Tuesday 30 March 2010

Digital Tuesday and Fred She Said DT

This week it's Shelly's turn to host the challenge over at Digital Tuesday and she wants us to use our scraps.
Now I  know you all have loads of scraps that get tossed into a box or drawer or wherever you keep them and then they are forgotten about, so this is the perfect opportunity for you to have a good rummage and use up some of your scraps.
I have tied this weeks card in with my Fred She Said DT card and used all scraps to make it (they were scraps from 12x12 sheets though so maybe thats cheating a bit lol, but they are scraps all the same :)



My image is a pre coloured one from Fred She Said called Smelling The Cherry Blossoms which you can view here and the blossoms are from the same set. You get 8 different colours in the set and each has a image coloured like this with the background and also just the girl herself with a white background and of course the blossoms coloured to match in 3 different sizes, which I layed on top of one another.
The puple cardstock is Bassil Bling and the dp is Basic Grey. I have had the dp in my stash for months and only had this square left so it was perfect to use for the scraps challenge :)
Finally I finished off with some vellum butterflies which I cut from a scrap piece of printed vellum, which I thought I would never use, but I  cut loads out so you will be seeing them pop up on my cards now and again. Thanks Shelly for making me actually go through all my scraps because I found bits I had forgotton about or never knew I had lol.

Heres's a close up of the silver vellum butterflies and a bit of the image and flowers too :)


Now I'm off to get my DT projects finished for By The Cute and Girly challenge as all the girls have done their projects (which are amazing by the way) and I am last to get mine done as usual! So better get to it!
Before I go though, my 6 year old Daughter Rhianna wants me to tell you that she helped do this post lol, she wants her own blog but I said no so she wanted to help by uploading my pics and writing some of the words for me instead lol. She loves looking at everyones blogs and she wants to say hi to everyone who reads my blog, so.... a big hi from Rhianna xx (I've got to keep her occupied and happy somehow during the holidays! lol


Thanks for stopping by



Monday 29 March 2010

Fred She Said March challenge - Spring

Warning, this will be a long post!!
It's time for another Fred She Said challenge and this month the theme is Spring, and we want to see your creations loaded with pretty pastel colours :)
I used one of the older images for my card but also a pricking pattern from one of the new sets.



I used the cute Little Miss Bitty and coloured her with my Polychromos Pencils and Sansodor, and I also used part of the pricking pattern from the new Spring Flowers set. I just printed the pattern out then used 2 of the corner pieces to do the top corners on my card.

Here's a close up of the pricking :)



The pricking was actually an after thought lol. I had the card all done when I decided that I would do some pricking, hence why the pricking doesn't fit properly in the corner and goes over a bit of my image mat, but it looks ok in real life :)
 The papers are a total mish mash, the spotty strip is papermania (I think), the blue paper is a freebie from a magazine and I can't remember who makes the checked paper.
 The pretty pink rose is from Hobby craft and the white ones are from a local florist warehouse and I added some leaves to them which I found in my flower box (they had fallen off other roses, so waste not want not lol). The gold wire and bead spray is also from the florist warehouse, and the lace is from my local haberdashery, it's really sparkly but you can't see the sparkle here.

I took a close up pic of the pretty flowers,  just cause I felt like it lol.


Remember to pop pover to the challenge blog to see the other girls cards, as always they have done a fab job! And of course if you join in with the challenge, you could win a $20 voucher to spend in the FSS store! Imagine how much "pretties" you could buy with that !! ;)
You must use a FSS image on your creation so if you don't have any, why not check out some of the new Spring releases which are all perfect for this challenge? or you could use one of the many FSS freebies which can all be viewed here.

Well that's the card done for today, now I'm off to see if I can get some goodies for Chiara's birthday party.
My baby will be 5 on the 7th of April and she has never had a proper party and as her birthday is in the middle of the Spring break I was just going to take her to the fun fair or something and then go for something to eat or whatever she wanted to do, but on Thursday I was talking to her and she said she really wanted a party, so I phoned everywhere and finally got a space in a local community centre :)
They didn't have any weekend dates but as the kids are on holiday it didn't really matter, so we got the Thursday afternoon, which is the day after her birthday, so now I have to get all the stuff for the party and her birthday pressies.
I wanted it to be a special party for her as it's her first and she is now old enough to play games with etc so I looked into getting a clown or a magician or something like that, but although I could of got a few even at this short notice, I decided against it as the kids are aged between 3 and 5 so some may not sit to watch a magician and some of the younger ones may be a bit scared of the clown as they tend to be really noisy so in the end I went for a facepainter :)
I could of probably painted the kids faces myself, but I don't want to be painting faces and trying to play games with them etc, so I hired a professional face painter. She seems like a lovely lady and I am quite looking forward to the party now lol. I may even get my face painted and take a pic for you all to have a laugh at lol.

If anyone has any ideas about what else we could do at her party to make it a bit different from the normal pass the parcel etc or something "special" I could do (preferably something that doesn't cost a fortune because I am running out of money.....fast! lol) then I am all ears :)
The majority of kids will be nursery age (3-5) so needs to be something suitable for that age group and there will be a mix of girls and boys so nothing too girly, although I would love to have a real girly party lol.
Oh and there is already a big bouncy castle at the community centre for us to use :)

Right I'm signing off now before I send you off to sleep! lol
Thanks for stopping by and please do leave me a comment or email me if you have any ideas because I really do need them! :)

Hugs

Tuesday 23 March 2010

Digital Tuesday - Spring

 If you are looking for my Fred She Said blog hop post, it's below this one :)

The challenge this week over at Digital Tuesday is Spring and we have another fabulous sponsor, Stitchy Stamps who also let the design team have a play with some of her images. This is another digi store that I just love and she has so many gorgeous images.
I chose a sweet little ducky to use on my card and this is what I came up with.


How cute is this image? I coloured it with Polychromos pencils and oms and I used some glitter crystal lacquer on the bubbles.
The paper is K&Co and the pink piece at the bottom is a freebie from a magazine. Ribbon is the same one I used on yesterdays card and is by Bo Bunny.
The flowers are from Fred She Said and were ones i had left over from a FSS DT card I done a while back. They are coloured with my pencils and oms and I used flocking powder in the centres.
I used the new Fred She Said pricking pattern that I also used on yesterdays card (told you I loved it lol).
You can't see it very well in this pic so I took a close up to show the pricking.




Now I'm off to have a cuppa and put my feet up because I have been out all day helping at an event at the kids school. I've been there since 9.45 this morning and just got home and it's now 9pm and I am soooo tired because I haven't sat on my bum the whole day! So think it's about time I got to sit down and do absolutely nothing lol.

Thanks for stopping by.


Lora x

Monday 22 March 2010

Fred She Said March Blog Hop!

Welcome to our THIRD "FRED SHE SAID" blog hop!!! If you just happened to drop by my blog and you are not aware of this wonderful event taking place, please go back to the "FRED SHE SAID" blog here and start your hop!



Please, we would love it if you commented on our posts.

Along the way, you will see a special CODE WORD. Collect them all up! Once you reach the end of the blog hop (which will be the "Fred She Said" Challenge blog), follow the instructions to make your entry and your name will go in for a draw for a $20 Gift Certificate for the Fred She Said Store!

Here is my "Fred She Said" creation:


I used one  the new paper pricking patern- frame and flourish set for my card. Tracey has very cleverly done these to fit the Top Note die and also the label 8 nesties, so you can cut them out with your dies, but if you are like me and don't have any of those dies, you can also just cut them out with good old fashioned scissors like I did for this one.


The flowers are also from the same set and I coloured them with Pholychromos pencils and oms then inked the edges with some distress ink, and added a tiny spacer and pearl on each one.
The paper is DCWV (I think) and the ribbon is Bo Bunny, which I just made a faux bow with.

Not my usual style of card but I actualy had fun making it and I love the pricking pattern, so much so that I  had to use it for another of my DT cards that I made after I finished this one, but you will see that tomorrow :)
I'm not sure if I like the card but I like the simplicity of it and I know I will use this set lots because I love the frame :)

Here's a close up of the pricking pattern


Isn't it pretty? As always Tracey has made loads of variations in this set and there is also loads more new releases today that ou just got to check out. If you love flowers, you are gonna love what she has in store for you!



My special code word is:
SPRING

Here is a list of the blog hoppers in case you lose your way:

This blog hop will run from today, March 22nd until March 28. On the 29th, the winner will be announced on the "Fred She Said" blog http://fred-she-said.blogspot.com/ .

Thank-you for taking the time to play along.  Now, to continue the blog hop, please visit Deanne
I just know she will have something fabulous to show you!

When you are finished hopping, why not check out the Fred She Said Store!   
 










Monday 15 March 2010

Cute Daisy May -Anything Goes

It's ttime for another challenge over at Cute Daisy May and this week Anything Goes, so you can use any colours and any theme you like :)
I chose to use a Daisy May kitty because I had it sitting coloured just waiting to be used, and I followed the sketch over at Create For Fun.


Isn't this little puddy cat adorable? I coloured her with Polychromos pencils and Sannsodor. The papers are from a Paper Cellar wedding stack, but I think they work well for any kind of card.
The flowers are a mix from my stash and the ribbon is from my local haberdashery. I made a faux bow to finish it off. The flowers look a bit out of place here as they look more pink than everything else, but that's just my pants photography skills! In real life, the ribbon, papers and the bow on the cat are a little more pink than they are showing here.
I added a "Happy Mothers Day" sentiment to this card after I had photographed it and sent it to Barry's Mum, so I hope she likes it. She is not really into flowery stuff so I thought this would be ok to give her.

Now since it's an open challenge this week, I hope lots of you will join in with this one. Linnie has some lovely new sheets over in the Cute Daisy May store and also a fab freebie, but although we like seeing entries using Cute Daisy May images, you don't have to use one, you can use whatever you like, digital or rubber stamps :)

I hope you all had a great Mother's Day yesterday if you are in the UK! I got a new sewing machine from my kiddies :) Guess what I will be playing with for the next few days lol.
I will be back tomorrow with my Digital Tuesday card and maybe a card to show for Barry's birthday if I ever get it made.  His birthday is on Wednesday so I'd better get it done!

Thanks for popping by to see what I  have been up to.

Tuesday 9 March 2010

Digital Tuesday - Piercing

It's Michelle P's turn to host the challenge at Digital Tuesday this week and she wants to see stitching on our cards. Ellie is sponsoring us this week and the winner will get 3 images of their choice from Digital Stamp Oasis.
Ellie has some new cute images and I just had to use one for my card this week.


I love this sweet hedgie :) I coloured with Polychromos Pencils and OMS and pierced around the mat. I did do a big pierced pattern for this card but my cat decided she would walk right across it with dirty paws and I didn't have time to start all over again so I just done a little bit of piercing around the image instead.
The papers on this one are a mix of allsorts, the brown flower paper is DCWV, light pink bit is Anna Griffin, butterfly piece is Magenta and the bit I used for the mat is coredinations which I also made a rose out of and inked it a little with brown ink then sprayed it with glimmer mist.

Sorry about the glare on the pic but we actually had some light yesterday because the sun came out!! I still couldn't get a very good pic though becuase I had to take it indoors as it was quite windy.

Now I better go and get some of the preparation done for the school craft club which starts on Thursday. I have been so busy trying to get materials that I haven't had a chance to make any samples or even think about what I'm going to do for my first class and I only have tonight and tomorrow to get everything ready, so I'd better get my bum in gear!!

Thanks for visiting today, as always I really do appreciate your comments so please do leave me one and I will come visit you too :)

Hugs Lora xx

Sunday 7 March 2010

WOJ challenge and 2 forgotten cards!!

I must warn you first of all that this will be a long post! I have 3 cards to show and a bit of a rant too lol.

I have been such a bad blogger this week! I have been making cards and other bits but I just haven' t had time to put them on here.I am starting a craft club for parents at the kids school this Thursday so I've been busy with getting things ready for that.
I kinda got roped into it but it should be fun. We will be making things to sell at the school fayre's etc to raise money for the PTA (parent and teachers association) which gets used for the kids parties and trips etc.
So the classes are free and the PTA pay for all materials and tools which sounds great doesn't it? Only problem is that I have a budget of £40 to start the whole thing up!! That's to get all materials that we will need from now till Christmas. We will make a few bits for Easter but that won't make much money because we don't really have time to make or sell much and then we will have a Summer Fayre and then one at Christmas so I went shopping yesterday for crafty bits and we are out of money already and still don't have half of what we need!
We are not allowed to use the schools card/paper, or glue etc, but they have gave me permission to use their scissors and a guillotine if it is available on the day. Very kind of them eh? lol
I'm laughing about it now, but I have absolutely no idea where I am getting all the stuff we will need from! I have asked for donations from parents but as yet have nothing and I have tried Freecycle but again nothing.......so looks like my stash will be getting raided.....again!! Problem is that I raided it at Christmas for the school and I haven't got much left for myself!

Right sorry big rant over! lol have a card that I did the other day for the Whiff Of Joy Challenge which is a colour combo- coffee and cream.

I went for a bit of a distressed look for this. I don't know why but when I think of browns and creams, I just think of distressing and inking, so that's what I did :)

Recipe:
Image WOJ coloured with Polychromos Pencils and Sansodor then inked round the image with Brushed Corduroy distress ink.Papers: base is SU! kraft, cream cardstock is coredinations, brown bit is SU!, patterned cream is s.e.i (I think) and music is from an old viola sheet music book I found in a charity shop window lol.
Embellishments: Flowers are Primas, lace from local haberdashery and a button from my stash.

I also made a card for last weeks challenge which was a sketch but I forgot to post it...duh. So thought I would show it anyway.

Recipe:
Image: Whiff of Joy coloured with Polychromos and Karisma pencils and Sansodor.
Papers: All from Paper Cellar wedding stack.
Embellishments: Plain flower from Tabby Crafts and a baby's breath flower from my stash (but you can't really see the little spray in the centre of it in this pic). Pin is from Tabby Crafts, and spacer pearls and spray are all from my stash.
Tools: Fiskars scalloped border punch

And I have one more card to show that I found when I was looking for a different card that I haven't yet shown on my blog. I am useless at this blogging lark aren't I? lol
It's one I made for Valentines day and took it with some others to sell at the school but this one didn't sell :(



Recipe:
Image: Freebie digi from The Greetings Farm ( I think, please correct me if I'm wrong), coloured with Polychromos Pencils and Sansodor.
Papers: All Stampin Up
Sentiment: Cut from a sheet of dp I found in my stash. Think it's Papermania.

Right I promise that's it for now! If I haven't bored you to death, I might be back with a card later but first I have loads of DT stuff to catch up with!

Remember the new challenge over at By The Cute and Girly has started and there are some fab prizes to be won! The theme this month is Spring and you can make whatever you like as long as it fits in with the Spring theme. And you can enter as many times as you like as long as it's with something different each time, eg, 1 card, 1 layout, 1 ATC, 1 cross sticth, 1 knitted item etc.
Imagine how many time you could enter if you liked to do lots of different crafts! And of course the more times you enter, the bigger chance you have of winning one of the great prizes :)
Thanks so much for stopping by today. I love to read your comments so please leave me one to let me know you have been and then I can come visit you :)

Lora x

Tuesday 2 March 2010

Digital Tuesday DT

It's Maria's turn to host the challange at Digital Tuesday this week and she wants to see 'scallops' on your projects.
My Grafico is our sponssor this week and they also gave the DT some of their images to play with.
I'm not happy with this card but I have been so busy with things at By The Cute and Girly this week so I needed to make a quick simple carrd. I don't think little bys cards should be fussy anyway but I'm still not keen. Although I think this image is just the cutest. It's from the Zoom Vroom set which you can see here.

The papers are all freebies from a magazine that I have had for months and I never thought I would use them but they were perfect for this image.
I coloured the image with my Polychromos pencils and Sansodor and I printed an extra image so I could cut out the little aanimals and 3d them on top. The ribbon is from Stampin Up.
And of course I punched some scallops with my Fiskars border punch.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you can join in with the challenge.

Lora x

Monday 1 March 2010

By The Cute and Girly and Cute Daisy May

I can't believe it's March already!! This months are just flying by. I just wish the cold weather would fly by just as quick!
As it's a new month, it's time for a new challenge over at By The Cute and Girly and our theme this month is "Spring". We have some fab sponsors again this month so why don't you hop over and check out what's up for grabs this month and you can see what the other girls have made too.

I have just made 2 cards this month as I have been really busy with other stuff regarding by the cute and girly which I will tell you about at the end of the post, but first here's my cards.

This is an unusual colour combo for me and I'm not sure if I like it but it's done now.
I followed the sketch at Sketch Saturday
I coloured Anya with a mix of Polychromos and Karisma pencils and OMS. The papers are Papermania and Bo Bunny. The ribbon is also Bo Bunny and the sentiment was done on the computer. Can you believe I didn't use any flowers!!

I got this cute Penny Black duck image from a blogging friend (thanks hun) and I just had to colour it straight away...it's sooo cute. I coloured this one with Polychromos pencils and oms.
I followed the sketch over at Penny Black for this one. The papers are all freebies from a magazine except the yellow cardstock. I used my Fiskars border punch on the yellow paper and also punched a butterfly with an Anna Griffin punch.
The tiny yellow flowers are Primas and the pink ones are faux suede ones but I can't remember who makes them. The yellow and green pearls are some I got off Ebay.

Now I have another card to show and this one is my DT card for Cute Daisy May where there is a fab sketch by Pinky.





Isn't this image cute? I printed it out twice and cut just the dogs from the second one so I could layer them on top. I have used Polychromos and Karisma pencils and OMS to colour.
The papers are by Paper Cellar, ribbon is from my local haberdashery, the white baby's breath flower is from my stash and the other is a Prima, and the swirls were done with an All Night Media punch.

Now for the news on BTC&G. Some of you may already know that I have taken over the running of the challenge blog as Jane has decided that she no longer wants to run the blog. Also some of the other girls have stepped down from the design team so we will have some new members for next months challenge.
The challenge blog is still running as normal though and there will still be fab sponsors and lots of inspiration every month :)

Thanks for stopping by today.
Lora x