Tulips From Amsterdam!

When it's Spring again, I'll bring again, Tulips from Amsterdam! Altogether now!
 I bet you'll be cursing me later when you're humming that catchy little tune. Very soon it will be Spring again and Scrapbook Sisters want to see "Spring Flowers" this week in your card creations! Not only Tulips, Whatever you've got to offer. For my DT card I'm afraid I used my ancient Spring Favourite stamp, I can't remember who they were made by, the box has been long discarded, but they are part of a set of various flowers, pots and vases. The butterflies were some magazine giveaways from a few weeks back. I wish I'd stamped them in a softer colour ink, the photo makes them look heavy. 

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

Crafty Sentiments, Shaped card,

Creative Stamp Friends, Favourite Song,

CFAS 21, Shaped Card,

Flutterby Wednesday 192, Open,

MMCS46, Shaped card,

Paper Sundaes 109, Circles.

Thanks for stopping by,

Julie.x

Totally Ladybug Tuesday

I hope you all enjoyed the Ladybug blog hop last time, aren't the new release Floral Delight digis gorgeous, they're selling like hot cakes! It's Catherine's turn to host this week's challenge with the Ladybugs and I have to say that I really love the theme, it's
"Pink and Girly "  and as you probably know I love pink!  To make my DT card I used one of my new stamps,Make a wish Nikki coloured the image using Copics, glittered up my pink flower and die cut frame and added ribbon, a punched border and some bling. The gorgeous paper is by Echo Park.

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

Crafty Boots, Food,

Sew Many Cards 83, Punch it,

Crazy Challenge 118, Anything goes,

Cards and More 48, Glitter and sparkle,

CTO52, Birthday and bling.

 Thanks for stopping by,

Julie.x

I'll Be Brief

Just a quick post tonight with a tiny 3x3" card. Apart from the pearlescent card blank, the card was made using only scraps and leftovers from previous makes. The tulips were made using a punch that's probably 8+ years old. I just punched 5 tulips in green and 5 in the other colours,slightly shaping the bloom,trimming it from it's stem and adding it to the green flower using pinflair gel.

I'm using this card for the following challenge,

Less is More 54, Don't scrap it.

Thanks for stopping by,

Julie.x 

A New Badge.

I'm sorry I haven't a card to show you tonight, I've some made ready for a busy DT posting week but I couldn't resist saying a little hi and showing you my new badge!

Isn't it a cute one! as it says I was the featured artist at

"The Kraft Journal" last week. My daughter who's a lover of owls is going to love it!

I hope you've had a great weekend,

Thanks for stopping by,

Julie.x

Fiddle De De!

I thought I'd do a different kind of project for me today and so enjoyed fiddling with all the different elements. I'm rather pleased with the outcome even though it's nowhere near the standard of the Lovely Linda's tags her gorgeous works of art are amazing! I cut out the tag and the shadow tag using the Cricut and Plantins Schoolbook, various TH distress inks and a Lavinia stamp. The image was cut from "This &That" Red Floral paper by Echo Park. All of the other elements I found rooting around in my jars. Oh except the sequins which I bought the other week, I just couldn't resist the jam packed bag of assorted shapes and sizes but all in the most gorgeous ivory. I plan on using them to alter a photo frame. BTW does anyone have any tips when it comes to sequins, I'm generally a "high static area" lol, it took my for ever to remove the charged sequins from my finger tips !

I'm, using my tag for the following challenges:-
CCCB97, It's all natural,
MMCS45, Ribbons and buttons,
Papertake Weekly, Get krafty,
The Kraft Journal, Fantastic Finds, (my jam packed bag of sequins for less than £2)
Crafty Bloggers 14, Shabby Chic.
Thanks for stopping by,
Julie.x

Scrapbook Sisters Sketch Week.

The Scrapbook Sisters are going to be having regular sketches to follow, giving a nice change for the regular followers of the challenge.

I needed  to make a card for one of my nephews and found this sketch worked great, suiting my needs a treat as I really didn't want to add an image and stars work great for older teenagers I think.

For my DT card I removed the centre from my card using my Nestie Circles after I'd embossed and layered up my paper and card stock. I then made myself a frame which I inked to match my papers and took a black marker pen to it to echo the doodles on the paper.

 I just enlarged the sentiment area from the sketch which meant the stars needed to move with it. The stars were cut from the DP and mounted on black and raised on pinflair gel. I'm sorry I can't help you with who the papers are by, they've been in my stash for ages, left overs  from a "Crop Class" If you can get to Rainham in Kent, there's still a few tickets for the Crop this Saturday. They are always a great crafty day out unfortunately though I'm not able to attend this time.

I'm using this card for the following challenges:-
IWD134, Birthday,
Lollipop 68, Anything goes,
MIM77, Anything goes,
Crazy Challenge 107, Die Cuts,
Dream Valley 26, For men,
Paper Sundaes 108, Birthday.
Thanks for stopping by,
Julie.x

Hello Monday!

Where ever did the weekend go! Already back at work and only just found time to do a bit of crafting.

My entry for this week's LIM challenge, and this week the theme is "Punches or Die cuts"

A really simple card using a couple of off cuts, my revolution flourish die and the Xcut Dielicious flower dies.

 I love the fact that there are so many flower sizes to choose from in the set along with both scalloped circles and circles. I think there's around 17 pieces in the set altogether. A piece of ribbon, some twine and a button complete my card. 

 I'm using my card for the following challenges:-
LIM 55, Theme,
Creative Mondays 2,Anything goes,
MIM77, Anything goes,
CCH107, Punches or die cuts,
Scrappy Frogs, Die cuts.
Thanks for stopping by,
Have a good week,
Julie.x

Scrapbook Sisters Challenge 71

Morning! Happy Wednesday!!! and it's time for a new challenge at Scrapbook Sisters. The theme for challenge 71 is "New Home" For my DT card, I was going to be clever, had a great idea of making a paper pieced house, along the lines of my owl card from a while back.

It wasn't happening, despite many nights of waking up with a head full of supposedly brilliant ideas, they all failed.

I got out my stamps, and then threw them back in the drawer, just not feeling the vibe lol! Then I remembered that a few years ago I used to use a house punch for new home cards. I've no idea who it was by but with the use of various dies, I was able to create a not bad focal point to serve as my "O" the rest of the letters were cut using the Cricut and Plantins Schoolbook. A little hand cut tag, some tiny letter stamps, a button and some hemp, job done. The papers are Yours Truly, Rose blossom by Echo Park. 

I'm using my card for the following challenges:-
MIM, Anything goes,
The Kraft Journal, Colour me red,
Hybrid Chick, Template.
Thanks for stopping by,
Julie.x

Totally Ladybug Blog Hop Tuesday!

Oh my goodness, major excitement, today's the day that the Ladybugs have been eagerly waiting for. Not only is it time for a new challenge with the theme "Spring Is In The Air" but it's also time for the New Release Blog Hop! The Ladybugs have only seen their own  digi image and as there are 9 to be seen altogether we have been eagerly waiting to see what the rest of the team have been given to work with. 

You should have made your way here from Catherine's blog

if you haven't you need to go back to the challenge blog and start at the beginning.I just love my image

"Garden Bench Delight"

so much so that I almost didn't add a sentiment and was considering hanging it in my crafty cabin. I decided to make a "Frame Card" to really show it off and printed off sections of the digi in addition which I layered up on the outside of the frame, also flipping the image vertically for some of the pots .  

The little signs were easily created to place in and around the pots. I just wrote the greeting,drew around them with a fine liner and added the stick, a few dots at the bottom to echo those in the digi and a bit of distress ink to dirty them up.

 The bunting I hand cut in spring coloured paper remnants, adding hand drawn stitches. Can't you just picture this gorgeous image with another image sat on it, I know I've got loads of stamps amongst my collection that are just crying out for a nice spot to sit. My first though, is going to be my cheeky chap Magnum! 

The next stop on the hop is the "Lovely Lisa's blog" but before you head on over, the letter that you need to help you solve the puzzle is "U"  The new Digis are available here from today at £1.75 per image or the Whole Shebang £13 saving £2.75 I'll race you there lol!

I'm using this card for the following challenges:-
Bunny Zoe's 21, Celebration,
DMC23, Cropped digi image,
Karen's Doodles 98, Celebrate,
MIM76, Anything goes,
Paper Pretties, Use flowers, 
Stampalot February, In the garden.
Thanks for stopping by on this exciting Tuesday,
Julie.x

My First "Lavinia"

I did warn you yesterday that I'd made a second entry for the LIM challenge this week. I used the same technique to achieve my stripes as here as I did for my striped candle's yesterday. I'm afraid that there will be no crafty scrumminess going in the post as no one guessed correctly.

This is what I used to get my stripes, my new Memory Box wrought iron fence die.

I just placed it onto my card using post it notes to mask the other areas then used a brush to stipple on the colour, easy as that! for this card I then inked up my Lavinia stamp and stamped it twice,creating a paler image with the second placing.

Don't forget that the Ladybugs have a big day planned tomorrow, I hope you all come and join in the fun. We'd love it if you could add our poster to your side bar so that as many crafters as possible join in!

I'm using my card for

Week 54LIM,One layer and stripes.
Thanks for stopping by,
Julie.x

A Light Bulb Moment.

What a dreary day it's been today, started with a flurry of snow but it's now become grey and drizzly,still, if the white stuff gets washed away it won't be a bad thing! I don't know how but I never got round to making a LIM entry last week, I'm going to make up for it this week as I've made a couple to enter but for the moment I'm going to give you just the one. As soon as I saw the theme for this week,this is the card that came to mind though I had no idea how I was going to achieve the stripes. Then I had a sudden "Light bulb moment" if any of my followers can guess how I achieved my candles by the end of today, I'll send you a little parcel of scruminess!

LIM 54,One layer stripes.

I can't wait to see your guesses lol!

Thank's for stopping by,

Julie.x

If you want to find out, I have now posted the answer here 

Noted

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. I thought I'd show you the gift I made to go with the card I showed you earlier in the week

I stuck with using the same "My Minds Eye" papers and used them to cover each side of the hard backed Note book, then used a white gel pen to add "blanket stitch"

I cut the girls name using a Sizzix Alphabet,I punched flowers and used some metallic stickers for their centres then tied coordinating ribbons to the spiral binders.

I'm using this for the following challenges:-
Allsorts 141, Free and easy Feb,
CYDA38, Stitchy,
Craft Us Crazy 20, Anything goes,
Little Darlings 17, favourite embellie (ribbon).
Thanks for stopping by,
Julie.x

A Bit Of A Change

I'm not sure that I like today's card, it's been requested by my daughter along with a note book that I'll show later, for her friend's birthday. The name was cut on the Cricut using Calligraphy cartridge,  I stamped onto the background using a "Lavinia" stamp and added some stickles to the stamping. Sorry for the lack of decent photos, I used my daughter's camera by mistake. (Hers is the same so an easy mistake)

I'm using this card for the following challenges:-
Charisma Cardz 5, Wings,
Craft Us Crazy 20, Anything goes,
MIM75, Anything goes.
Thank's for stopping by,
Julie.x

Anything Goes With Scrapbook Sisters

Sorry, hit a bit of a technical problem lol, I'll come back later with all the details but here is my DT card for the "Anything Goes" challenge at Scrapbook Sisters this week!

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

Celebrate the occasion 49, Birthday,

Crafty Sentiments, Lets get girly,

Papertake Weekly, Anything goes,

MIM75, Anything goes,

Sew Many Cards 80, Birthday,

Birthday Sundaes 42, With Birthday sentiment,

Cupcake Inspirations 146, Photo,

A Gem Of A Challenge 39, Fairies,

CCH105, Fairies.

Thanks for stopping by,

Julie.x

A Sneaky Peek,Shhhh, Don't Tell Tams!

Another little sneaky peek!f you fancy seeing some more, check out the Ladybugs Challenge Blog.

The Ladybugs are getting very excited! how can we wait seven more sleeps !!!!
Thanks for stopping by,
Julie.x

Fancy A Sneaky Peek?

Happy Snowy Sunday! well it is where I live! To help warm up your day and to tease you a little I'm going to give you the first sneaky peek of the New Digis, being released by Ladybug Crafts Ink with a blog hop on the 14th of February! be sure to call by the TLT Challenge blog on the 7th for a sneaky peek from the rest of the Ladybugs! (I'm so excited,the image is gorgeous!)

On to my card today, a card ordered by a work colleague for her daughter.

 As they own a pub, Winestool Nikki was requested along with her daughter's name.

 I hand cut the bunting, used Quickutz Moxi Alphabet to add the name and placed the scrummiest Swarovski Crystals to the centre of my punched flowers.

I used the Cricut, Plantins Schoolbook to cut the numbers and also the tag which I placed on the inside for her to add a greeting.

I'm using my card for the following challenges:-
PanPastel4, Happy Birthday,
Allsorts 140.Free and easy Feb,
Catch The Bug,Feb Anything goes,
CUYL62,Monochrome,
CYDA38,Stitchy,
Fabulous Friday,Ribbon or Twine,
FF55,Polka dots,
PP, Anything goes,
Sundays with Chrissy 26,Birthday,
Craft Us Crazy 20,Anything goes,
DYSU57,Anything goes,
PaperPlay 5,Shaped.
Fingers crossed there's no more snow tonight,Thanks for stopping by,
Julie.x

Just Cruising

Evening all, thought you might like to see what I made to give my friend for her 40th tomorrow. She's going on  a cruise with her husband in a few months. So I thought this would be a good place for her to record her trip. 

I found some K&Co papers in my stash, remnants from a pad used in a class project the other year at Scrapbook Sisters.

I covered a hard backed note book, made a wallet using a tag cut on the Cricut using Plantin's Schoolbook. I added a couple of strips of folded paper to the back of the wallet and added eyelets which I managed to add into the ring binder.

I wish I'd added some stitching to make it show up better in the photo but IRL it doesn't need them. I found a cute little "Ship's wheel" charm after I'd finished the book so I thought I'd add it to the flap

I stapled the velcro tab to make sure that and keepsakes are kept secure in the pocket.

I used the neglected Cropodile to punch holes to thread the elastic closure through, and cut the book plate using a Cricut Calligraphy Cartridge. After a lot of fiddling around with the uber thin Cricut lettering, I gave up and used my Quickutz Moxi alphabet dies through the Cuttlebug. I don't know if you can tell from the photo but when I covered the plate with Glossy Accents, prior to adding it to the book, it became domed. Loved the look so added it to the front with a generous squirt of Pinflair Gel to the centre and glue around the edge.

I'm using this project for the following challenges:-
DBD20, Anything goes,
Exploring Cricut, 123,
Lollipop Crafts, Anything goes,
MIM74, Anything goes,
Come and Get It, Anything but a card,
Little Claires 17, Anything but a card.
Thanks for stopping by,
Julie.x

Roll Up, For The Magical Mystery Tour!

Evening all, and my second post for today, this card is my DT card for Challenge 37 at Southern Girls. The theme for this challenge is Magic and Mystery. The beautiful Pegasus image is by Delicious Doodles, one of the challenge sponsors.

I didn't add colour to the image just added a little shimmer. 

I had a metal sentiment which I used as a mask, stippling colour over the top with distress inks and a brush. I masked the moon when adding the clouds. The scallops were cut on the Cricut using Plantins Schoolbook, I cut around the feet so it looks like the image is stepping over them.  I stamped the florishes in silver and used a white gel pen and a template to add the stars.

Crafting For All Seasons 19,Blue and white,
Divas By Design 20, Anything goes,
Fab N Funky 106, Use a digi,
Stampavie And More 161, Blue and white,
Creative Card Crew 3, Fantasy,
Partytime Tuesday 53, Anything goes,
MIM74, Anything goes,
Stamps and Fun, Animals and blue.
Thanks for stopping by,
Julie.x

Numbers Up!

Can you believe it's already Wednesday? that means it's time for another Scrapbook Sister's challenge and the theme this week is "Number cards", I actually needed 3 this week, one I have already posted, one that I can't post until the weekend and this one which I'm using for my DT card. The numbers and frame were cut using the cricut and Plantins Schoolbook. I'm a bit disappointed with how the stickles edge has photographed, IRL it looks fine and dandy though so that's a relief.

I also needed to make a money wallet for the work collection for my colleagues birthday, I also used Plantins Schoolbook cutting a large tag which I folded to make the wallet and also the numbers, the flowers are xcut.

I'm using these for the following challenges:-

PTT33, Anything goes,

BBTB, Cricut and dimensional flower,

Hooked on Crafts 16, Bright,

LC65, Anything goes,

MIM74, Anything goes.

Thanks for stopping by,

Julie.x