Wild Sprout Birthday Wishes.....

Good morning everyone!

I used to quite like the thought of making a male-themed card but now I've gone off the idea, lol! Being someone who loves to over-embelliesh I just find it hard to find extras to add and to me the card ends up looking bare. Ah well, I've done my best.... this is a birthday card I made for my friend's son who is eight today.


I used the new Basic Grey papers from the Oliver collection and a Wild Sprout image from The Greetings Farm. Not much more to say about it really so I'll scoot off to work now.....

Hope you have a fine day and I'll catch you later!

Big hugs, Tara xxx

Basic Grey DT Card - Week 22 Colour Combo, Brown, Turquoise, Cream.....

Happy weekend everyone and welcome to another Basic Grey Challenge where my lovely teamie Heather has picked a scrummy colour combo for you. YUM!!! I just love these colours and knew straight away that I had the perfect paper just waiting to be used.... the tartan check from my new Max & Whiskers pad!

Talking about Basic Grey, check out this link to see the forthcoming paper collections Oliver and Olivia....... mmmmmmmmm!!!! Don't they look gorgeous?

My image and sentiment on this card is by Kraftin' Kimmie and was sent to me my the lovely Martine for my birthday..... I love it so much ;o) And lucky me, I was sent the metal corner in a RAK from my dear mate Heather..... it's so nice when a treat drops through your letterbox! I cut my flowers from the EK Success daisy punches and stamped and cut the leaves from a Basic Grey Autumn Leaves set.

I hope you'll enter our challenge this week as I think those colours could be perfect for some Father's Day cards. I look forward to seeing what you create and don't forget to check out the work of my amazing teamies for all the inspiration you'll need.

Have a wonderful weekend..... I'm off to a World Cup party this afternoon where we're all bringing along our own curry dish and sides.... should be great fun!

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Home Sweet Home......

Good morning everyone!
I really had to kick my own butt right out of my 6x6 square card comfort zone this week..... and here is the result! A bird house card!! I remember seeing one of these sometime last year and making a mental note to have a go at one sometime.... I wish I'd remembered where I saw it though as I had to conjur this one up from scratch.... no template to follow! To be honest it was quite easy to create something, as I just folded a large piece of card and cut out the main shape of the birdhouse and then I cut out three strips for the base and roof.

I used some yummy Basic Grey papers and lots of vintage lace and pearls on this card, along with a sweet Hanglar boy for the image. The flowers were cut from the MS Hydrangea punch and the leaves from a Sizzix die. I have a little tip for using die cuts which you might like to use..... if you're anything like me it's a hassle to get a die out and run it through the machine sometimes ( very lazy I know but I've got used to the instant results you get with punches), so I tend to get white card and have a mammoth die cutting session so I've got lots of leaves and flowers at the ready. Then when I want to add some to a card I just colour them with markers or Distress Inks and you tend to get a perfect colour match with the other things you've coloured on your card..... hope that helps!

I'm entering this card into the following challenges today:

Everybody Art Challenge - Things with Wings

Crafty Calendar Challenge - Bugs and Beasties

A Spoon Full of Sugar - Floral Delight

Daring Cardmakers - Pearls

Sentimental Sundays - New or Neglected Stash (new Stempleglede circle stamp)

Stampin' Sisters in Christ - Genesis 1:26

The Corrosive Challenge - Die Cuts

Edited to add...... Can't believe it, there's actually a bird house challenge out there in blogland this week.......

Dutch Dare - Bird House Card

Have a fab Wednesday and hope it's a creative one too!

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Loving Wishes.....

Good morning....... hope the sun is shining brightly for you today and you have some fun stuff planned! No fun for me sadly as I'm just making my way to work, but I'll just look forward to a cuppa in the garden when I get home ;o)

I made this card a couple of days ago but haven't had time to post it...... hmmm, it's one of those that had to grow on me. Not sure if it's the colours or what, as I seem to be very much in a pastel mood at the minute. Anyway I used this sweet Tilda holding a tulip and the new Basic Grey Cappella papers, along with various floral bits from Prima and Papirloftet. The sentiment is also Magnolia and you'll see I managed to sneak on some of my Stempleglede stamps in the corners again ;o) I'm entering this card into the Create4Fun Challenge as I have followed the wonderful sketch there.


Well I really must dash now and finish getting ready, so I'll catch you later!

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Basic Grey Challenge Week 21 - Martine's Sketch....

Ooooops! Sorry for being so late posting my card for this week's Basic Grey Challenge! I never got around to scheduling it last night and today has gone by in a bit of a whirr.... never mind, better late than never!

We have one of Martine's yummy sketches for you this week and my teamies have created some amazing examples for you, each one very different but equally as beautiful!

For my card I used one of my new Greetings Farm 'Wild Sprouts' available from Elaine's store here. Isn't she a cutie? This is such an amazing set and such good value too! My papers are from Basic Grey's Porcelain range and the swirly leaf is a Sizzix Bigz die which I've used time and time again, love it! The flowers are Prima and the butterfly is one of my new purchases from the Papirloftet Store which I love!!!

So I hope you'll join in with us again at Basic Grey and don't forget that there's a chance you'll win another amazing voucher courtesy of the very generous Simon Says Stamp.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend........ toodle pip!

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Happiness........

Morning Peeps!

Well I'm finally here with a card after a mega busy week which has involved me going to a family wedding down South and putting my house on the market! I think this seriously affected the old mojo but then yesterday I managed to have a very productive, crafty day and made three cards!

Here is the first of those cards and I made it to enter a competition currently running over at Cute Stamps and Cards. You can win four yummy stamps if you follow Claudia's wonderful sketch and all you have to do in addition is use something that is stocked by the store..... so in this case I've gone for sweet Tilda.


I decided to mask Tilda with some of those gorgeous flowers from the Magnolia Spring kit and then I added the wood for her to sit on which was part of last Summer's kit. The papers are Basic Grey Origins and all the flowers are Prima. I used a deep edge MS punch for the scalloped border and all the sticky pearls are from my stash.

Have a fab day and thanks for stopping by...... I'll be back tomorrow with another card ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Too Cute.....

Good morning everyone!

YAY!!! Finally I get to take part in the Wags 'n' Whiskers Challenge now that I've got myself some new stamps! The theme this week is pink and green which is one of the nicest colour combos so I just had to play along. And I couldn't resist following Tanja's wonderful sketch over at Friday Sketchers too..... what a fab layout once again, those girls really know their sketches!

I've used a mixture of Basic Grey papers from the Sultry range and Green At Heart. I added some faux stitching and a paper doily and the flowers are Prima. This is quite a simple card for me really and I do think something is missing...... maybe a few gems or pearls? Anyway, at least you can focus in on the yummy papers and that gorgeous image ;o)

As usual I'm dashing off to work now...... I sit here in the mornings you know, tapping at the computer with one hand, mirror on the desk in front of me putting my mascara on with the other hand...... oh and with the odd slurp of tea thrown in for good measure, lol! Always frightened of missing something you see!!

Have a nice day and don't work too hard!!!

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Basic Grey Week 20 - Punch It.......

Good morning everyone and welcome to another Basic Grey Challenge...... this week we want you to 'punch it'....yep, look out all those wonderful punches you all own and get creative. Oh and don't forget to include something Basic Grey on your project of course! Need inspiration? Then look no further than the blogs of my fellow teamies who've dazzled us with their projects. You can link to them through the challenge blog.

I received my wonderful new Cappella papers this week, delish! They're so delicate and pretty and I think they work perfectly on this vintage style card..... free image courtesy of Magic Moonlight. So my punching consists of the Martha Stewart hearts border and a sweet butterfly punch (not sure of the make on this one). Ooooh and I nearly forgot, the flowers were also punched with the EK Success Retro Daisy!

I think I might add some letters to my card (if I can squeeze them on somewhere, lol) to spell 'MUM' and give it to my Mum for her birthday next week..... I'm sure the traditional feel will go down a treat as she's not really a Tilda lover sadly, lol!

Well I do hope you can enter the challenge this week and look forward to seeing what you come up with..... something tells me we're in for a bumper entry ;o)

Enjoy your weekend and take care!

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Dream Time.......

Morning Peeps!

Bit of a quick post this morning as I'm dashing off to work. This card was made for this week's Truly Scrumptious Challenge where there's a fab sketch to follow and an added option to make it circular. Well I quite like make circular cards these days so it was no chore for me to lose the square. I used Basic Grey Kioshi papers and one of my all time fave images from The Greetings Farm. You'll see I've added some more of my handmade lillies and I promise the tutorial isn't far away now! I'm also entering my card into the Crafty Creations Challenge where the theme is 'Around The World'...... in this case I've opted for Hawaii.

Well I wish I could stay home to stalk Mr Postie this morning, as my new Stempleglede stamps are on their way from Quixotic...... thanks for getting these in Elaine, I've wanted them for ages ;o)

Enjoy your day folks...... the weekend fast approaches, YAY!

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

First Side Step Card......

Good morning everyone!

Well I finally plucked up the courage to have a go at a side step card after seeing many wonderful examples popping up in blogland. Will I make another? NO! Did I enjoy doing it? Not really, lol! It took far too long, was far too fiddly and I'm not particularly in love with the end result...... oh dear! Never mind, the fact remains that I 'had a go' and that's what counts..... stepped out of the old 6x6 comfort zone which probably doesn't happen often enough!


I chose Basic Grey Origins papers to work with as I think they have the right earthy feel for the theme I had in mind. These two older Magnolia Tildas seemed perfect too for creating a bit of a garden scene, as did this wonderful High Hopes sentiment and bird bath. The fence is a Martha Stewart punch and the grass is a QuicKutz die.

I'm entering the card into the new Magnolia Stamp Lovers Challenge where the brief is to 'Make It Dimensional' and I'm also entering my lovely daughter's Crafty Calender Challenge which has the theme 'The Great Outdoors'.

I haven't forgotten about the tutorial I promised to show you on how I make my own lillies, I'm just working on it behind the scenes at the minute.

Well enjoy your day and let's hope it warms up a bit heh?!

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Happy Birthday To Someone Special.....

Hiya folks!

Once again a huge thank you for all the lovely comments you left on my last card..... and especially about my colouring..... but I have to come clean, I just can't take all the credit! You see it's all thanks to the wonderful tutorial posted here this weekend by the super talented Moni. I found it so useful to read through what she said and I certainly think it has moved my colouring up a level.... who would have thought of using black to add definition like that. So a huge thank you must go to Moni but I am delighted that you noticed on my card too ;o)


For the card I'm showing you today I've used a wonderful technique showcased on Norma's blog here, where she reveals how you can create doily mats for your images using various Martha Stewart border punches..... another talented lady at work don't you think? I'm entering this week's Sketch and Stash Challenge and have followed the fabulous sketch which Lols has provided...... my new stash is the Greetings Farm image which I treated myself to recently using a Craft Emporium voucher given to me by my sweet friend Chris. I've used Basic Grey Lemonade papers and Prima flowers. Once again I've added some paper piecing to my card which I always love to do. This card is for my hubby's aunt who has a birthday very soon.

Well I won't stay and waffle on any longer as I'm still off work with the lurgy and trying to get plenty of rest.

Thanks so much for stopping by to see what I've been up to ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Gratitude........

Good morning everyone and Happy Tuesday!

Isn't it nice when you actually make a card you like, lol?! I think it's the colours I'm pleased with..... I don't do a great deal with blues so it makes a nice change. The papers are from Basic Grey's Wisteria range and I have paper pieced Tilda's dress for a change and added lots of gems to her outfit. I had a go at making my own lili on this card and thought I might add a mini tutorial soon so you can see what I did..... it wasn't difficult and I think it looks pretty! Cute Card Thursday want us to 'Make It Your Own' so my flower works perfectly for this. I suppose the doily mat is also my own as I followed the wonderful Claudia's amazing tutorial here using a Martha Stewart butterfly corner punch (all the mini butterflies on my card are also from this corner punch.


I'm also entering the Passion For ProMarkers Challenge where the theme is Gratitude and the Everybody Art Challenge which is asking us to use pastel colours.

Well that's me..... I have a busy day ahead at the office so I'll catch you all later ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Basic Grey Week 19 - Photo Inspiration......

Good morning folks!
It's that time again...... another Basic Grey Challenge and we have a gorgeous picture for you to use as inspiration this week..... isn't it sweet? There's so much to draw from...... colours, shapes, accessories, patterns..... I'm really looking forward to seeing what you come up with!


I was drawn to that fab bunting in the picture and so that became a major feature of my card. Now it isn't very often I struggle to use Basic Grey papers but I have to admit I haven't felt inclined to dip into the Boxer collection very much.... until now that is..... the papers were perfect for my bunting! The background papers are from the Recess collection which just goes to show once again how easy it is to mix and match the ranges.


The sweet image I used is a Peachy Keen stamp and you can get hold of them here. I thought it was the perfect image to tie in with the theme of a child's room and in fact this card is being sent to my friend's little girl who has just gone into hospital to have her tonsils removed..... not nice at the age of 4!!!

Well I do hope you can join in with the challenge this week as Simon Says are very generously sponsoring us once again...... and whatever you're up to over the Bank Holiday weekend, hope you have lots of fun ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Loving Wishes........

Good morning folks!

Here is the card I sent to my friend and teamie Kim who is celebrating her birthday today.......... Happy Birthday matey (waving)...... hope you have a lovely day ;o)

I used my new Sarah Kay stamp which I am totally in love with, she's so sweet! I think I might have to get a few more from the new range soon. I've decided to enter the following challenges with this card:

Paper Play Challenge - Pretty Pastels
Simon Says Stamp - Buttons, Bows and Bling
Lili of the Valley Challenge - Here Comes Summer
Charisma Challenge - Girly Card With Flowers


I really enjoyed using papers from Basic Grey's Sugar Rush collection, along with lots of Prima flowers and QuicKutz leaves. You might just be able to see that I sneaked in a punched Martha Stewart fence too and the grey flowers around my image were added using a Tapestry Peg stamp. Those scrummy buttons are something I've had in my stash for ages..... not really sure where they came from!

I'll be back on Saturday with my Basic Grey DT card..... until then enjoy the rest of your week and take care!

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Fabulous Darling........

Helloooooooooo!
What a glorious day! The sun is shining, it's warm and the birds are singing! Makes you glad to be alive!!!

Well my daughter Georgia had some fabulous news this week when she found out she got an A* for her Media GCSE coursework...... she's worked so hard and so deserves to do well. She had to create her own magazine layout, four pages in total...... but of course she went the extra mile and produced a WHOLE magazine!!!!! I wish it could go on general sale in the shops so you could all take a peek, lol!

I just had to make her a card to let her know how proud her family is...... and the sentiment 'Fabulous Darling' was the perfect choice! There's a fab sketch over at Friday Sketchers this week so I decided to follow the layout and that's how my card came together. I'm also entering A Spoon Full Of Sugar where the theme this week is 3D....... well I raised my image and butterfly so I think that works.

The pretty papers are Basic Grey and I used one of the new Tildas from the Fairytale collection. I held back on adding too many flowers and embellies but did manage to cut out a bit of the paper to create a butterfly. Oh and I embossed a panel behind Tilda because I feel that my embossing folders seem to get overlooked these days!

Finally here's a close up of Tilda so you can see the glittery bits..... it's always so hard to photograph the sparkle on cards I think but this captures it well enough ;o)

Well I hope you enjoy your day..... I'm working but I can still look at the sun through the office window and I might just nip out at lunchtime and eat my sarnies on the grass behind the car park!

Toodles for now......... TTFN and TFL!

Hugs Tara xxx

Butterfly Beauties Happy Birthday......

Good morning lovely peeps!

Today I'm showing you a card I made for this week's Simon Says Challenge which has a 'wings' theme. I've used a fabulous image designed by Tracey Coates for The Stampman. I'm a real fan of these stamps and might just be buying some more soon. This one is my absolute fave and I think I'll be using it alot more...... I can even see it making a fabulous Christmas card with lots of snowflakes and sparkle in her hair!

Here's a close up of the image to show you the extra dimension I created by stamping out extra parts of the image...... and you can also see that I added some pink pearl gems and gold liquid pearls all over. The papers are Basic Grey and the flowers are Prima Hydrangeas. Rather than colouring the image I just distressed it all over with a Tim Holtz pad and spritzed with some pale gold glimmer mist.

I'm quite satisfied with this card as I think my mojo went walkabout earlier this week and one or two creations have ended up in the bin! Sometimes you just need to take a day out and then you feel refreshed.

I'm working today so I must fly, hope to catch up with you all a bit later ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Dream.......

Good afternoon everyone!

Well I'm surprised I've managed to add a post today....... I seem to have very little time for cardmaking or blogging this week and I've so much to do! Luckily I remembered I hadn't uploaded a card I made a while back when I was giving away blog candy so I'm happy I have something to show today ;o)

I coloured the image very lightly using my finger and some sparkly chalks..... well it's different, lol! I just wanted to create something very subtle and pretty. The papers are Basic Grey and I edged the top of the card with a Martha Stewart punch. The hanging foliage is die cut and the gems and ruffled ribbon are from my stash. Finally I added a little bit of faux stitching to the edges.

Hmmmm, now for a challenge to enter........ I think this card fits in with the theme at Allsorts this week which is stitching. I thought I'd also enter the Raise The Bar Challenge which is all about 'Movies' this week and I've chosen Tinkerbelle The Movie as mine ;o) Finally I spotted that ABC Challenge are inviting us to use sparkle for their latest challenge and although mine is subtle, those chalks definitely have it!

So sorry I have been a bad blogger this week....... I am missing you all and will hopefully get back up to speed very soon!!!

Thanks for stopping by today ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Basic Grey Challenge 18 - A Colour Combo......

Welcome to another Basic Grey Challenge where we have a gorgeous colour combo for you this week. You might think this is quite a difficult combo to work with..... if I'm honest I did at first. But then when I started to look through my Basic Grey papers I realised there were some really yummy prints and shades.



My papers are a real mixture and come from the Two Scoops, Granola and Recess ranges..... just goes to show how much you can mix and match with Basic Grey! As it's my hubby's birthday on Sunday I decided to make a male card and used one of the Ian images from The Greetings Farm. Do you like the lips on the card? I didn't smother my mouth in lipstick..... I had a stamp set with lips in it, lol! I picked up the scrabble tiles from my local craft store which is sadly closing down and created the sentiment to reflect the word I always use when referring to him.

I hope my teamies will give you all the inspiration you need to take part in the challenge this week, as they've pulled out all the stops to give you amazing creations. Here are the links so you can visit them all:

Anthea

Tara G

Heather

Jo

Kim

Have a fab weekend and hope the sun shines brightly on you ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Basic Grey Week 17 - Martine's Sketch......

Good morning everyone and a very Happy Easter to you all!
My card today is for the new Basic Grey Challenge and Martine has given us a yummy sketch to work with! You can rotate or flip the sketch if you prefer and all we ask is that you use a Basic grey product within your design..... and that's not hard is it, given our love of all things Basic Grey!!

I used papers from the new Kioshi range again.... I just love the colours and patterns in this one! The flowers are Prima Hydrangeas and the daisy borders are from Bazzill Just The Edge strips.
I hope you get the opportunity to play along with us this fortnight and please check out how my teamies have interpreted the sketch...... you'll find oodles of inspiration from their stunning creations!

Thanks for stopping by today and have a lovely, chocolate-filled weekend, hee hee!

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Quixotic Challenge # 19 - Case It!.......

Hi Peeps!
What fun the latest challenge is over at Quixotic! The brief is to case a card made by one of the DT members..... or you can just imitate the style they use. Check out the challenge as it's fab just seeing how the DT have cased each other!! I chose to case a card made by the lovely Judy, which you can check out here. I always enjoy Judy's layouts and thought this one was particularly fab!


Well I just adore these new papers from Basic Grey's Kioshi range..... they just keep coming up with winners! And I think this Tilda in her ladybug suit is the cutest ever and couldn't resist adding some sparkle!! The green glass beads are new at Magnolia and I think they might just feature on a fair few of my cards in the near future!

Well I'm off to make a toasted hot cross bun with real butter and then I'll be settling down to watch The Sound of Music which is on TV in a few minutes...... love, love, love that film!!! When Christopher Plummer sings Edleweiss that's me reaching for the tissues, lol!! It's raining outside but I'm toasty warm indoors...... might just tuck into an Easter egg later too, hee hee!

Have a wonderful Easter weekend and may God Bless You all!

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx