My Top Ten Of 2010.......

Good morning folks..... I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and are looking forward to a fun New Year too! I'm really sorry I didn't get chance to pass on my festive wishes earlier but I've been really poorly since the weekend before Christmas..... it's possible that I caught swine flu and then I developed a nasty chest infection and I'm still taking the antibiotics for that now!

Anyway, enough doom and gloom from me..... I'm on the mend now and I'm looking forward to my house move next week....... EEEEEK!!! I will have to pack away my craft stuff very soon so I may be missing from my blog for a wee while, but I'm looking forward to setting up my very own craft room and then I shall be raring to go once more, YAY!

So I thought I'd join in with the fun and show you my fave 10 cards from 2010.....

This is my favourite Penny Black image, so sweet and vintage.....


The gorgeous Motivet Garden Fairy and I think this is my fave card of them all....


Gorgeous LadyBug Tilda stamped onto the card behind the apeture.....


Beutiful Tilda blowing bubbles, made into a sweet baby card.....


Paper pieced hat and scarf for this sassy TGF image....


Edwin and Tilda become Robin Hood and Tinkerbell.....


Sugar Nellie Daisy makes a wish......


I've even thrown in a male card for good measure.....


A tropical Magnolia wedding card......


And finally, a card to celebrate my fave season....



Thank you so much for looking at my top ten and also for sharing your delightful creations too..... I've really enjoyed the trip down memory lane and seeing what everyone has been up to in 2010..... and may 2011 be just as much fun!!!

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Merry Christmas.........

Good morning everyone!

Thought I'd nip on to show you a quick Christmas card I came up with this week using a pre-coloured LOTV die cut image..... these are fab when you need something instant but I did add my own touch by inking and stitching the edges, plus I glittered the sweet little bunny within an inch of her life, lol!


I found inspiration for the layout from some fabulous cards made by the uber talented Kath.... which you can see here. I just loved the colour palette and country feel!

I'm entering the following challenges:

CES - Anything Goes

Sweet Stampin' - Celebrate

Allsorts - Anything Goes

Fussy and Fancy Friday - Show Us Some Snow

ASFOS - Christmas Card

Creative Card Crew - Anything Goes


Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous weekend ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Warm Winter Wishes.......

Good afternoon folks!

A speedy post to show you this card I made to send with my recent candy giveaway..... I used one of the latest Tilda stamps and my papers are Memory Box Mistletoe. The die cuts are Sizzix Mistletoe and Quicutz Holly. I stamped around the outer edges of my paper with a Winter Tapestry Peg Kit so you might just be able to see the little pine cones and twigs.


Enjoy the rest of your day and sorry that I have to dash away......

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

'Heads Up' For Tim Holtz' Tattered Florals Die!!!

Hi there!

Just a quick 'heads up' to anyone who hasn't managed to get hold of a Tim Holtz Tattered Florals Sizzix Bigz die yet...... I know they've been like gold dust ever since they were released...... well I've just spotted them in stock over at Cutting Edge Crafts, which is a fantastic online shop offering free delivery!!! I have always had top service from them and they carry a great range!

Anyway, they appear to have some in stock just now so BE QUICK!!!!!

Hugs Tara xxx

Season's Greetings......

Good evening folks...... hope you've had a nice week!

Thought I'd best show up with a card as my poor blog is looking a little neglected! I was supposed to be moving today but we've been put back now until just after the New Year..... I'm quite pleased really because the decos have now gone up and I've finished the Christmas shopping...... so it won't be quite as chaotic as I imagined this festive season, lol!

The card I'm showing today is BIG..... 8x8 size in fact...... and I've made it for my parents. I think sometimes the standard 6x6 card is a little small for close family, do you know what I mean?


I was inspired to make my card when I saw this stunning creation on Julie's blog, WOW! Isn't it gorgeous? And I thought it would be perfect as its so elegant. There's not a hint of design paper here, just some embossing and lots of Sizzix die cuts, along with one of the sweet Tildas from the latest collection and a Flora Doodles bloom. I think I'll be making one or two more of these large cards in a similar design as I'm sure older people will probably appreciate the more CAS layout..... not everyone 'gets' what we do right? LOL!


I'm entering the following challenges:

Just Magnolia - Make A Christmas Card

Cute Card Thursday - Floral Frenzy

Tuesday Throwdown - CAS

Tuesday Taggers - Deck The Halls


Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

And The Winner Is......

Random Generator 1 - 25 chose number 20!!!!

Which is.........

Julie from Julie's Inkspot!

Well done to you hun and thank you for all your lovely comments ;o)

Please email your addy to me and I'll get your prize posted...... I added one or two more goodies to the mix, smile! You can get my email addy from my profile ;o)


Once again, a huge thank you to everyone else who has stopped by to leave a comment on my blog lately. I've really enjoyed giving this candy away to show my appreciation and will be doing another one in the New Year!

Big hugs, Tara xxx

A Thank You Christmas Candy For Recent Commenters.......

Good morning folks!

Life has been so hectic for me lately that I have had very little time for blogging..... so I wanted to say a huge thank you to all the lovely people who stop by to leave me such wonderful comments!

I've put together this little Christmas candy and have listed below all the people who have left comments on my last four creations..... these are folk who have stopped by just because they wanted to and not because I have entered a particular challenge ;o)

The candy consists of some Magnolia images, Basic Grey's Jovial 6x6 pad and Kay&Co's Christmas Designer Mat Pad.


I will pick a winner at random tomorrow evening from the 25 friends below:

1. Sue - Scoopy's Stuff

2. Caroline - Mad Moooo's Mayhem

3. Juls - The Glitter Chick

4. Mustavcoffee - Crafty Musings

5. Kelly - Crafting Creatively

6. Riet - Riet's Blog

7. Debby - A Scrapjourney

8. Claire - CraftyC's Crafting Library

9. Karen - Karen

10. Stella - Rosie Posy Crafts

11. Lorraine - Coldwaters 2

12. Maria - Maria's Studio

13. Heather - Rica's Haven

14. Fiona - Lil Daffodil

15. Annika - Another Messy Crafter

16. Danielle - Paper Inspirations By Danielle

17. Di - Dizzy Dan Designs

18. Elaine - Quixotic Cards

19.Squirrel - Squirrel's World

20. Julie - Julie's Inkspot

21. Trish - Trish's Art

22. Julie - Rainbow Days

23.Ali - Crafty Dragons

24.Tracy - Craft Addicts

25. Jolanda - Jolanda's Crafty Corner


Have a great day and good luck ;o)

Hugs Tara xxx

There Can Be Miracles........

Good afternoon peeps!

I'm just flying on here to post another card quickly...... I tried to make a Christmas card without the traditional colours or embellies...... hence all the pink flowers, lol! Thankfully, this gorgeous Christmas Angel Tilda ensures that it will pass for the festive season!


Tilda's got a black hairdo for a change..... I always think I'll do a bad job colouring her hair this colour but actually it hasn't worked out too bad I think!

I've used Webster's Pages papers, Prima flowers and Sizzix die cuts for this card and the sentiment is computer generated.


Here are the challenges I'm entering:

Tip Top Tuesday - Anything Goes

Charisma - One For The Girls

Tuesday Throwdown - Embellish It

Let's Get Shabby - Christmas Song


Thanks so much for stopping by...... hugs Tara xxx

Basic Grey Week 34 - A Recipe.......

Hiya folks!

I'm late with my Basic Grey DT card, oooops! I shoud have uploaded it yesterday but better late than never!!! Just not enough hours in the day at the minute!

Anyhow, this week we have a recipe for you as follows:

4 Different Types of Embellishments
(You can have as many of each type as you wish, as long as there are 4 different kinds, for example Ribbon, Pearls, Flowers, Charms etc etc)

3 Different Patterned Papers
(You can have as many plain matting papers as you wish, just as long as there are 3 patterned papers)

1-2 Images and/or 1-2 Sentiments
(You can choose to have up to 2 in either of these, or even both if you wish)

I'm sure you'll have lots of fun with this one and I just know you'll find all the inspiration you need when you check out the creations my teamies have come up with..... GORGEOUS!!!


So for my card I used papers from the Olivia and Kraft ranges. There are three papers; the checked, the spotted and the Kraft. My four embellies are die cuts, brads, ribbons and gems. And I used one Magnolia image plus the Northpole sentiment...... I'm not counting BRRR as a sentiment because I can file that one under die cuts, hee hee!

I'm also entering the following challenges with my card:

Totally Papercrafts - Untraditional Christmas

ABC Challenge - Ice and Snow

Stampin' For The Weekend - Winter

Pile It On - Winter Means.....


Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Sledding Hill.........

Good morning everyone!

Well I'm managing to sneak in a couple more Christmas cards before I get swamped by the big move..... still not really started the bulk of the packing yet but I have been doing lots of clearing out and even managed to go through my craft stash last night! It always feels nice when you've had a good tidy up!!


I made my card using another gorgeous image from Magic Moonlight as I just love this little boy and girl sledging in the snow! And doesn't that Melissa Frances sentiment just work so perfectly?!

The papers are from the Memory Box Gossamer collection and the flowers and leaves are mostly Papirloftet. Do you like the cute procession of reindeer? I used a QuicKutz die to cut them out and tried to create an impression of them prancing across my card.

I'm entering these challenges:

ASFOS - Anything Goes

Crafts and Me - Dreaming of a White Christmas

Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge - Christmas With No Red and Green

Magical Monday - Let It Snow

Simon Says - Let It Snow


Well enjoy your day and have a wonderful weekend...... wrap up and keep warm won't you?!

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

'Happy Thanksgiving' to all our lovely American blogging friends!

Wishing everyone a wonderful time!!!

Hugs Tara xxx

Made With Love....... A Gift From The Heart

Good morning folks!

Here are a couple of vintage toppers I've made for this week's Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge...... the brief is to use your Distress Inks. This is the first time I've entered the challenge and I have to say the DT girls do an amazing job with their creations each week!

I've used Distress Inks in the simplest way really, to give definition to all the edges. And you might also be able to pick up that I stamped around the images using the inks along with Stempleglede's Grunge stampset.

I'm also entering these challenges:

CES - Lovely Lace

Let's Ink It Up - Recycle (book pages)

Well this is a bit of a flying post as I have to dash to work now...... I hope you have a creative day and thanks so much for stopping by ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Children Are A Poor Man's Wealth...........

Good morning folks!

Here is a card I quickly made this week for my friend's daughter - and it is certainly far removed from all the rich Autumn colours and sparkly Winter themes which are in abundance through blogland at the minute.

I picked up this sweet little S.W.A.L.K. stamp from the Crafter's Companion stall at the NEC this month and she really was a dream to colour! I went for the fresh green and blue colour combo as I thought it would be nice for a young girl. And lucky for me it fits in perfectly with the new challenge over at Colour Create, where the colours are Robin Egg Blue, Sea Foam Green and Cream.


I'm also entering my card into this week's Crafty Purple Frog Challenge where the theme is flowers.

Toodles for now ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Joy To The World....... Basic Grey DT

Good morning everyone!

I am soooooo late posting my DT card, ooooooops! Just so busy with all the prep for moving house and I haven't found time for crafting or blogging ;o(

Anyway, welcome to another Basic Grey Challenge where we have a fun theme for you this week...... please use wings somewhere on your creation. You could go along the nature route with butterflies and other insects, or you could think about Christmas with maybe an angel theme. Lots of the new Tilda stamps from Magnolia have wings so I decided to use this sweet sitting Tilda for my card. And do you like this gorgeous window she's sitting against? I got the stamp from the NEC last weekend and its by Molly Blooms.


I've used Basic Grey Jovial papers on this project and added a Martha Stewart punched edge to the border. The leaves are Sizzix amd the berries and feathers are from my stash. My lovely matey Annika kindly sent me the WOJ sentiments and that fantastic sparkly snowflake!

I'm going to enter my card into the following challenges:

ASFOS - Distressing

Crafty Calendar - Winter Snowflakes

ABC - H is for Holidays

Crafts and Me - Glitter


I might go quiet again now for a bit, but I am okay....... just a very busy bee, lol!

Take care and thanks so much for stopping by ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

My NEC Shopping Spree.......

Hiya folks!

Sorry I haven't been around for a few days but I've sold my house and things have been truly hectic...... I now have just four weeks to prepare as the sale is going through very quickly and it looks like we'll be moving on December 10th!!!!! So when do I fit in Christmas, lol?!

Also, I've had a busy weekend as I spent Saturday at the NEC and Sunday recovering! It was just the best day on Saturday and meeting up with my blogging pals was PERFECT!! I love to have a good chat and a catch up and it makes the day so special...... sending big thanks and hugs to Jo, Chris, Kim, Heather, Kim and Tab for an amazing day! And I had the great pleasure of meeting Mina and Dena too and they were both such lovely ladies..... Mina you have a dirty laugh girl and Dena you have an such an infectious zest for life.... I hope it won't be the last time we meet!

I was also lucky enough to bump into Marlene, Jacqui, Bev, Lou and Andie...... hello ladies, it was lovely to see you ;o) Have I missed anyone out? I really hope not!!





So the pictures you can see are the stash I bought on the day..... lots of yummy things I wanted and a few extras I saw too! I managed to pick up a daylight lamp for £25 which I thought was an absolute bargain!!



Not sure how much of this new stash I'll be able to use now because the house sale might just take over my life a tad..... but it'll all be waiting for me again when I'm sorted ;o) I do have a couple of weeks before things get really mad so maybe you will see one or two more creations before then.

Must dash now...... take care and enjoy your evening!

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Hanglar You're Sweet........

Good morning everyone!

Hope you are all feeling good today!! I've based this card on the wonderful sketch provided by the lovely Claudia over at Friday Sketchers this week. I really enjoyed adding all the layers and I do believe that, for once, my end result actually resembles the sketch I started out with, lol!


I've been meaning to ink up this sweet Hanglar image for a while now and pop her on the plant pot...... lots of colouring involved though!! I've coloured her with Prismas and also stickled her wings. I don't very often do black hair but I think it quite suits her!


I've punched out some EK Success small retro flowers and some Martha Stewart leaves, plus I've added some fancy metal corners which were sent in a RAK from my dear friend Heather..... see you Saturday at the NEC matey (excited wink)! I've also stamped lots of faux stitching around various edges as I do love the effect and its much easier than trying to sew (well for me anyway)!!

I think this card could be given to someone for Christmas because of the colours..... these gorgeous papers are Mermory Box. Or it might be nice as a birthday card for someone celebrating around the festive time maybe!


I'm also entering the following challenges:

Lovely hAnglar Only - Punched Out

Crafty Cardmakers - Stitching

E-A-C - Untraditional Christmas


Can I just finish by saying a huge thank you to everyone who visits my blog and especially those lovely peeps who leave regular comments..... I love ya!! And I'm really sorry for being so PANTS at commenting lately myself..... I'm blaming my job for that as there are never enough hours left in the day when I get home!!!

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

A Hundred Hearts Would Be Too Few......

Good morning everyone!

I apologise if you're getting a bit fed up with seeing my 'scene' cards and also lots of appearances by Tilda and Webster's Pages papers, but I'm stuck in a bit of a groove with them at the moment and can't get out, lol!


I spotted that the latest Bunny Zoe's Monthly Challenge has a theme of 'Autumn Love' this month so I built my card around this theme. You can hopefully see the little sentiment I added by cutting out some of the design paper...... 'A Hundred Hearts Would Be Too Few To Carry All My Love For You'...... and I thought that as Tilda is carrying a bundle that worked really well!


I've also added lots of mini butterflies to my card so hopefully that qualifies me for the latest Stamp With Fun Challenge which has the theme of 'All That Can Fly'. And this month's challenge over at Crafty Calendar is 'Autumn Birthdays' so I'm entering my card there too. Finally, the 7 Kids College Fund have a 'Birthday' theme for their latest challenge so I'm also having a go at that one.

Other supplies I've used on my card are: Martha Stewart fence punch, QuicKutz grass die, Tim Holtz Sizzix tree die and Martha Stewart leaf punch.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, your time is really appreciated...... have a fun day!!

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

UPDATE: I just spotted another perfect challenge for my card ;o) Copic Creations have a theme of 'brown and/or make a scene'..... well I've definitely created a scene on my card and although I don't usually use Copics for my images, I have coloured the tree with a couple of brown Copic pens so hopefully that counts ;o)

Basic Grey # 32 - Heather's Sketch

Good morning all..... hope you are having a relaxing weekend so far!

We're here with a new Basic Grey Challenge today and I just know you'll want to join in when you see the delish sketch provided by my lovely pal and teamie Heather!


It was so much fun to use and, as always, the team have made stunning creations to inspire you!! I know I've said it before but it always amazes me how we seem to all pick different Basic Grey ranges to use too..... but then I guess there are so many collections now that it's not so difficult!


And I know you'll be shocked to see this but I haven't used a Tilda for this card, LOL!!! I was sifting through some of my older stamps and found this little Winter Miss Anya beauty just crying out to be inked! Then I had the idea to add some flower soft to her fluffy bits!! It was a bit fiddly to apply to the small areas I have to say but looks pretty fab don't you think!!!

Do you see the little die cut mittens? CUTE!!! These are a Sizzix Sizzlit die I've had for ages now and I paper pieced them before adding the flower soft. I've also used a MS punch for the deep border, a Sizzix die for the foliage and a scrummy crocheted flower sent to me by my lovely matey Anneka in a RAK. The Basic Grey papers are from the Archaic collection and I'm almost out of them now!! The flower is a Prima Hydrangea and the sentiments are Melissa Frances rub-ons.

So I hope you'll join us this week and don't forget that there is the wonderful $25 prize up for grabs as always from our ever-generous sponsor Simon Says Stamp!

Have a good one!

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

The Beauty Of Winter......

Good morning everyone and happy 'hump' day! Doesn't it come around quickly!!

Well I'm really enjoying making my Christmas cards this year and I have to say I've made a much earlier start than normal! I usually make quite a few Autumn and Halloween cards at this time but have been drawn to Christmas for some reason..... actually I'm sure it's because of the amazing Webster's Pages papers I have. They are just scrumptious and I find myself able to create lovely scenes with them, as I have done on this card.


I must admit when I first saw this Tilda from the latest Magnolia collection I didn't think she seemed that festive..... that is until I realised she was carrying beautiful Winter amaryllis stems! And I suppose she can be used at any time of year really because you could easily make the flowers look like cut tulips too! Anyway, whatever the season she certainly is delish, what a cutie!!

I pimped my Melissa Frances sentiment a bit you know..... oh I do like to pimp things, lol! I picked one rub-on from the Spring set which said 'The Beauty Of Spring' and chopped off the Spring bit..... then I took a rub-on from the Winter set and just used the word 'Winter'..... and voila!

Other than the papers, sentiment and image, the only other thing on my card is some Sizzix branches which I cut out in white and then coloured..... and some Martha Stewart punched mini hydrangea flowers which I thought could pass for Winter blooms too!

I'm entering the following challenges:

Paper Sundaes - A Natural Woman

Let's Ink It Up - Make A Scene

Simon Says Stamp - Punch 'Em (punches and die cuts)

The Crafty Pad - Christmas Theme

Stampavie and More - Christmas

Creative Inspirations - Brown, Sage and Cream


Thank you sooooo much for popping by...... enjoy your day now!

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Let's Play Pretend......

Good morning peeps!

Today's card is for the new A Spoon Full Of Sugar Challenge as the girls are asking us to use punches and dies on our creations. I've used a Martha Stewart border punch, Tim Holtz swirls die and Magnolia Doo Hickey tag die.


Papers are Webster's Pages and flowers are from Papirloftet. The gorgeous white guipure lace star flowers were from Ebay, as was the leafy panel in the middle of my card.


The wonderful sentiments are from a sheet of Melissa Frances rub-ons which I just love..... I only wish you could get hold of these more easily in the UK! Tilda is from this year's Pirates and Princesses release.

As usual I've sparkled away to my heart's content, lol!! And I also added lots of Liquid Pearl dots too!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly - Sparkly and Bright

Have a great day and be good ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx