Southern Girls Challenge Nine

Today's card is for Challenge Nine at Southern Girls and the theme for this one is "Anything Goes" check out this beautiful Digi Stamp,she's called Ebony and is from the Emerald Faeries Collection at Debs Creations,one of this challenges sponsors who also happens to be one of the design team at Southern girls.

I sized the image and reversed it also before printing it out and colouring it with Copics. I inked the background and added stickles to the wings. The grass was cut out using the Cricut and Plantins Schoolbook Cartridge.The background papers are Ooh La La by My Mind's Eye and the bunting was hand cut using left overs from My Minds Eye 6x6 paperpack Fine and Dandy and a brown fine liner was used to draw the strings.

Some tiny alphabet stamps were used to create the greeting.

I forgot to photograph a close up of the ladybird but it was created using a brad,a red Copic and a fine liner.

I'm using this card for the following challenges:-

Freshly Brewed28,Celebrate,

Pixie Cottage 50,Celebrate,

Simon Says,Celebrate,

Scrap Creations,New Year,

Allsorts 83,Free and Easy,

Alphabet Challenge,H is for Hats,

Catch The Bug,Ring in the New Year,

Cricut Cardz 55,Mini Banner,

Sew Many Challenges 37,Anything goes,

Paper Sundaes 49,Cut it out,

Sweet Stampin,Celebrations.

So as the card says "Happy New Year" to you all! Lets hope that 2011 is a good year!

Thanks for stopping by,

Julie.x

Brag Book

My lovely Sister-in-law does lots of lovely things for other people so I thought it was about time someone did something nice for her for a change. I've been dying to try this idea out for ages so with a bit of time on my hands for a change I thought that this mini brag book would make a perfect little gift to give to her with a collection of photos that we've taken over the years. This idea came about the first time I discovered that this fab frame could be cut using the Cricut.

I cut out 10 scalloped frames from cream card using "Plantin School Book",2 from thicker card the same size to give strength to the front and back covers and 10 from DP's cut 1/4" smaller. I then brushed the edges with chalk eyes.

I used 8 photos which were also cut out using the same cartridge making the circles 1/4 inch bigger than the apertures and gluing them behind the frame,this is easily done by working out where the frame will sit over the photo and choosing the spot on the photo where the centre will fall. You then select the centre point button and move the blade to the spot you've selected,sounds complicated but it is so easy,in the right hand photo below I just decided that the nose would be the centre and that's where I started the blade from.

I did very little decoration to the book as the pages only measured just over 3" the photos were really all that was needed.

The front and rear cover were decorated using cuts from the same cartridge and one of my Christmas Present cartridges "Calligraphy Collection"

I'm using this book for the following challenges:-

Simon Says,Anything goes,
Paperplay 50,Anything but a card,

Papertake Weekly,Anything goes,
Sew Many Challenges 37,Anything goes,
Incy Wincy 74,Distressing,
CYDA10,Punches,Die cuts (hope Cricut counts!)

CES17,Anything goes.

I hope Father Christmas was kind to you,I've had lots of fun playing with my new Cartridge today,just got to think of something I can make using my other new cartridge.

Thanks for stopping by,

Julie.x

Merry Christmas!!!!

I'd like to wish a Very Merry Christmas to all of my family,friends and lovely followers,thank you for taking the time to call by, I love to hear all of your comments as it means that I can come find you and return the compliment.I love my blogging buddies!!!!
Thankyou to my lovely Scrapping friend Kim who took the time to make me this very special,personal gift,I'm so very touched that anyone would do this for me,you know how much I love marzipan! Isn't Kim lovely!

Enjoy your day,I have no cards to post for a few days so things will be a bit quiet around here!

Take care,thanks for stopping by,

Julie.x

Last Card Before Christmas.

Thought you might like to see the easel card I made for my daughter's friend,I'm hoping the girlie forgives me as the Mo Manning digi image rather resembles her.

I cut the scalloped frame using Cricut Plantin's School book and also the Scalloped strip,coloured the image using Copics to match the Paper Pack Tickled Pink by My Mind's Eye.

I cut a tiny scalloped frame for the numbers,used a flower punch and used some peel dots for their centres.

Added some hand drawn stitches and some stickles to the skirt and cake and brushed the edges with various chalk eyes.

I'm using this card for the following challenges:-

Seven Kids College Fund 11,Anything goes,

Allsorts 83,Anything goes,

Alphabet Challenge,H for Hats,

Crafty Catz 63,Your choice,45,Animals,

DCD79,How girlie can you get,

Papertake,Anything goes,

Polkadoodles 50,Age related.

Thanks for stopping by,

Julie.x

Scrapbook Sisters Challenge Sixteen

This week's card challenge at Scrapbook Sisters is "Man's World",so as I still had a few Christmas cards to make I took the opportunity to make a really quick Christmas card for a male family friend.

When I say quick,I really mean quick in a cheating sort of way,all it took was a bit of matting and layering,a bought gift tag and some silver elasticated chord. I just punched another hole in the tag,threaded it onto the elastic and wrapped it around the centre section of the card twice. I popped the card front onto foam tape to allow for the thickness of the chord before adding it to the card blank and placing a foam pad under the centre of the star.
How do you fancy making a card for this weeks challenge,the last of the year. Wishing a Very Merry Christmas to you all,
Thanks for stopping by,
Julie.x

I Just Love This Card!

This is my first ever Magnolia Stamp! I won it the other week in a Challenge at Dotties World,I just love her! she may be my first Tilda but she definitely won't be my last as she was so lovely to colour,I'm more than a little pleased with this card,unusual for me,normally all I can see are the bits that I think I should have done better!

I wish I'd discovered her before I'd made all my cards,guess who will be staring on my cards next year?..... lol! I stamped her using Momento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured her using Copics. The papers are by Dovecraft,the heart shaped sentiment is "Jingle Bells"by Anitas,I stamped it and distressed it using assorted distress inks.I used stickles to add sparkle to the "Fur and the Fir",what a coincidence lol!

I'm using this card for the following challenges:-

Stampin with Dragon 16,Make it sparkle,

Sew Many Cards 36,Winter,

Totally Tilda Challenge 11,For the one I love,(use the word love,use hearts)

A Spoonful Of Sugar,Christmas card,

Allsorts Challenge 83,Anything goes,
Alphabet Challenge,H is for Hats,

Crafty Anns 30,Anything goes,
SISC39,Holidays,

StampsRUs 11,Anything goes.

Thanks for stopping by,

Julie.x

Sweet Treat

I thought I'd share the little envelope bag that I made,just the right size to put a couple of chocolate lollies in to give to my boss' granddaughter.

I can't remember where I saw the idea of making an envelope into a gift bag but it is so very easy to do,just involves sealing an envelope,cutting off an edge and scoring around three sides an equal amount to give the depth of the bag. I also scored 2cm down from the trimmed edge to fold into the top and to reinforce the edge so that there is enough strength to thread the ribbon through. I decorated the front and back using Dovecraft papers,die cuts and Meljen's freebie image coloured using Copics.

I threaded bells onto the velvet ribbon before threading it through the punched holes.

I'm using this for the following challenges:-

Stampavie 121,Make a gift,

DDCC93,Winter,

Creative Card Crew,Anything goes,

Fussy and Fancy Friday,Show us some snow,

Hanna And Friends 75,Just a little Christmas,

CES17,Anything goes,

Paperplay 50,Anything but a card,

Meljens 38,Sweet as candy,
Allsorts 83,Anything goes.

Thanks for stopping by,

Julie.x

Flowers Don't Clash,Honest!

How horrible do the flowers look in this picture! I can't believe the photo looks like this when in reality they are a perfect match.

This is the card that I made for my daughter's birthday,how about this image, isn't she fab! I came across her purely by accident when I was lucky enough to win the challenge at Dotties World and called by the blog of Karen who sent me a message about delivery of my win (a fabulous Tilda Image). How generous Karen is to share her talent with other crafters.

I coloured her using copics then got creative with the Cricut cutting the scalloped frame and the numbers using Plantin's Schoolbook Cartridge.
The papers are "Fine and Dandy" 6x6 paper pad by My Mind's Eye.

I'm using this card for the following challenges:-

CYDA10,Punch it out! (flourishes),

CES16,Anything but a Christmas card,

CCT143,One for the kids.

Thanks for stopping by,

Julie.x

Southern Girls,Challenge Eight.

The challenge at Southern Girls this week is Vintage, and Whimsy Stamps is one of the sponsors this lovely image Gracies Roses is available from them.

I think I've gone a bit heavy on the distress ink,vintage isn't something I do a lot of but I bought this lovely paper pack,"Noel by Dovecraft", the other week at a bargain of 50% off and thought it would be perfect for this challenge.The image and the peel off corners are coloured using Copics.
I'm using this card for the following challenges:-
A spoonfull Of Sugar 133,Christmas cards,
Allsorts 82,Christmas,
Stamp Something,December Digi Day,
Stamps R Us 11,Anything goes,
Creative Inspirations 49,Anything goes Christmas.
If this is your first visit to my blog today,please scroll down for my earlier post!
Thanks for stopping by,
Julie.x

Scrapbook Sister's Card Challenge Fifteen

This week's card challenge at Scrapbook Sisters is Non Traditional Christmas,now,I didn't realise what a traditional girl I was as when I looked through my stash,all I could find was the traditional coloured papers.

Luckily I remembered that when I was ill the other week,my husband treated me to a card magazine which had some free papers in by Kaiser Craft and these were just perfect.

I made a gate fold card using the Snowman with Attitude Digi by Gayle Bond,did you realise that you can flip images before you print them out? I had a few lessons from my daughter so I thought I'd put the technique to good use and print them out facing one another, You can almost hear them saying "Snap" lol!

I played around with the papers,taking different images from the selection and layering them together. As I'd used the inside of the card for the main focal area,I used some die cuts for the back of the card to write my greeting,I just inked around the edges to add interest.

The snowman on the front of my card is from Gayle's set of Christmas stamps but it is also available as a Digi stamp,you can find Gayle's digi's HERE,they are available exclusively at Scrapbook Sisters.

I hope you feel inspired to join in with this week's challenge,

Thanks for stopping by,

Julie.x

Is It Just Me Or Are You Beginning To Panic Too?

I can't believe how quickly the days are flying past,my insides turn somersaults whenever I think how close the big day is. I haven't made any cards this week but I thought I'd share one of last weekends makes.

The stamp is by Woodware as is the greeting.I used some wired ribbon to make the bow then punched a couple of holes into the card to thread ribbon through which I passed over the centre point of the bow and taped to the back of the card. The image was coloured using Copics and then 3d glaze was added to the berries.

I'm using this card for the following challenges:-

Allsorts Week 82,Last minute Christmas,

Mami Doodles 16,Anything goes,

AIFactory 60,Christmas,

Meljens Designs37,Red Green Gold,

CD88,Red Olive and neutral,

Penny's Challenge 44,Christmas,

Stampavie 120,Christmas,

A Spoonful Of Sugar 133,Christmas,

CCCC,Anything goes,

Tuesday Taggers,Deck the Halls,

Stamps R Us 10, Holiday cards.

Have a lovely weekend,

Thank you for stopping by,

Julie.x

Week 14 See's Snowflakes At Scrapbook Sisters!

Can you believe how the weeks fly by! well,not just weeks,the years too! It won't be long till Christmas is upon us. There's another card challenge at Scrapbook Sisters,this week's theme is "Snowflakes" and is just perfect for knocking off another Christmas card from the list.

Yes I know you've seen this paper before and I honestly do have other Christmas papers in my box but I really do love using this set of "Forever friends,Santa's On His Way" A5 papers,I've still loads of papers left in the paper pack but sadly this is the last piece of the blue with white snowflakes,this collection really has worked out as a good buy,so very usable.

I cut the snowflakes from some left over Photographic paper which I added stickles to. The brilliant Snowman with Attitude Digi is a New release by Gayle Bond available exclusively at Scrapbook Sisters,he is perfect for a quick card as he takes very little colouring. I used Copics to colour then added some spots of liquid glaze to his eyes and buttons. The greeting is from Woodware's Christmas Sentiments.

The image and snowy ground are in one piece but I shaped the snowman's body and used some foam pads to lift him from the background whilst gluing the ground flat to the card base.
Check out Gayle's fab images here along with some very unusual and arty digi stamps by Sally West that have just been released.

I need to say Happy 12th Birthday to my baby girl today, she has grown into a beautiful young lady and a lovely, considerate and kind daughter.

Thanks for stopping by,

Julie.x

Happy Sunday

A quick post as time is short but I wanted to share a card made using another freebie Digi stamp from Meljen. I coloured him using Copics and mounted their freebie greeting onto chipboard,inking up the edges.

I punched some snowflakes and topped them with gems.

I'm using this card for the following challenges:-

Meljens Designs 36,sketch,

Corrosive Challenge 93,Red and white Christmas,

Secret Crafter 112,Christmas,

CCEE1048,Snowman,

Here's the same card in alternative colours papers from the Forever Friends,Santa's on his way. This time I recycled some buttons from a school dress for the centres of the snowflakes.

I'm using this card for the following challenges:-

Karber 4,Christmas with digi,

Bugaboo,Anything goes,

Delicious Doodles 3,Use a digi

Sew Many Cards 34,Digi and snowflakes,

DDCC92,Christmas card.

Thanks for stopping by,

Julie.x

Snow Joke!

The card challenge at Scrapbook Sisters this week is "Patchwork" when I made my DT card I found myself with lots of squares that still needed using so to use them up I made this card. I just added some cheats stitching ,a few punched snowflakes and a stamped sentiment from the "Forever Friends set" I thought this was perfect seeing as the card looks just like a patchwork quilt.

I'm using this for the following challenges:-

Crafty Catz 60,Christmas,

Crafty Calendar 14,Winter snowflakes,
ABC Christmas Challenge,Y is for Yultide,
Think ink 34,Punches.

Thought I'd share a couple of photos that I took today from my back door. It's been snowing continuously all day,the finest snow I've ever seen,the camera doesn't even show that it was snowing at the time except that the images aren't sharp.


The snow on top of the wall now measures 12" deep,unfortunately the weather means that my Scrapbooking class on Wednesday was cancelled and the Crop on Saturday has also had to be postponed, this is such a shame as Karen and Julie put in so much time and effort organising the event,this is the first time in five years that it hasn't been able to go ahead. I'm going to have to spend the day making Christmas cards at home instead.
Keep warm and stay safe if you too have snow,
Thanks for stopping by,
Julie.x

Southern Girls Challenge 7

It's week 7 at Southern Girls and the theme this week is to use heat. Now,I have a bit of an aversion to heat embossing but did emboss my greeting though it doesn't show very well,my heat tool is rubbish,I decided to use shrink plastic,using my cuttlebug snowflake die to cut it before shrinking it and overheating the blinking tool.

The super cute image is by Karen's Doodles,one of this week's challenge sponsors,I coloured it using Copics,masked the image and then used distress inks on the background. The papers are Forever Friends "Santa's On His Way"

I'm using this card for the following challenges:-

GC81,Snow people,

Stampavie 119,Snow,

Crafty Calendar 14,Winter snowflakes,

Crafty Ho's,Photo Inspiration,

Crafty Pad 99,Snowflakes,
Stampin For The Weekend 51,Winter,

Now for a little bit of news,you may know that I've been the Guest Designer at Southern Girls for the month of November well,I've been lucky enough to be asked to be a permanent member of the team,joining a very talented group of ladies and am part of Lou's group,how exciting is that!

Please scroll down for my earlier post today.

Thanks for stopping by,

Julie.x

Scrapbook Sister's Card Challenge 13

It's week 13 at Scrapbook Sister's Card Challenge and this week's theme is "Patchwork" great for using up all of those off-cuts. I used one of Gayle's lovely Digi stamps that are available only at Scrapbook Sisters,colouring it with Copics and adding some liquid glaze to the berries.Check out the rest of her stunning designs here.

The papers are " Forever Friend's Santa's on his way" and the flat backed self adhesive gems are by Papermania,I brushed the edges of the squares with a chalk eye and added some fake stitching. Can't wait to see what you all come up with!
Thanks for stopping by,
Julie.x