Love & Happiness.......

Good afternoon to you all..... hope you're having a fine weekend!

I'm off out in a few minutes to watch my hubby playing cricket and hopefully score a few fours and sixes along the way.... it's perfect weather to sit on a comfy recliner and relax.

Today's card has a bit of an art deco feel about it I think.... I didn't start off with that in mind but I think the Webster's Pages paper I used draws on that theme.... and the lovely vintage lady certainly looks like she could be a fashionable filmstar from the era too!


I've hand torn and rolled the large roses and the leaves are a Marianne die. I've added some liquid pearl dots here and there and edged the paper with a stitching border stamp. You might also spot the sweet little fabric bird I squeezed in above the main sentiment.

I'm entering the following challenges:

Craft Us Crazy - Anything Goes

Totally Gorjuss - Punch or Die

Sweet Stampin' - Fashion

Fussy and Fancy Friday - Summer

EAC - Dots

CCT - For His Eyes Only

Crafty Catz - No Pink or Blue

Crafts and Me - Add A Flower

Craft Your Passion - Text It

Craft Your Days Away - Summertime

By The Cute and Girly - Things With Wings

Allsorts - Free and Easy


Thanks so much for stopping by and take care ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Vintage Girl........

Good morning everyone!

Here's another card I've made with a vintage theme and quite summery too with the roses and leaves. I am really enjoying the shabby chic card style at the moment..... a bit of distressing makes me feel good, lol!


I've used Prima papers, Sizzix and Doo Hickey dies and a Martha Stewart punch...... along with a vintage image from Magic Moonlight which you can find HERE.

I'm entering the following challenges:

ASFOS - Pink and Brown (hope it's okay that I added a little green too)

Allsorts - Free and Easy July

Crafts and Me - Summertime

Deep Ocean - Cards

Dream Valley - Summer Theme

Fussy and Fancy Friday - Summer

MAWTT - Favourite Things (Vintage, Die Cuts, Flowers, Feminine, Stitching)

Simon Says - Anything Goes

ABC - 'Y' is for Yesterday

Emerald Fairie - All Things Nice (Girly)

Totally Papercrafts - Girly Girls



Well that's all from me today so have a good one and enjoy any crafting time you get ;o)


TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

P.S. After receiving lots of emails I've reinstated my comments option..... thanks for all your kind messages ;o)

Live The Life You Love........

Good morning!!!

Wow it's been a very long time!! I have finally moved house now and the whole process has been incredibly stressful and tiring..... well that's what happens when you move without a removal firm, lol!

I haven't really had chance to sort out my crafting stash yet or get creative, but I do have this card I made before the big move took place. I chose a vintage theme with pretty pastel Webster's Pages papers and Papirloftet flowers and leaves.


You may notice that I've removed the 'comment' facility from my page now and this is something I've been considering for a while..... it seems wrong to receive comments on my work from so many lovely people when I never have time these days to return the favour. I am trying to devote as much time as I possibly can to my kids as they are growing up too fast, so sitting at the computer for hours on end just doesn't cut it! Be assured that I do visit many blogs regularly but just don't have time to leave the comments I wish I could..... so please feel free to do the same when you visit me...... just take a peek and move on ;o) And I am always grateful if you take the time to do that ;o) ;o)

Have a lovely day...... TTFN and TFL,

Hugs Tara xxx

The Heart That Loves......

Afternoon peeps!

Firstly I must just apologise for my absence from my blog and from blogland in general - I move house in two weeks and so life is just frantic!! This is my second house move in six months and I hope we'll be staying put now for a while as it is very stressful trying to pack up your life!!!

Anyway, here is another vintage card I made recently as I'm loving this style at the minute.


I used Prima papers, a Spellbinders frame die and Woodware punches..... plus some gorgeous antique lace I picked up in my local market.



I'd like to enter the following challenges:

EAC - Distress

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes

Deep Ocean Challenge - Anything Goes

Stampin' Sisters In Christ - Use Something New (Spellbinders Frame)

Bearly Mine - Anything Goes

ASFOS - Here Comes Summer



Well that's all from me for today - thanks so much for stopping by ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Vintage Girl.......

Good afternoon!

I'm going through a vintage stage with my cardmaking at the minute I think and so I created this topper using one of the fabulous images provided by Magic Moonlight.


As always I've gone wild with embellies as I hate to leave a space unused, lol! Best not to enter the LIM challenge with this one right? The yummy papers are from Webster's Pages and the sentiment is from Stempleglede's 'Just A Note' set, worth every penny!


Here's a close up of the sweet girl looking very pensive I must say and working beautifully with the words of the sentiment

I'm entering the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly - Pale, Pretty Pastels

Bunny Zoes - Lace

Craft Us Crazy - Fave Embellishment and/or Something New (leaf ribbon is my fave item and mini bows are new)

Fussy & Fancy Friday - Recipe: 3 Papers, 2 Embellies, 1 Ribbon (Embellies are Flowers/Leaves and Metal Corner, Ribbon is Mini Bows)

Desert Island - 3 From Itinery (I chose Ribbon/Lace, Image, Flowers)

Creative Inspirations - Lace and Pearls

Crafty Creations - May Flowers

Crafty Catz - Anything Goes

Crafts 4 Eternity - Recipe (Flowers, Ribbon, Bling)

CES - Embellish It


As always I'm very grateful that you took the time to stop by for a peek today and would like to thank my new followers who have joined this week..... HELLO!!! (waving)!

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Smiles......

Hello again....... happy 'hump' day to you all!

I'm back with another card using one of the Tilda stamps from the Butterflies Collection.... I think this little beauty is everyone's fave, she's so sweet!
I really enjoyed colouring her and I think the muted shades of the gorgeous Kay&Co papers gave me a great head start!


As you can see I grunged the edges quite a lot.... I can't seem to make anything these days without distressing it, lol.... well I guess you just find your niche!


The creation is very 3-D again and I was happy to use my new Crealies leaf die to compliment the pretty flowers. And can you see I used some more cheesecloth (AKA bandage ROFL) behind the beautiful lace panel? I threw in a couple of punched butterflies to finish..... well it is Butterfly Tilda after all!!!


Here are the challenges I'm entering today:

Just Magnolia - Make It Lacey

Cupcake Craft Challenge - In The Garden

Beary Sweet - Nature

Craft Your Passion - Cutie Patoutie

The Shabby Tea Room - Monochromatic

Stamp With Fun - Green and Pink

Cute Card Thursday - It's So Distressing

Paperplay - Anything Goes

Papertake Weekly - Bloom and Grow

Craft Us Crazy - Favourite Embellishment and/or Something New (Leaves and Flowers)

Crafts & Me - Anything Goes (option of Kraft)

Flutterby Wednesdays - Open


Thanks so much for stopping by ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Go Confidently In The Direction Of Your Dreams.....

Good morning...... hope you are keeping well!!

Today I have a card to show you using one of Stempleglede's 'Just A Note' stamps as my focal point...... I made it for my Dad and his new wife who are just celebrating their first wedding anniversary together..... and rather than just say 'Happy Anniversary' I thought I'd go with this lovely quote instead. I followed the lovely sketch over at The Sweet Stop and I hope you can still make out the layout..... I'm not very good at sticking to the original design with a sketch but i think I did okay here, lol!I

I made the flower using the Tim Holtz Tattered Floral Sizzix die and added Doo Hickey leaves. Everything has been distressed and stained to give a vintage feel. I think the papers are DCWV and I used one of the sheets to create my butterfly embellishments.


I'm also entering the following challenges:

Let's Ink It Up - Focal Sentiment and 3D Flower

Sentimental Sundays - Handmade Flowers

Addicted To Stamps - Pink and Brown

Double Dutch - Vintage


Thanks so much for stopping by today and take care ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Loving Wishes And Fairy Kisses......

Good morning everyone..... hope you are enjoying your weekend so far?

I decided to go mini with my image on this card and dug out the sweet little Tinkerbell stamp from Magnolia's Fairytale collection of 2010. When I added in a couple of accessory stamps the scene reminded me of my childhood as I always used to think flowers fairies lived at the bottom of the garden..... I can thank my dear, departed Nan for my vivid imagination, as she always used to encourage me to dream and indulge in make-believe. We even used to save yogurt pots and decorate them, before leaving them under the trees at the bottom of her garden so the fairies didn't get cold or wet at night..... in fact I even remember collecting rose petals to use as blankets for them, lol! Love you Nan, God Bless!


Sorry for getting a bit sentimental there, lol!! Here's a shot I took to show the dimension on the card with all the flowers and leaves. I used Prima flowers and Papirloftet leaves, plus I added in some Creatables die cuts. The papers are from Prima's Botanical collection and I love the soft, subtle designs.


Here's the scene in more detail which I softly coloured with Prisma pencils. The sentiment is part of a Flower Fairies set by Crafter's Companion.


I'm entering the following challenges:


Wee Memories - CRAFTS (Colour, Ribbon, Acrylic, Floral, Twine, Stamps) I used Colour, Floral and Stamps

EAC - Flowers

Cutie Sunday - Butterflies

Stampin' Sisters in Christ - Beautiful (Flowers, Pearls, Bling, Butterflies, Birds, Lace...)

Sentimental Sundays - Anything Goes

Tuesday Throwdown - Die Cuts

Tip Top Tuesday - Flower Frenzy

Dutch Dare - Winged Things

One Stop - Ice Cream (I have chosen Pistachio and Strawberry)


Take care and thanks so much for stopping by...... I hope to have another card very soon but I might be distracted today as my home town Stoke City football club have reached the final of the FA Cup and I shall be glued to the TV...... yes, you read that right, lol! I know I'm a rare breed but I love football!!!!!!!!!!


TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Live, C'est Ci Bon!........

Good morning!

A second card this week from me, woohoo! I decided to use the gorgeous new papers by Kay&Co again as I can't get enough of them! And I picked out one of last year's Tilda images for a change; this one's such a sweetie!! Do you like the calico I used?..... right on trend just now! I've seen it cropping up all over the place but haven't been able to find any to buy anywhere..... so I improvised big time..... I bought a roll of bandage for 28p from Tesco and then set about stretching and moulding it to shape, LOL!!! Quite pleased with myself for coming up with that idea and so cheap too as there's loads on the roll!!


I decided that, instead of paper piecing my image, I would paper piece the flowers and leaves which are from a gorgeous Marianne set..... makes a change from normal flowers doesn't it?


These are the challenges I'm entering:

Crafts and Me - Swirls

Simon Says - Paper Piecing

Totally Gorjuss - 1, 2, 3 (1 image, 2 flowers, 3 papers)

Just Magnolia - Buttons, Bows and Bling (one or more)

Oldie But A Goodie - Say It With Flowers

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes

Stamp With Fun - Lace or Ribbon

Tip Top Tuesday - Open

Try It On Tuesday - Something Old, Something New (Old is Tilda image, New is papers)

7 Kids - Showers or Flowers

ATS Magnolia Challenge - Marvelously Magnolia

Desert Islanders - Distressing, Sparkle, Words


Well I'm off to work now so I'll catch you all later and thanks for stopping by ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Mum......Forever Special!

Good morning!

Hope you have enjoyed the Bank Holiday weekend and all the wedding celebrations! Back to work for me today, boo hoo! Anyway, I'm here with a card I made for my Mum's birthday which is coming up later this month..... I'm organised for once, yay!! She doesn't like Tilda very much (?!!!!) so I chose one of the gorgeous accessory stamps released recently by Magnolia as she does like gardening!


As you can see the card is very 3-D and I added more of the roses I love to tear and make for lots of dimension!


I must point out that the tulips in the image have been paper pieced.... it might be a little hard to tell but I promise you I did it and if you don't believe me then zoom in for a closer inspection, lol! The gorgeous papers in this one are new from Kay&Co and they're right up my street, all vintagey ;o) And you'll also notice another appearance for my beloved satin leaf ribbon, ooh I do love it so much!! The lace is from WOC and the leaves are cut with a Sizzix die, plus I added in some faux stitching to some of the edges..... not much more to add that you won't already know about, hee hee!!

I have a long list of challenges to enter with this card so here goes:

Stamptacular Sunday - Mum's The Word

One Stop - In Stitches

Cupcake Inspirations - I chose the cake bottom right of the picture (and thanks girls for putting me in your top three again last week)

By The Cute and Girly - Anything Goes

Sentimental Sundays - For A Woman

Emerald Faerie Garden Challenge - Anything Goes

MDUC - Ribbon and Lace

Let's Ink It Up - Embellish It

Wee Memories - Paper Piecing

Totally Tilda - Paper Piecing

Magnolia Stamp Lovers - Flowers

Simon Says - Anything Goes

Crafts and Me - Vintage/Distressing

Charisma - April Showers, May Flowers

City Crafter - Initial Colour Challenge

Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes

Crafts 4 Eternity - Anything Goes

Dutch Dare - For Mom!

Stamp With Fun- Lace or Ribbon



Well have a gorgeous week and I'll be back very soon I hope ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Spring Has Sprung.....

Good morning everyone!

I hope you're all enjoying this fabulous Easter break and scoffing lots of chocs, lol! Can you believe I don't have any Easter eggs and I'm not really that fussed about choclate full stop!!! Yes you did just read that sentence right, lol!!! Now if we're talking about a toasted hot cross bun with melted butter on that is a different matter...... YUM!!! I could eat a whole pack of them!! Not good for the diet though so I'll just have to dream about them for now ;o)


I sooooooo enjoyed making this card yesterday but I used up my very last sheets of Basic Grey's Wisteria paper, boo hoo. It's so pretty, probably my fave collection ever. In the pad the lilacs are hanging down from the top of the page, but I thought if I flipped it the lilacs would become lupins instead! I used another sweet Tilda from the latest collection and gently coloured her with Polys before adding lots of Stickles.


The foliage is made using DooHickey and Creatables dies and I added some grass with an old faithful QuicKutz die. And where would I be without the gorgeous DooHickey fence die which has been used over and over!! The sentiment is a Melissa Frances rub-on and the lilac roses were a gift.


Here are the challenges I'm entering today:

CES Challenge - Spring Colours/Image

CRAFT - Flowers

Tip Top Tuesday - Open

Stamptacular Sunday - Pile It On (5 types of die cuts, punchies)

Paper Sundaes - (at least two of) Sparkle, Pearls, Die Cuts, Yellow

Cupcake Inspirations - Picture of Cake (took inspiration from the colour combo)



Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful week to come ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Thinking Of You.....

Morning everyone and happy Good Friday to you!

Oh dear, my poor blog has been well and truly neglected again.... it's a whole week since I posted!!! Well I have been extremely busy behind the scenes but not with cardmaking.... we've just had an offer accepted on a house!!! So that'll mean a second house move in six months.... EEEEEEKKK! Anyway, I'll explain more in my next post as I've a million things to get done today and just stopped by to add my card quickly.


I decided to go vintage on this one and use one of the gorgeous images kindly supplied free by Magic Moonlight here. I used some sweet DCWV papers which I distressed heavily with scissors and ink.

One of the papers had lots of butterflies on so I cut several of them out to add as embellishments...... they work in so well with the papers that way you see.


And I'm very pleased with the floral arrangement.... lots of delish Prima flowers, leaves from Papirloftet, stunning skeleton leaves and finished off with punched stamens and brown pearls.

Here are the challenges I'm entering today:

EAC - Pearls

Flutter By Wednesday - Open

ASFOS - Let's Celebrate

Cupcake Craft Challenge - Lots Of Layers



Well thanks a million for stopping by today and have a wonderful Easter weekend..... many blessings to you all from me and from Him.

Oh and make to most of this sunshine won't you.... you do realise this is our Summer in the UK, lol!!!

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Spring Beauty......

Good morning folks and Happy Friday..... yay, nearly the weekend already ;o)

I made a card using this sweet Magnolia image again..... defo my fave one from the latest collection..... that bunny is adorable even if he/she does look a little sad, lol!


I used more papers from the Prima Botanicals collection as I love the understated nature of them and they're gorgeous for creating a shabby chic theme. Those little stamped leaves are from a new Marianne stamp range I bought which also has some lovely floral designs. The flowers are Prima and the sentiment is Melissa Frances, plus I stamped out a Tim Holtz 'Postcard' stamp too.

I'm entering the following challenges:

Shabby Tea Room - Doilies/Lace

7 Kids - Easter/Spring

ASFOS - All Creatures Great and Small

Tip Top Tuesday - Spring Has Sprung

Magnolia-licious Colour Challenge - Pink and Green

Creative Card Crew - Spring


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

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Cherish.......

Good morning....... it's been a while!

I've been making the most of our wonderful Spring weather and getting out and about, so there hasn't been much crafty time lately!!

Anyway, I did find time to make this card last night using new Magnolia stamps.... isn't the dog a cutie?!!


I masked Tilda and the dog with a Spring fence which I doubled up to make it longer. I do love that you can create a nice scene when you mask several images together. I coloured everything with Polys and added some Stickles for sparkle. I recently bought the Prima Botanicals paper pad and I love it..... very shabby chic and vintagey so you might be seeing it some more ;o)


Now you know how I love my handmade roses..... well I spotted Marianne Creatables had bought out some new dies to make them so the leaves and roses on this card have been made using one of them. They're so much fun to make and so easy!! Easy is good right?



I'm entering the following challenges:

Flutterby Wednesday - Open

Simon Says - Easter/Spring Colours

Crafts and Me - Glitter and Anything Goes

Creative Inspirations - Punches and Dies

Craft Your Passion - 2x2


Thanks so much for stopping by, it means so much ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx

Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday!

Good morning!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and if you were celebrating Mother's Day yesterday I hope you had lots of fun! I had a lovely time and both my kiddos bought me wonderful gifts..... and I was treated to breakfast in bed and a homecooked meal in the evening..... perfect!!


Whilst the family was hard at work making my day as relaxing as possible, I spent some quiet time in my craft room and created this card. I thought I'd use this sweet pink butterfly as it is quite metallic which fits in with the new Magnolia Down Under Challenge.


As you can see the card has quite a nice 3-d element with all the flowers I added. The papers are Prima and the fence is Magnolia DooHickey. I used another of the new Magnolia images and a gorgeous background from the new range too...... the sentiment is from the last release.


I'm also entering the following challenges:

Crafty Calendar - April Showers Bring Forth May Flowers

Allsorts - Blooming Blossoms

Saturday Challenge - Butterflies

The Corrosive Challenge - Pastel Colours

Addicted To Stamps - Happy Birthday

Paper Sundaes - Spring Blossoms


Hope your week is a good one..... thanks so much for stopping by today ;o)

TTFN and TFL, hugs Tara xxx