sheet.

Not much more to add on this one, except that the sentiment is my fave. It's part of a little Studio G clear set and I've used it loads....... always reminds me of a clothing label somehow.

I think I'll be inking up some more beauties from my new kit over the weekend...... having a bit of a Tilda fest this week, lol! Mustn't forget dear Edwin though - that lad does get a bit neglected sometimes, bless him!!

Have a great weekend and let's hope for a bit more sunshine ;o)

TTFN and TFL xxx

Just Magnolia # 12 - Charms

A very good morning to you!

I'm just in time for this week's Just Magnolia Challenge, where the brief is to use charms on your creations. Now I know you're probably scanning my card in search of a charm and thinking where the heck is it then?! Well I tried something a bit different as I made my charm by stamping a butterfly onto card......... so there we have it, a charm made of cardboard! Not exactly inspired I know but a bit different at least, lol!!

I got to play with my lovely new Lemonade Basic Grey papers again and also embossed and sanded some of Whitewash card (sorry I can't remember who makes this and I'm at work just now so I can't check). The gorgeous Magnolia image is from the Spring range...... still no sign of my Summer kit yet but I'm hoping Mr Postie might just have dropped it off this morning.

Flower are Prima, Brads and Pearls are from my stash and my image has been coloured with Polys. That's me for today then - just off for a tea break now and then I really ought to get some work done!!!

Catch you later and hope you all have a creative day ;o)

TTFN and TFL xxx

High Hopes # 38 - Lots and Lots of Polka Dots!

Good morning my blogging friends!

Hope you are all well and enjoying the slighter cooler weather....... just wish the sun would put in the odd appearance now and again! Oh well, I suppose we feel more like crafting when it's not so hot.

This card is for the High Hopes Challenge set this week by Crissy, where you must use 'Lots and Lots of Polka Dots'. Now you don't think I went overboard on this do you, lol?! Actually, I've been playing with Polka Dots on the last few cards I've made, love 'em you see! These papers are a mix of Basic Grey June Bug and October Afternoon Cherry Hill, all purchased I might add from The Craft Emporium which is a fab place to shop!

I so love Willard standing with his brolly, he's just the cutest ant ever!! I coloured him with Polys and lightly inked around the edge with Distress Ink. The sentiment is computer generated and the pearls are from my stash. I used a Woodware embossing punch for my pansies which again have been lightly inked and filled the middle with a Retro Flower punch by EK Success. The leaves are also Woodware and the scalloped edge is Martha Stewart's Doily Edge punch, but then I'm sure you already knew that!!!




















Sorry the close up of my image isn't great but it's the best my camera can manage.

Hope you all have a fabby day and a huge thanks to everyone who has stopped by recently, it makes my day ;o)

TTFN and TFL xxx

Sketch Saturday # 58 meets The Next Level # 6......

Good afternoon everyone!

Are you dancing in puddles today with your wellies on? Wow, we've certainly washed away all that gorgeous sun now haven't we?!

I'm entering my card into Sketch Saturday, where Gill has provided us with an amazing sketch. I have moved my flowers around as I felt they would be very cramped on my card if I'd copied the way they were positioned on the sketch layout - hope that's okay? I'm also entering The Next Level for the first time where the brief is to use Buttons and Bows. I've used chipboard buttons and string for the bows. My lovely friend Tara G sent me the buttons from Canada and I love them!

The gingham paper is some I picked up at my local market stall and the red spotty is from the new Basic Grey June Bug range. I cut the swirls with a Bigz Sizzix Die and the flowers are an EK Success Retro Flower Punch. This is the first time I've used this adorable Tilda (coloured with Copics) and I have to say she's one of the cutest and sweetest of them all! I cut my sentiment out with a Dymo and the lace and gems are from my stash.

We had a fab time at M-I-L's 70th party on Sunday which was held in my S-I-L's garden. They have a swimming pool (lucky or what?) and the kids had a whale of a time as the weather was so glorious. Hubster and I decided not to go in the pool, but after a few glasses of champers we both jumped in......... fully clothed, lol!!!!

I'll leave you with that image!!

Enjoy the rest of your day, whatever you're up to.

TTFN and TFL xxx

Dottie's World Sunday Challenge - In Bloom

Good morning peeps!

Happy Sunday to you all - I've been AWOL this week mostly and I'm very sorry for that, but sometimes a week comes along jam-packed with stuff and your normal routine just falls by the wayside! Well that's the week I've just had and now I'm trying very hard to play catch up!! I've also had a couple of very bad heads which I think has been due to the heat, even though I've had enough water to keep a camel going for a lifetime, lol! Thank you so much to everyone who has left comments recently about my migraines and other health issues - I really appreciate your kind words and promise not to bore you with it all anymore! If I'm fed up to the back teeth with it then you lot certainly must be, hee hee!




























Onto my card, if you call it that! It's a flowerpot card and I earmarked it specially for this week's Dottie's World Challenge where the theme is 'In Bloom'. Never has there been such a perfect challenge for this time of year....... all you gardeners will agree I'm sure that the combination of lots of sun with a few sharp showers has certainly brought our green and pleasant land to life! I'm sure lots of you will have bought the new Pixie Downloads available just now from Charmed Cards and Crafts so I'm sure you'll be delighted to team them with all the gorgeous flowers in your stash. Pop over and have a look at what the other girls have created if you can, there's something to inspire you all for sure with the beautiful creations being showcased today. If you're wondering how I created the shape for my card, I was going to search around for a template but in the end just decided to draw it myself........ quite pleased with how it turned out really and will definitely make some more of these. I used papers from Basic Grey, QuicKutz and Sizzix Dies, Stickles Glue and Brads from my stash. The image is coloured with Copics.


























Well, this post has been scheduled because I'm out at a party today celebrating my M-I-L's 70th birthday. I'm hoping to be home by the evening as I'm well overdue for a mammoth blog hop and want to catch up with you all properly ;o)

So until then......... toodle pip and thanks for looking my friends. Hope you enjoy your day!

Hugs Tara xxxx

Charisma Cards # 25 - Rubbernecker Week.......

Hiya peeps!

I have to call my card the 'Katy card', because nearly everything on it was sent to me in a RAK by my friend Katy........ and to top it off my dd says I've made it in Katy's style too! I wasn't trying to copy Katy, I promise, lol! Obviously just inspired by the she does it and trying to move away from my over fussy style a bit too!

The gorgeous image is by CC Designs and is one of the new Swiss Pixies (thanks Katy I love it!). The scrummy paper is by October Afternoon available at The Craft Emporium and the black zigzag strips are Bazzill Just The Edge.

I'm entering my card into this week's Charisma Challenge where anything goes. You can enter up to four times and have the chance to win some fab prizes!

A huge thank you to everyone who gave me advice as to why my blog wasn't working properly - it's sorted now that the playlist has been removed.

I also wanted to thank everyone who left comments about my migraines........ I'm still not completely right and I don't think the heat helps, but I have another appointment at the docs tomorrow so I'll let you know when I have more news. You really are a caring bunch and it means alot ;o)

I'm dashing out now, taking ds to cricket practice so I'll catch you all in a bit!

TTFN and TFL xxx

HELP!!!

Does anyone know why my blog has suddenly gone really slow and keeps freezing? One or two people have emailed me to say they are struggling to leave me comments. It's acting really funny and I'm wondering if anyone else is experiencing the same. I seem to be able to visit everyone else just fine so I'm very confused ;o(

Thanks for reading this and if you can help I'll be so grateful! xxx

UPDATE: I have removed my playlist and now everything is much improved...... thank you everyone fore your advice and help ;o) xx

The Pink Elephant # 21 - Favourite Colour Combo....

Good morning folks!

How are you - very well I hope? What a beautiful day we have in store today in the UK and I hope also for the rest of the world............ lol, okay I think maybe that's a bit too much to ask to sort the weather out for every country in the land!!!

I think this is the first time ever I've entered The Pink Elephant Challenge - I love it when I can enter something I haven't had chance to enter before. This week's brilliant theme is to use your fave colour combo. Hmmmmmmm, quite tricky as I have so many that I love working with, but in the end I plumped for blue, green and pink, always a winner for me! I got to play with my new Basic Grey papers too, YUM! These are from the Lemondae range and are so summery. I got to play with another of the gorgeous download Pixies from Charmed Cards and Crafts and this one is Waterlily. If you want to see more of them you can find them HERE. The circle is also part of the download package and the sets are amazing value and give you so many options........ yes it's official, I love 'em!!!!

I used my new Woodware leaf punch for the corners and coloured the image with Copics. The wings were created with vellum and I embossed them with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder.

Hope you have a wonderful day today, catch you later ;o)

TTFN and TFL xxxx

Dottie's World Sunday Challenge - Sunshine

Good afternoon peeps!

Hope you're having a fabby Sunday and this week's challenge over at Dottie's World could not be more aptly themed......... 'SUNSHINE'. We're certainly having plenty of that just now aren't we!!!

Here is the brief in more detail.........

"Summer is finally upon us so I want you to use some sunshine in your card/creation, it could be an actual sunshine image, a card shaped like a sunshine or even the use of the word sun/sunshine somewhere on your creation. Don't forget to put your Charmed download in there somewhere too!"

I thought I'd put an oriental slant on my card this week and so used Madison in China - she's so beautiful! I also used my new Basic Grey Blush papers which tie in nicely with the theme. I have so many pads of Basic Grey now but for some reason I had missed this one and boy is it gorgeous! I must just give a big shout to Lyn at The Craft Emporium here - she has an amazing range of Basic Grey and her service is second to none! I ordered the two latest pads, June Bug and Lemonade, on Friday morning and they arrived at 8.30am the next day....... very impressive!

I hope you'll get the chance to play along with Dottie's World this week - hop over now for a peek at the gorgeous DT cards. The girls have done such a brilliant job again and have also been uploading sample cards made with the new Pixie Collection this week....... not to be missed!

Enjoy your sunbathing then everyone and have a lovely week ahead........ 30 degrees forcast here in the UK by Wednesday...... PHEW!!!

TTFN and TFL xxx

Colour Create # 20 and a couple of awards........

Hiya folks!

I'm really sorry I haven't been around for a few days - unfortunately I've had a bad migraine (I'm a regular sufferer) and also a trapped nerve in my neck/shoulder...... in fact the two may have been connected! Anyway I have done very little blog hopping and must apologise for not keeping up with everyone's creations. I am working on it, lol!

My card is for this week's Colour Create challenge, where the combination is Pistachio Green, Aqua and Powder Pink and the optional extra is buttons. Can't you just tell I nearly forgot about the extra bits........ my buttons made an appearance at the very last minute, lol! I think these colours work beautifully together and will use them again for sure!

As you can see, I've used one of the new Pixie Chick downloads on this card...... well two in fact........ the Pixie and the swing. If you've not already done so, I would urge you to buy these fantastic downloads here as you get soooooooo much for your money!! There are two sets and each one contains oodles of Pixies, backgrounds and sentiments. I'm totally besotted by these lovelies - if you would like to see more examples hop to Dottie's World and check out what everyone has been up to!

I've been given two awards by Janny and Vicky - huge hugs to you both and thank you for thinking of me ;o)















I'd like to pass the awards to everyone who visits my blog to leave a comment - you really brighten my day!

I'm off out in the garden now to plant up the last of my Begonias - then hopefully it'll be a spot of lunch in the sun before it disappears....... it's going to rain tomorrow you know!

TTFN and TFL xxx

Just Magnolia Monthly Challenge - Alter a Container......

Good afternoon,

I thought I'd show you my project for the extra Just Magnolia challenge which started last week and will run twice a month. The brief is to alter a container...... well I've been after one of these concertina files for ages now with the idea of keeping my stamped images in alphabetical order. I went into my local Home Bargain store last week and there they were sitting on the shelf for only 99p!! I bought two because I thought I could keep my papers scraps in the other one in colour categories....... I am an organised little bunny aren't I? I may even go back for some more before they all go because I reckon I could organise my whole house and have fun decorating the files in the process, lol!

What you see before you isn't the finished article - so far I've only decorated the front and at some point I will so the inside and the back. I also want to make little tabs with all the stamp company names on to keep it simple. At the minute my images are all kept in a wicker basket in clear bags and I never really know what I've got unless I have a rummage.

I stamped and coloured the red flowers on my folder, then coloured two gorgeous Magnolia images to add on. The black ribbons are from the candy I won recently from the lovely Judy and I added some black peel off scrolls to the bottom. I can't remember where my letter stickers are from but I mounted them onto some cream card squares.




















I thought I'd show you piccies of the folder before it was decorated to give you an idea of how it started out life.

Right, I'm just finishing work now to pick up the kids, so I'll catch you all a bit later on ;o)

TTFN and TFL xxx

Dottie's World Sunday Challenge - It's Christmas!!!!!

Good morning my lovely friends!

Yes we have a Christmas Challenge over at Dottie's this week - hey but after the weather we've been greeted with this week I actually felt quite at home making this card. It's funny really - you spend all of November and December frantically trying to get all of your Christmas cards done in time - then by the time you reach the New Year you breathe a huge sigh of relief at being able to move on to something different..... well I do anyway! So sitting here in June creating something with a wintery theme was actually very refreshing after having such a long break from anything seasonal.

I knew I was going to use the gorgeous Madison in the Mountains for this week's card as she looks so snug in her Winter clothes. She's the kind of gal I would love to be....... you know, looks good in absolutely anything. Me? I put on a woolly hat in the Winter and look like I've been sent out in it for a bet, lol!

I used Basic Grey Granola papers, debossed the cream panel with a Cuttlebug Snowflake folder and then dirtied it with Distress Ink. I used Woodware Chippies to create the idea of snowdrifts and then punched out varying sized snowflakes. There are a couple of Prima flowers added and Madison is coloured with Copics. The final touch was to glitter her boot fur with Stickles.

Hope you like the card and I would love it if you could hop over to check out the challenge....... the girlies have all done such a great job at creating something special and there are lots of cards featuring Dottie which are sure to make you smile...... they did me!!
Not long now until the Pixie download release you know....... I'm so excited I could crush a grape, lol! Bet you haven't heard that one in a long time have you? Oh I know - I'm so eighties!!!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend then ;o) We were supposed to be going to Wales today but there's been a change of plan - it's a long story so I'll save it for another day, but let's just say it involves my hubster blowing up one of his most expensive work tools last night and then a stray cat coming into our house and urinating it's scent in our lounge and bedroom ;o( Rapid trip to a pet store is the order of the day today for something to get rid of the most rancid smell you can ever begin to imagine! It's a good job I have a good sense of humour or else I might just scream, lol!

Toodles for now then and thanks so much for stopping by ;o)

xxxxx

Sketch Saturday # 55

Morning everyone!

I'm here with another quick post due to be at work. Got to get this Sketch Saturday card posted quickly or I'll miss the deadline...... can't believe the weekend will be upon us again tomorrow!!! I thought it was a brilliant sketch this week - nice and simple, that suits me, lol! I'm so lovin my High Hopes stamps so I inked up another little cutie - this one will be perfect for my Father in Law this Sunday as he loves gardening. He took early retirement in his 50's and ever since he has worked part-time as a gardener which suits him just fine.

I coloured my image with Polys and I think the paper is from a PaperMania set. The corner leaves are a Quickutz die and that's about it really.

Must dash off now..... I've got some naughty students to chase up who are missing their lessons in favour of a long weekend, lol!

Catch you later then - have a great day ;o)

TTFN and TFL xxxx

Happy Birthday Penny Black!!!

Evening peeps!

I'm making this a fast post tonight as I have some emailing to catch up on and also need to finish writing up tomorrow's Colour Create post.

I'm sure everyone in blogland has seen that Penny Black Challenge are celebrating their first birthday this week and have an amazing set of prizes on offer plus secret candy from everyone on the design team! As the theme is celebration I thought I'd make a card for my friend Sarah's birthday next week. She'll laugh when she sees the card because I borrowed the stamp from her a while back and have now made something with one of the images. In fact it'll probably remind her to start knocking down my door to get the said stamp back, as it's still sitting here in the drawer........ ooooops!

Anyway, I coloured the image with Copics (so quick and easy on this one) and used some citrus papers from Kay & Co. The flowers are Prima and the brads and ribbon are from my stash. As is always the case when I finish a card I felt I needed to add some more to it, so I pulled out a stamp from a 7 Gypsies set I have and stamped the red flowers around the outside........ hmmmmm, less is more definitely went out of the window again on this one, hee hee! BTW, did you know that definitely is supposed to be one of the words most frequently spelt incorrectly in the English language? Hope I got it right!!!!

See you tomorrow then when I'll be back with my Colour Create card.

TTFN and TFL xxx

High Hopes meets Stamp With Fun......

Morning peeps!

I hope I am safe to post this card now, as I sent it to a friend with a few goodies yesterday to cheer her up!

I'm so pleased that I can finally join in with the High Hopes Challenges, having received my delivery of stamps from the latest collection this weekend. I believe this one is called 'Sweet Dreams' and it's my fave by far........ talk about chillaxing, lol! The theme this week at HH is circles and I've also entered this card in to the Stamp With Fun Challenge where the brief is polka dots.

I sat making my card on Sunday night whilst the hubster was watching cricket. I coloured the image with my Polys and I must admit it did take me an age to get things just how I wanted because I'm a bit slow when it comes to blending. Every now and then he would huff a bit and then he said 'blimey I can't believe how long you're spending colouring in one tiny picture..... are you sure it's really worth it?' I didn't rise to the bait and just smiled....... they just don't have a clue, do they, lol!

I used papers from the Basic Grey Porcelain range and the flowers are a mix of Primas and Flora Doodles. The leaves have been die cut using a QuicKutz die and I've added some sticky lace strips made by Around The Block. The ticket sentiment was sent to me with some birthday goodies a while back by the lovely Martine.

Well I had fun with this one and I hope you like it too!

Toodles for now - thanks so much for stopping by for a peek and, if you've left me a comment, then you're a gem!

TTFN and TFL xxxx