More hand made cards.....

Well hello again................

I'm never much good at getting my pictures uploaded in any particular order so I just have to accept however they appear....

Anyway, here are some lovely handmade cards that I have received since going through my surgery. This cutie here showing showers of love coming my way was sent from the lovely Gayle. She has been a god send to me over the last few months & texts me every day to check on my well being ( as well as sending me chocies)...



As for this next little beauty (you may already have guessed who this one is from) yes she does have a very distinctive talent....

Were you right ??? It's from the gorgeous Kath who is yet another very trusty friend who has provided me with an immense amount of support over the last few months.... I'm so honoured as the stitching detail is all done by her own fair hand... Hmmmm wonder if she is expecting a birthday card from me later this week???? I think she deserves it, don't you !!!!!

The next 2 cards are from non-bloggers who attend the same craft group as me. The first here is from a lovely lady called Christine who I have known for many years now & it's lovely to know that she is thinking of me although I haven't seen her for almost 2 months now....

And this final card is from another lady in the group called Helen who first got me to attend the craft group & she has been crafting for over a decade now... Helen is also my buddy who I go to the Create & Craft experience with & I blame most of my expensive purchases on her when Rob starts asking me too many questions. Oh I do have many a sin to pay for.

Well I just thought I would share these with you all as I am so appreciative of all the support & well wishes I have received during my period of ill health.... Hope everyone reading this is all in high spirit & feeling healthy...

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxxxxxxxxxxxx

HELLO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry this is short & brief but as you know I am still recovering from my op & this is only my 2nd day sitting at the computer. Boy do I wish I had one of those lush computer chairs instead of the basic hardly any padding ones that I infact have. Not much meat on my bones at the best of times but feeling it all just now....

What a huge thank you I owe to one & all of you for all the good wishes I have received....

THANK YOU ..... YOU'RE A WONDERFUL CROWD......

Haven't yet managed to get back to crafting yet but I am going to make an attempt today as Kath brought me such a delicious goody bag that temptation is becoming too much for me.... It does include Heidi Grace papers etc so boy is my heart going to break using them but hey it wold be such an insult if I just stared at & stroked my gorgeous gift....

Now I'm going to tell you a tale of two woes...... this proves what a true dedicated friend Kath truly is as she never shared this story but I have to as I feel so guilty over it & you will understand why....

My bestest crafting buddy comes to visit on Friday evening after a long hard days work at the SECC, and along with her brings a fantastic bag of goodies for me..... yummy yummy yummy and just what the doctor ordered... we ate our fish suppers & chatted away catching up on all the news & Kath was filing me on on Ann's progress after her operation... what a fab time I was having. Then came time for Kath to return to her hotel.... time for disaster to strike.... this was my first time out of the house & going in the car since I got out of hospital... Off to the car we went, me all wrapped up & Rob putting a cushion on the seat for me to sit on & another over my belly to keep the seat belt away from my wound... Now mother hen Kath is making sure I'm all strapped in safe & sitting comfortable before the journey begins.... The journey begins, with the first stop being the petrol station to fill up the tank.... Brrrmmmm goes the engine as we embark, out of the estate we drive, along the road we go, a left hand turn to the main road then a right hand turn to get to the garage..... boy it's getting hot in here me thinks so asks Rob to turn the heating down.... Gosh I'm sweating now (is it panic) not sure, take deep breaths me thinks & all will be okay.... Finally we reach the petrol station & Rob exits the car.... Big momma Kath rolls into action as always... "are you sure you're ok?????" "I feel really ill" I reply, "but don't want to panic Rob" I says.... Breath deep me thinks as Kath is trying to get me to tell her how to put the seat back so that I can be in a laid down position.... Too late me thinks as I throw open the car door feeling as though I am going to vomit. Beware the wound me thinks !!! Oh no what am I going to do I panics as I'm trying to roll out the car without hurting myself... out I pops with my poor hubby wondering what the hell is going on... next thing I know I'm doubled in two pain shooting through me, tears rolling down my face with Kath on one end & Rob on the other helping to support me so I don't hit the deck.... well what happened to me then.... I was successful in popping two of my internal stitches, thankfully not at the same place so should be ok..... they huckled me back into the car to get me home asap.... what happened to Kath well here goes.....

Poor Kath remained at the garage where the assistant said she would call her a taxi to get back to her hotel............

How mortified am I that my dearest friend who took time to visit & bring me gorgeous goodies, was left abandoned at a petrol station, in a town she doesnt' know, to get a taxi back to her hotel............. no-one will ever feel the pain I did over this......

Kath being Kath has not shared this on her blog with anyone but as part of my way of making amends to her I decided to give her a huge public apology via my blog.

Kath my darling, you know how very special you are to me. You have held my hand through many things over the last year & are only ever a phone call away.... for what happened on Friday night I am so deeply sorry & give you my solemn promise in front of everyone in blogland that I will make this up to you....

Thank you for being such a true friend........... I love you with all my heart......... Sorry......

Well folks, that's enough from me today, hell I can't burn the brain out on the first day with typing..... I have to keep something in the hopes I can get some creativity going today.

Will try to pop on tomorrow again & in the meantime, happy crafting to one & all...... it's good to be back even if it's limited.

Lorraine xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Another Brief Farewell

Well folks, it's that time again when I need to bid you all a fond farewell for another brief period of time.

I have to be at hospital for 8am tomorrow morning & will hopefully be out of surgery by early afternoon. I've surprised myself today as I'm still relatively calm which is just not like me & is very unexpected. I have the happy pills on hand though just incase I need to take them....

Thank you all for all your well wishes that I have received over the last few weeks and they have done a lot to keep me going in my down periods. Although she doesn't know it yet I am going to ask Kath to put a bit on her blog to update you all on my behalf so you can pop over to her blog for more details over the coming weeks...

Well I had my final demo yesterday at the Hobbycraft store in Glasgow & what a shock I got whilst there... You will remember my good friend Ann who is currently awaiting surgery for breast cancer, well I turned around and who was standing right there in front of me but Ann & her fabulous hubby. How shocked was I, definately the last person I would have expected to see but no..... all the way from Glenrothes they came to visit me.

Ann herself goes into hospital this coming Wednesday 15th Oct for her surgery & she just thought it would be nice for both of us to see each other before our surgeries... I could have stood & cried in the middle of the shop. Now you all know just how much of an amazing lady she truly is.... Please send out special thoughts & prayers for her over the coming weeks & months as she still has a bit to go after surgery as it's more chemo or radio for her....

THANK YOU ANN........ YOU'RE WONDERFUL.

Best of luck Kath for the SECC & although I can't get in to see you during show time we will sort something out so Mum or Rob will come pick you up & bring you out to visit me... will sort this out with you over the phone.

Well off to get organised now & will try to blog later, if not be good till I'm back.

Happy crafting
Lorraine xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Stamp Something

Yummy, the challenge this week over at Stamp Something is "Fancy Folds", hmmmm what to do!!!! Well here is the finished product. I've been doing so many spring cards etc of late that I wracked my brain for something else & decided upon this as it's a style I haven't done for about 2 years now & it's amazing how you forget & move on....

Because I went back to basics on this one I had loads of fun. The paper has been highlighted with stickles, some ribbon to hold the folds together & little water coloured image in the centre. Basic but pretty.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxxx

Daring Cardmakers Challenge

The challenge this week over at Daring Cardmakers is "Scallops". Out came my trusty old Fiskars shapecutter & template & off I went.... There is detail to this card but at the same time it is a very simple & quick card to make. I have mounted the scalloped card on foam pads just to add an extra bit of depth to the card although it does not show very clear on the picture. some stitching, gems, dots on the flowers & buttons finish the whole thing off.. My favourite thing about the whole card is the brightness of the colours as they make me feel happy & with my operation quickly approaching I need all the cheering up I can get at the moment.

Thank goodness for blogging, sketches & challenges otherwise what else would a girl do !!!!!!

Thank you to everyone for all their kind words of support.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxx

Sweet blog award

Yet another fabby award I received whilst in the depths of despair over my ill health, this time from the wonderful Chris . Now when I saw this award I immediately thought of one person and I think it was something to do with the colour combo... I would like to present this award to Gayle who like many of you has been a tower of strength to me over the last few weeks... I know she has already received this award but I simply must give it to her...

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxxx

Smiley Award

Just wanted to share this delightful award with you all, which the fabulous Kath passed to me recently. Well a few weeks back now but I was too ill at the time to deal with it. It has made me smile today and I would like to pass it on to Holly for sharing all her creations with us...

Happy crafting.

Lorraine xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Penny Black Challenge

The challenge this week over on Penny Black was to work from a sketch. I'm so appreciating these at the moment (more than normal) and I feel my mojo is starting to return a bit. Typical that eh, it's just coming back and I only a few days of posting left before the big surgery !!!!!!

Oh well, perhaps I'll stock pile some sketches this week & keep them till I'm recovering.

I absolutely adore these papers & really just didn't want to cut them but hey, what an excuse to buy some more..... some simple matting & layering combined with stamped image which has been water coloured using dual tip pens then some flowers, buttons & a gem to finish off....

Off now to see if I can achieve another card today which I will be every bit as happy with..

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tag You're It Challenge

Woohoo, yet another challenge achieved.... quite proud of myself now.

The challenge set this week by Tag You're It is that of "Altered Fabric Flowers". For this one I had a good old rummage in my bits & pieces. The tag was cut using my Fiskars shape cutter plus & template, this was then distressed with inks. On top of that I added some mesh just for added texture & depth. The leaves were cut from green foil and the flower were cut from pretty fabric that I got from Mei Flower. The brown cetres are cut from suede with some gold stickles rubbed over the top. The tiny green leaves were cut using Fiskars mini punches again from green foil & finished off with some hessian.

I truly enjoyed doing this challenge & the fact it made me rummage made it all the better.

Happy crafting
Lorraine xxxxx

DATE OF OP !!!!!

Well I attend hospital today for my pre assessment.... and finally I have a date for my operation. The procedure will be carried out on Monday 13th October & I will be in hospital until the Thursday or Friday depending upon my recovery. Sadly I obviously won't be blogging that week & potentially the following one.



Will have to do as much as possible over the next week then MIA again for a week or two then business will resume as normal.... YIPPEE !!!!!



Happy crafting & thank you all again for all your wishes that have been sent to me. Each and every one of them is warmly appreciated.



Lorraine xxxxxxx

2 sketches 4 you

Woohoo my 2nd challenge in 2 days. Not bad going for me of late. Not exactly happy with the end result on this one but hey just need to keep working at getting the mojo back then I'll be fine. I decided to take the opportunity to use my new Fiskars christmas stamps which I received a few weeks back but had yet to use (decided I better get used to them as I have to demo them next Saturday). Moved away from the traditional Christmas colours as this year I am going for bright for a change so out came my cats eyes & off I went. Finished off with some Fiskars eyelets & gems. Once I've made a few more cards using these stamps I think they'll become one of my favourites as there is quite a variety in the pack to choose from.

Thank you to Kazan at 2sketches4you for providing me with this wonderful sketch to give me inspiration.

Happy crafting

Lorraine xxxxxxx

Paper take weekly

Yippee I've actually managed to create a card for my 1st challenge in about 6 weeks. Nothing exciting as my mojo hasn't exactly been working great with all that's been going on in my life but thought I'd try & do some challenges before I go missing again for my operation......

At least it gave me an excuse to make a christmas card & look to my recovery period & knowing that I'm going to be nice & fit again over the festive season.

Watch this space as hopefully there are more challenges to complete over the coming days.

Happy crafting one & all.

Lorraine xxx

Another Beauty

Just had to share this beautiful card with you all that I received from my partner in crime Ann. This is my very good friend who herself is going through the mill at the moment, much more so than me, yet still she took the time to create this beauty for me which I will treasure deeply forever.

This was very welcomed as I've had to cancel my Fiskars demo at the SECC as I will be in my recovery period at the time... however I will still be doing my demo at Hobbycraft on October 11th which is a small consolation to me.

Thank you Ann & happy crafting to everyone else.

Lorraine xxx

Keeping Busy

All I can say of late is thank goodness for the fabulous K&Co Christmas ornament book. I've had one of those weeks as one of my darling bunnies (Casper) had taken ill last week. I have nursed him for the whole week but sadly he did not recover & yesterday the vet had to send him off to play in bunny heaven. My heart is truly broken at this moment in time & with my hormones running wild at the moment I spent most of yesterday just crying. So much so that I gave myself a tension headache & you can imagine the state of my eyes. Hopefully little Casper will be happy where he is now & can play in the sun forever.

Due to my life of late I sometimes feel like crafting & sometimes not so my K&Co book has been a pure Godsend. Die cut ornaments ready to decorate. Here are some that have been partially done but still have the finishing touches to go on them. Haven't yet decided what I'm going to do with them as I have a very modern tree which does not allow for hanging anything on so will have to give them away or something.

Even gave me the excuse to get the big tub of Stickles out & play to my hearts content. I know these are nothing exciting but they have kept me going of late so I thought I'd share with you all so you know I haven't just been sitting back sipping coffee......

Well off to add another post. 3 in total today so pretty good going for me. The best day yet for about the last 6 weeks.

Happy crafting to one & all.

Lorraine xxx

Fantastic savings

Just a quick note to let everyone know that there are some amazing deals to be gotten over on the Cardology website including sets of CHRISTMAS rubber stamps with 50 cards & envelopes all this for only £9.99

www. cardology.net

As a Cardology consultant I can recommend these products to anyone & hold my head high as I know they are top quality. The stamps give amazingly clear images & are fantastic to use.

There are many bargains on offer including price reductions on brads etc.

Pop over now & see what you can grab.

You may not be aware of the Cardology but they do show on Create & Craft and almost monthly appear in craft magazines, sometimes being the kind donators of freebies.....

If anyone requires any more info on any of these products but doesn't want to ask the company direct I am more than happy to answer those questions for you.

Happy crafting & shopping
Lorraine xxxxxxx

Sorry for being MIA

So sorry for being MIA girls. It's been a busy week for me with friends visiting & I've made a pile of cards to be sent to the troops out in Iraq & Afghan.... still many more to go.

I do apologise for not having made any postings of late but everytime of late I have tried to log on or even look at other blogs I am not able to access anything. No ability to leave messages or even get a look at the challenges... I was thinking it was something to do with me until I heard that another blogger had too had problems with accessing the system.

Thankfully today I've managed to get in & had a quick look at some challenges. Now to make some creations & keep my fingers crossed that I can actually get logged back on again to download them.

As for my health, well, my pre assessment is booked for this coming Friday but due to girly things I won't be able to have the op until the following week Monday 13th so have to call the surgeons secretary tomorrow to see if pre assess will still be this Friday or switched to the following Friday. Things going well I should have my op in the next 2 weeks then 4 weeks recovery then I'll be fighting fit again.... Hip hip horray......................

Well nice to leave you all a message but I'm off to craft now. Hope to be back soon.

Happy crafting to one & all.
Lorraine xxxxx

Hello again

Sorry I've been a bad girl & not been online but actually had quite a busy week. Had a celebrity friend to stay at the weekend which was absolutely delightful & really cheered me up. Just what the doctor ordered me thinks....

Last week I attended the hospital & received the good news that going by all my results i.e. tumour markers, scans etc all evidence would indicate that it's begnine.. Hip hip horray. As a result of this & after discussion with the surgeon the decision has been made to forget the laparoscopy & just go straight to the operation. Thankfully I will only require my left ovary to be removed which means 4 weeks of rest afterwards. Hopefully the operation will be carried out some time in October (hoping to have the exact date confirmed at some point next week), thus I will be back on my feet before Christmas...

My step daughter also auditioned for Idol 2008 last Saturday in the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow & she was delighted when she was informed that she has got a place in the final to be held on November 2nd.

Here is a recent interview she done with a local newspaper about the event.

http://www.eastkilbridenews.co.uk/videos-pics/

She is over the moon at the moment & as you can imagine both her dad & myself are very proud of her.

Hope to be able to do at least one challenge at some point over the next week so I may be back to haunt you all....

Take care my friends & happy crafting..

Lorraine xxxx

Quick Update

Nothing exciting been happening lately.. wonder why that is !!!!

Well the hospital called me on Wednesday to give me an update which is that I have now to go for a Laparoscopy. This means a small incision around my belly button through which they are going to take a better look around what is happening inside me & whilst there, they are going to take a sample for my biopsy which is good as I will at least know then what exactly they are dealing with. Hopefully after that they will be happy to come up with a plan of action for treatment & removal. I will do my best to keep you all posted on my progress....

Many thanks again for the lovely gifts I have received & messages of support which really do help me & put a smile on my face. You're a wonderful crowd & I'm glad I've got the chance to blog with you all....

Happy crafting...

Lorraine xxxxxxxx

From another special friend

Another card received and it means so much to me especially coming from a person who has had her fair shares of ups & downs over the last wee while. For this one I have to give a huge THANK YOU to the fab Chris.

I do apologise for the pic not being the best and there is a much better pic on Chris's blog. Colours chosen specially to cheer me up and may I add that the verse inside is truly from the heart & I will treasure the words forever.

Thank you Chris.....

Happy crafting to one & all

Lorraine xxxxx

Sunflower Power

Yet more goodies have arrived from lovely bloggers, just goes to prove what a lovely tight caring community us crafters have got going in the wonderful world of blogland.

Did I get a surprise when my doorbell rang the other morning & I was presented with these delightul sunflowers. Talk about waking up to happy smiling faces.... what more could I ask for.

Later the same day when the postman arrived he delivered this beautiful card for me which carries through the sunflower theme. What a perfect match, one of those you would class as having been made in heaven.

For both of these lovely gifts I have to send a huge thank you to my new found friend who thankfully lives not much more than a stones throw from me. A big HORRAY to Gayle....

How lucky am I......

As you know I'm not blogging at the moment, but just had to share a delightful surprise with you all. When I opened my mail, what a surprise I had when I received this absolutely gorgeous card from my bessie buddy Kath . She already knows that I simply adore her designs & to be the recipient of such a piece is simply heart lifting. Didn't think I was due to receive another one from her until Christmas but no no no, as though she doesn't have enough on her busy schedule she took time to make this special card for me which I will treasure forever.

Thank you so so much Kath, the bestest friend that anyone could ask for. I'm truly honoured.

Lorraine xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hi

Well some of you may have noticed that I've not posted over the last few days but I have infact been in hospital. Bit of a shock to the system, you know that sore stomach I had thought that I had pulled a muscle or two well turns out it was a lot more than that. I have infact been diagnosed as having a tumour so I have been allowed home until they decide what exactly is going to happen to me. Thus unfortunately I have not been crafting & probably won't be for a wee while. However, I am looking forward to it all being by with then I can hunt you all down again & see what I've been missing out on.

In the meantime you all have to craft a little more to make up for my lost time....

Happy crafting to you all & hope to be back with you soon.

Lorraine xxxxxxxx

"HERE" link

For the first time yesterday I managed to make a "Here" link on a challenge & yippee it actually worked first time. That was down to the fab instructions I was given. For anyone interested in doing this, please drop me an email & I will be happy to email you the instructions...

Many thanks to my dear friend Kath for giving me this information, no wonder I love her so...

Im getting ready now to go back to my craft group for the opening day after summer holidays so need to get my little craft bag all ready before heading off to meet up with everyone & hear all about their adventures over the holidays.

Back soon & happy crafting
Lorraine xxx

Tag You're It Challenge

The challenge this week over at "Tag You're It" has been set for Christmas. Well that's strange as my entry for last weeks postage theme was also a Christmas tag, so I'm getting well on my way to having all my tags ready for my pressies this year.

This week however I went for good old Santa as I so love this stamp. Colour has been added with Bruynzeel Aquarel pencils, the fur on his hat was done using a Sakura quickie gluepen then when tacky adding some cotton wool, some gems for the berries & a bell on his hat. Added some ultra fine glitter to the top of his hat & beard to represent snow lying on it.

Tag shape : Shapecutter plus & template
Image : Jolly Santa by Stamps Happen
Water colour : Bruynzeel Aquarel pencils
Gems, cotton wool, bell, ribbon & glitter : From my stash...

Ho Ho Ho not long to go now....
Happy Crafting :-)

Stamp Something

The challenge this week over at Stamp Something is to create an item card, atc etc that reminds you of summery things. Well I decided upon some blooms.... my garden is full of them in all different colours & I simply adore them. The main colours I used are blue, green, pink & orange with highlights in black.

Papers : Funky Hand

Stripey paper on the flowers : Doodlebug

Blue, pink & orange flowers : Bazzill card

Ribbon : Offray Microspool

Flower stamp : S for Stamps

Black Rub ons : Making Memories

Gems & Green wire : My stash

Hope you all had a fab weekend & happy crafting :-)

Blog Candy Give Away

If you'd like to be in with a chance of winning this fab blog candy then pop over now to http://charmedcrafts.blogspot.com/2008/08/blog-candy.html

All you have to do is leave a comment & if you post a link on your blog then you get entered twice. Better hurry as the entries are piling in as you can imagine...

Lorraine xxx

Penny Black Challenge

The challenge set this week over at Penny Black is to use ribbons... well I don't think anyone will have a problem with that as I think we all love our ribbon stash...

Stamped Image : PB Spring Air

Pink & Green Card Stock : Bazzill

White card stock : Create & Craft

Stripey Paper : Doodlebug

White Rub Ons : Doodlebug

Flowers : Prima

Ribbons : Offray Microspool

Button & wire : From stash

The image was coloured using water colour pencils, and a little bit of stitching & inking of edges to finish the whole thing off....

TFL & Happy Crafting :-)

Poppets Birthday

Firstly I do apologise for the layout of the pictures but I've never managed to figure out quite how this thing works when it comes to uploading numerous pics. If anyone can give me any hints or tips they would be very gratefully received.

However I've gone ahead anyway and done the best I can to let you all see what I have made for my friends little girls birthday. She turns 4 today and thought that I would do something a littl different to your normal everyday basic card.


The centre of the card flips over hence there are 4 views available for the centre depending if you are showing the back or front (there actually isn't any back or front, just depends how you position it). Both outside layers have been glued together for stability so they don't flip.

It has been decorated with a variety of papers & card varying from free papers out of a magazine, Funky Hand papers, Heidi Grace & Bazzill. The "4 TODAY" letters are all from Funky Hand and the chipboards are from a fantastic value pack that I bought from Create & Craft just over a year ago. They really were fantastic value for money as they worked out at about £1 per sheet & they retail in the shop for either £1.99 or £2.99, (can't quite remember) only know I made a massive saving.

The whole thing then folds together & is tied together with a lovely bright bow.

I didn't ink the edges or anything as she is only 4 so I decided to keep the colours & edges bright & bold for her. Still got some little
gems to add for that final bit of bling so off to do that now before I go shopping....

Happy crafting :-)

Daring Cardmakers Challenge

The challenge this week over at Daring Cardmakers is to use a wrap around your card of acetate, vellum or infact anything.

I have decided to use this card which is a piece of commission work I made for a show on Create & Craft put together by Cardology & Marking World. The base card has a heart appeture which I emphasized by adding 2 outer glittered hearts. Then an acetate wrap was placed around the card. The flowers were traced from a Cardology template sheet with a fine tip pen then decorated using a Sakura quickie glue pen & glitter. The "Just for You" sentiment was from another Cardology kit which again I highlighted with glitter & attached to the acetate wrap. To finish the whole card off I wrapped a stitched ribbon around the spine of the card & tied in a knot.

Nigel May loved the card & I hope that you do too.

Happy crafting :-)

Arty Girlz

The challenge set this week over at Arty Girlz was to create a project using no bought patterned paper. Here we go off to play & see how we can create our own. Well I fell back on an old favourite of mine but used different materials to highlight the design.

Started with a gold card base, then took some wine coloured paper & ran it through my big shot with a cuttlebug embossing die, then cut into three sections. Then using my sakura glue pen ran over the embossed design & once sticky highlighted this with metal leaf. Attached to the card using double sided tape.

Took a strip of gold card & ran that through the big shot with the same cuttlebug die & highlighted the design with stickles.

Now took another strip of the wine paper & created 2 paper beads to which I threaded through some gold thread, attached to the back of the gold strip using double sided tape & attached another strip of gold to keep it tidy & mounted onto the base card using foam pads.

To finish off attached a gem to the centre of the flower at the top right hand corner.

Hope you're all having a happy day crafting :-)

Penny Black Challenge

This week over at the Penny Black challenge we were given a sketch to work with. Wow, do we or do we not love our sketches. Yippee !!!!

Here I used the PB Pansy Bunny, some Bazzill card stock, vellum, black staz on, Prima flowers, watercolour pencils, MM rub ons, ribbon & gems...

Stamped the image with black staz on & coloured using watercolour pencils, cut a piece of card, used a fiskars corner squeeze punch & wrapped some ribbon around then once my image was cut out I mounted onto the card using foam pads, the whole tag was then mounted onto the base card using foam pads. Small gems were placed under the tag in the holes of the corner punch.

Tore some vellum & emphasized the edges with black staz on. Cut another piece of card to mount on this. Using the shapecutter plus & template cut some circles from the card. Mounted this onto the vellum & cut smaller circles from the vellum, done some embossing on the vellum & highlighted the edges with black staz on. Attached 2 ribbon stips & attached to card, added a small gem to the centre of the 3 circles.

Placed "With Love" on some vellum, highlighted the edges with black staz on, placed on top of some card & attached both together using my Fiskars eyelet setter & eyelet. Attached using foam pads.

To finish off added 2 prima flowers to the top corner & created the centre of the flower with some gems.

Oh what fun I had playing with this sketch & love the final result.

Happy crafting :-)

2sketches4you

Yet another fantastic sketch has been drawn up this week by Laura over at 2sketches4you if you've never visited the challenge pop over now & join in the fun.

This week I've went with fab K&Co papers, done some matting & layering with different papers, the section with the flowers attached is raised on foam pads for added dimension. A beautiful blue ribbon tied in a bow which I actually took off of a blouse. A few gems added to finish the whole thing off. The dark blue flower is by Prima, the other 3 flowers & the flower brads are by Cardology.

I'm quite happy with the end result on this one as I think it's pretty delicate & lucious at the same time.

Happy crafting :-)

Stamp Something

Becky set the challenge over at Stamp Something this week & what a fab choice it was. Pink, Green & Blue, any shade any combinations...

Here I layered some pink & green Bazzill cardstock & covered the joins with some self adhesive ribbon in shade of green & blue. Stamped & embossed a lovely image onto some blue Bazzill cardstock & layered onto a lighter shade of blue. The flowers were coloured with a pink brush marker. To finish the whole card off I added so gems & pearls in pink & green...

Happy crafting everyone :-)

Papertake Weekly

Another week, another challenge over at Papertake Weekly. This time we have been challenged to make a card incorporating a button or buttons.... Yippee how fun is this...

These were some fab free papers with a magazine last year so done a bit of a lay out with them. the sentiments were also free papers which I chopped down & added eyelets to. Got some yummy scrummy buttons & tied some fabric through them, attached using glue dots & voila one completed card.

Please pop over to Papertake Weekly & join in the fun.

Happy crafting :-)

Tag You're It Challenge

The challenge this week over at "Tag You're It" was set by their first guest designer Penny & she decided upon "Faux Postage". Well now I only had 1 postage stamp which was for christmas so hence the theme was determined for me.

Using my shapecutter plus & template & cut out the tag which I then highlighted with snow flakes rubber stamps using my glue pad & white glitter. Used red staz on to stamp my postage stamp which I then cut around & mounted with foam pads. Some red cord tied in a knot & attached to the gift using a red peg, then to finish off a nice poinsetta in the bottom corner.

Rubber stamps are all from one of the christmas clear stamp set available from Cardology. Everything else from my stash.

Another Award

Well how lucky am I as today I've received this fab new award from Holly, Sally & Cynthia. Please do pop over to their blogs for a look at some great works of inspiration.

The rules of the award are:
1.The winner can put the logo on her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3.Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4.Put links of those blogs on yours.
5.Leave a message on the blogs of the girls you’ve nominated

It's very hard to choose just 7 people as there are hundreds of you out there who provide just inspiration to everyone on a regular basis. Here goes I will do my best to name just 7, but if you are visiting my blog please also accept this award from me....

1. Gayle
2. Cass
3. Christine
4. Kerry
5. Bev
6. Carla
7. Terrie B

Happy Crafting to one & all :-)

Daring Cardmakers Challenge

The challenge set this week over at Daring Cardmakers was to create something that features a fruit that reminds you of a sunny summers day. What a fab challenge after all the nice sunshine we've had & especially good for me as it was raining here yesterday evening when I was making this so was perfect to be working with such bright colours.

What a lucky coincidence that Pink Petticoat just happened to have released their new download "You're one in a Melon". Just perfect for the challenge I thought & the papers are every bit as delicious as nice big slice of juicy water melon.

Started with a pale pink piece of Bazzill cardstock, layered a green scroll paper onto that, took another sheet which was black flowers & cut around some of the design then layered this on top of the green swirl. Cut an additional little flower which was partially raised with foam pads & placed in the bottom left hand corner. Cut out a large melon slice & attached flat to the card, then 2 smaller slices with the top slice partially raised to give a bit of depth to the melon. Finally cut out one of the sentiments, added some pink dots around the border & coloured in the word melon both done with my Sakura moonlight pens.

If you've not joined in before pop on over to Daring Cardmakers now & have a go yourself.

Happy Crafting :-)

Arty Girlz

The challenge set this week by Arty Girlz was "Vintage". Oh the mind boggles on what to do!!!
I've ended up working on the "Gold Rush era."

Ended up catching sight of my metal leaf & decided to run with that. The card is based around the "gold rush" era.... Tore & aged the papers by inking, used lots of my metal leaf, attached Prima flowers in the kind of colours that pretty town ladies wore as their clothing & created the centre of them again using my metal leaf.

Yesterday was a bit overcast although the temperature was okay, forecast for the weekend is rain & I'm suffering from PMS so I actually enjoyed making this card with all the ripping involved.

Off out for a little retail therapy today I think or perhaps just lunch with hubby, will see what I feel like when we leave, then back home for some more challenges.

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, have a fab weekend....

Rainbow Ladys Challenge

The challenge set this week by the lovely Cynthia over at Rainbow Ladys Challenge is to incorporate spots & stripes along with "Smile" and/or "Be Happy". All the sketches I've been working on lately have got me into using different layouts & so this one ends up with a bit of a checker board effect. Green & Blue cardstock from Bazzill, spot & stripe papers from a paper & vellum pack I bought from Create & Craft last year, ribbon by American Crafts, Prima Flowers, Pearl brads from my stash, wire from my stash, rub-ons by Scrapworks. Finally some inking around the edges.

Why not pop over & join in the challenge at Rainbow Ladys Challenge.

Quick post

Hi folks, just a quick post to say sorry for not having managed to post any new creations today. I've had a rather busy day between the doctors, housework, hair dressers for a new dye job as the grey was starting to show a bit too much, dinner & tidy of my craft room. All animals tended to for the evening so off now to see if I can get at least one card made tonight.

Tomorrow morning I'm going on a little shopping trip to pick up some more Bazzill card stock as my stock is quickly depleting and that simply won't do.

Please visit tomorrow again when I will be back to normal.

Happy crafting to one and all....

Lorraine :-)

Rainbow Ladys Challenge

I happened upon a new challenge blog today by the lovely Cynthia aka Rainbow Lady so that's me got another to add to my weekly list. The challenge set by her this week for "Swirls & Flourishes", well one particular kind of stamps comes straight to mind and that is those of the fantastic Wendie Rhodes whom I just adore.

The design has been stamped onto textured card, with some matting & layering. A very quick & simple card to make & I had fun playing with my stamps.

Why not pop over & join in the challenge.

Happy crafting :-)

2sketches4you

This weeks sketch over at 2sketches4you is designed by the fab Kazan Clark. Week after week both Kazan & Laura continue to produce fab sketches to have us all wracking our brains on what papers & embellishments to use. Now they have a DT too so even more samples for us to feast our eyes on for inspiration.

They layout this week was 1st class as always & I decided to use for a card I had to make for my mums friend. For this task I opted for my lovely Laura Ashley papers (we can't use them all the time but hate the thought of them just sitting there too). Mounted the layers onto gold mirri card for some additional depth, added some green adhesive pearls & lovely prima flowers. On the centre panel I highlighted the design by adding Sakura clear stardust to the green stems & grey petals & the white petals were enhanced using a Sakura white glaze pen.

The card is for an elegant lady turning 50 so I'm quite pleased with the end result.

Happy crafting :-)

Papertake Weekly

This week we have yet another fab sketch over at papertake weekly . For this one I've used some funky papers which have been matted onto silver mirri card. My little Whipper Snapper doggie has been water coloured & a flower & circle puched from card to house my text...

I'm certainly in a bright & funky faze this week....

Happy crafting :-)

Tag You're It Challenge

The challenge set this week over at "Tag You're It" is to create a tag using the colours Teal, Lime & Black.

My background is teal which I have stamped on using black staz on, done some matting & layering with teal & lime card, cut a flower & circles again from teal & lime, inked the edges with black staz on, added some faux stitching & lime green rub ons with black ribbon to finish...

Happy crafting :-)

Stamp Something

The challenge this week over at Stamp Something is "Thank You Somethings", could be anything from cards or tags to gifts or cakes. The choice is completely yours.

I have opted for a card, as after my Maggies Centre Appeal my mother has now asked me to make some cards for our local St Andrews Hospice which I have happily agreed to do.

This little chappie is just so cute that I had to make him the centre attention of the card. Hope you like him as much as I do....

Happy crafting.

Penny Black Challenge

Well this is the first time I've entered the Penny Black Challenge and the rule this week is "No Pink" so what did I end up with but blue & orange....

Although it has rained from the heavens this weekend, all the sunshine of late has got me going with the bright colours & seeing as the little flower in the pot is blue that started me off, on thing led to another, a few spots, some ribbon & orange rub ons, all inked with pale brown to co-ordinate with the base & mirri card, prima flowers & button to finish.

This was such a fun little card to make...

I've got some more challenges to do, the sun is shining & I'm off out for lunch with mum today...
Happy crafting to everyone.

Tea for Four

This is a little party set that I made for my friends little girl to play tea parties with (she is only 3) but is such a socialite.

The table mats are made from foam which I have stamped on to using a lovely Fiskars stamp.

The napkins were old ones that I had lying around the house & I simply repeated the stamping.

The glass, well they are plastic & cost £1.00 for all four from the local supermarket. I thought this was a great bargain. Using my little stamp yet again to add the design on these too.

All this for £1.00 & as much time as it took to stamp (not long at all)..... Now little Laura can have parties all the time & mummy doesn't have to worry about anything being broken.

Happy crafting.

2sketches4you

This is my take of this weeks sketch from 2sketches4u. Loved the sketch & decided to use my K&Co papers for the card, even down to the paper ribbon. Ribbon weave was made using my Fiskars ribbon border punch, 3 little buttons, 2 corner peel offs, scrapworks rub ons, some faux gems & a lovely little flower in the corner with a brad & gem to finish.

I did enjoy making this card & this week especially as never managed to get time to enter last week.

Happy crafting....