Secret Crafter's Saturday Challenge - Food or Drink

Gotta give a big cheer for the weekend - Whoop Whoop!! Double celebrations because it's time for another fab challenge at Secret Crafter's Saturday Challenge. This week lovely Francesca has chosen our theme & it is

FOOD &/OR DRINK

Everyone is understandably mad for Saturated Canary images right now. I haven't splurged just yet, but is only a matter of time. Until that time comes I don't want to neglext my gorgeous Simply Sassy images from Sugar Nellie. This is one of my faves, Luv a Latte. She's coloured with Prismas & the papers are First Edition Spring Feast. The light has reflected off the glitter in the papers in the photo. It looks way better IRL. The sentiment is LOTV.

I've stuck to the fab sketch at the Sugar Bowl for this card.

I've also gone with the colour scheme at Colour Create this fortnight.

Now this week at Secret Crafter's if you play along with us, you could win a fabulous prize donated by or lovely sponsors at  The Stamping Boutique

Pop on over to the Secret Crafter's blog to see the awesome inspiration of my wonderful fellow D-Teamies. 

So that's it for me for now. I hope everyone has something exciting to look forward to this weekend. I'm not up to much, but Ben is buying some Lego with his Xmas money. So I'm looking forward to how quiet it's going to keep him as he beavers away at making it!!

Thanks so much for looking.

Big Hugs,

Andie xx

Secret Crafter's Saturday Challenge - Spooky or Whimsical

Goodness, I'm late with this. I'd hoped to get this posted earlier but didn't manage it & haven't had time till now. Nonetheless, Happy Saturday everyone! My lovely D-Teamie, Bridget, has chosen this week's theme at Secret Crafter's Saturday Challenge. And it is

SPOOKY OR WHIMSICAL

I was in rather a hurry to complete this, hence the CAS look. The image is from the gorgeous new Fairy Glen release from Sugar Nellie. She's coloured with Distress Inks & I used green & white glitter on her wings. The flower was made with a Spellbinders die.

The sketch & CAS theme at the Sugar Bowl this fortnight suited my needs perfectly for this card.

I am also entering this at Totally Gorjuss this week where the theme is I remember. I bought this stamp specifically because it has a squirrel. I love squirrels. As a child my favourite book was Beatrix Potter's 'The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin'

At Simon Says Stamp this week, 'Anything Goes'

As it's the last challenge of the month, it's also your last chance to have a chance of winning the fabulous prize of 5 digis from our sponsor, The Stamping Boutique

Please pop on over to the Secret Crafter's Saturday Challenge blog to see more awesome creations from my wonderful D-Teamies. For now though I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Big Hugs,

Andie xx

Simply Sassy Sppotlight

WOW! I can not tell you how thrilled I am to be showing you this card! I was delighted & honoured when lovely Maria Therese contacted me to ask if I would like to be in the 'Spotlight' at the Simply Sassy blog this week. This is the card I made to mark the occasion.

She's called 'This little light of Mine' & she's just gorgeous. I coloured her with Distress Inks & the papers are MME. A little sparkly ribbon & some adhesive gems completed the design.

I am entering this at the Sugar Bowl this week where I have used their fab sketch for inspiration.

All that goes for me to do now is to thank Maria Therese for granting me this special priviledge & thank you all for looking.

Big Hugs,

Andie xx

Crafts 4 Eternity - Sporting Marvels & a DT call!

It's Friday & time for another Crafts 4 Eternity challenge. With Wimbledon in full swing, this week's theme is,

SPORTING MARVELS

I'm rooting for Andy Murray, but made a card to celebrate another fantastic British sporting champion, the youngest major winner since Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy!

I have to say, I don't know any golfers, hence this Sugar Nellie cutie has never seen ink before. The photo is dreadful, but he's coloured with Promarkers & the papers are Memory Box - Brioche. I used a MFT Die-namics die for the stars & the sentiment is from LOTV.

Now I have some sad news. Because I have an (almost) full time job, to fund my crafting passion, it always gets it the way & denies me the time I want to craft as much as I would like. So it is with a heavy heart, that I have had to step down from the C4E DT. I have to say a big Thank You to wonderful Michele who runs the C4E store & blog, for giving me what has been a fabulous opportunity & for putting up with the fact that my cards are always late! But I'm hoping some of you lovely ladies out there will answer Michele's DT call, find the details here. I can assure you she is a lovely boss to work for :~) While your there, check out the fab creations of my lovely D-Teamies.

I would also like to enter this in the current Sugar Bowl challenge, where I have used Marlene's fab sketch.

So that's all for now. Have a great weekend & thanks for looking.

Big Hugs,

Andie xx

Passion For Promarkers - All the Twos!

The last 6 months have gone in a flash & it's already time for Team 2 to hold the fort at Passion For Promarkers while Team 1 take a well earned rest. To celebrate the handover we're having a mega celebration & for one week only yu get 2 teams for the price of one!! Hence the title of this weeks challenge,

IT TAKES TWO!

We want to see cards with 2 of something on them, whether that be images, the number two, or anything related to being 2!

I used 2 gorgeous Leanne Ellis images from Sugar Nellie for a leaving card for a woman at work. I don't know what the name is for this type of card. I'm calling it a W card (or an M depending whch way you look at it!). It's basically 3 ordinary cards stuck together! But the extra surface provides plenty of space for everyone to sign.

Naturally, they are coloured with Promarkers, but I used chalks to create the background. The papers are SEI-Juliette & I used retro flower punches to create the flowers.

Hope you're not bored yet looking at the photos!

 the images in close up. I just loved colouring all those frills! 

Finally, the complete card. The back is just 4 blank framed panels. Sadly, it was only at this point I realised it was too thick to fit in the envelope, DUH!!

Well, you made it this far. Thanks for bearing with me. Now as you'd expect a celebaration of this magnitude calls for some serious prizes & look at all this fabulousness or wonderful, generous sponsors are donating.

Letraset are offering 2  fab Stamping kits

Whiff of Joy have donated a gorgeous 'Ben & Nora' stamp.

Some Odd Girl are giving a choice of 3 of their wonderful digi images.

The lovely Emerald Fairy have donated 4 images of the winners choosing

Bearly Mine Designs are offering a fabulous £10 Gift Voucher

Pink Gem Designs are giving away a choice of 4 digi images

Our own lovely Emma has generously sponsored us with a massive £15 gift voucher

Joanna Sheen has also pledged a lovely £10 Gift Voucher

How about that little lot? To be in with a chance of winning one of those fab prizes, you need to join us with our challenge. For more amazing inspiration, check out the Passion For Promarkers blog, where my awesome D-Teamies have excelled themselves.

I'm also entering this card at The Sugar Bowl, where I used their great sketch for my layout.

Anyone still with me? Apologies for the length of this post!!

Thanks so much for looking.

Big Hugs,

Andie xx

Happy Birthday Sugar Bowl!

I made this card over a week ago & haven't got round to posting her yet. I've still not gotten back into the swing of thngs fully after Xmas! Also my time has been taken up sewing 8(!) badges onto Jack's Beavers uniform. A task I'd being putting off for quite some time!

This sassy cutie is coloured with Distress Inks & the papers are Basic Grey - Cappella. I'm not sure what I will use this one for yet, so I've not put on a sentiment. Perhaps it will be a Thank You card, 'Thanks a Latte' would work!!

Apologies for the quality of the photos. I don't get to see much daylight at the moment outside of work. I can't wait for the end of January, it's by far my worst month! Only 20 more days to go :~(

I'm entering this card at the Sugar Bowl - Happy Birthday ladies!

Secret Crafters are looking for cards with 'Tons of Texture'

So there we go. Hope everyone is having a god week. Thanks so much for looking.

Big Hugs,

Andie xx

Sugar Bowl for my sister!

Just a quickie to share the card I made for my sister's birthday later this week. I wanted to make a card that reflects how beautiful she really is. I think this Leann Ellis image from sugar Nellie fits the bill.

I stamped the image twice. I coloured one with Distress Inks, & cut round the main figure. The other I coloured the background, again with DIs, & sprayed it with Cosmic Shimmer Mist - Angel Mist. I pieced the main image on the background & added glitter for extra sparkle. I added more Cosmic Shimmer to the flower I created with Grungepaper, cut from Paper Artsy dies. The paper are SEI & are foiled. They are my faves, nothing but the best for my sister.

I used the fabulous sketch at the current Sugar Bowl Challenge. I'm also entering this at Papertake Weekly where the theme is 'Cut it Out'. My die cut flowers fit the bill there.

So is it cold enough for you? It's Baltic here, but no snow! I love the snow for the reaction of the children. However, it soon became a pain last year, so my symathies go out to those who have it bad. Snuggle up & keep warm!

Thnaks so much for looking.

Big Hugs,

Andie xx

Sugar Bowl meets Bunny Zoe

Here's a card I made for fun. Christmas is fast approaching & I'm in danger of bypassing all my Autumnal stamps. So I had to make time for these challenges. I just love this stamp, indeed the whole kit. But I chose this particular one as it's my favourite & I wanted to use it as a learning curve. The SN design team are so talented & I was trying to give myself a masterclass in colouring with Distress Inks from Elaine. It looks nothing like her fabulous style, but it's good to try & learn & improve yourself.

I've followed Tiet's fabulous sketch at the current Sugar Bowl challenge. I don't usually go for so many layers. I get a bit scared when I have to combine so many papers. However, I simplified it for myself by only using papers from the Cosmo Cricket, Earth Love pad. It's a great sketch for using up scraps!

The flowers are all from Wild Orchid Crafts  & the scraps of ribbon were a freebie with my latest Craft Obsessions order. I have to be honest I normally throw them away. Now I'm wishing I hadn't as I love how these scraps looks in lieu of the punched leaves I would normally use. I also added a few adhesive pearls for a touch of shimmer.

This month's challenge at Bunny Zoes Crafts is 'Autumn Love' which fits with the optional autumnal theme at the Sugar Bowl, so I am entering this at both challenges.

Hope everyone's had a great weekend. Thanks so much for looking.

Big Hugs,

Andie xx

Sugar Bowl #44 - Lillian's Sketch

Nearly forgot to upload this card. I made it over a week ago & was unhappy with how pink it looked! I was waiting for some kind of inspiration to hit to make a little less so, but it never came, so seeing as the current Sugar Bowl challenge ends tonight I thought I'd just put it on anyway.

I just love this Manga Princess. Am I sad to be jealous of her hair?! I think if you had hair like mine you would understand. Hair envy, it's an affliction I often suffer from, LOL!

This card is testament to the dangers of colouring an image in artificial light. When I looked at it the next day, it just did not go with the papers I had originally planned to use. I ended up rooting through everything I had & finally found a paper from Cherry Arte & an MME freebie. She's coloured with Promarkers & the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts. You can just see the sparkle I added to her dress with glitter.

So there you go. A quickie post tonight. Hope eveyone is having a good week.

Thanks so much for looking!

Big Hugs,

Andie xx

Passion For Promarkers - Photo Inspiration

Happy Tuesday! Time for another Passion For Promarkers Challenge. This week the theme has been chosen by my lovely team mate Julie who has provided this rather funky bag as photo inspiration for this weeks challenge. Make of it what you will & let's see the wonderful creations you come up with!

Moreover, this week's winner will receive a totally fabulous prize from Funky Kits. That being 3 Sugar Nellie stamps of their choice. OMG I wish I could enter!!

This week the PFP team have all used Sugar Nellie images. Mine is Bashful from the Diane Duda range. I love these quirky figures & the little bunny on this one is sooo cute!


I used my Promarkers for this one. (I've become quite enamoured with my Aqua Markers of late!) My papers are from the Crate Paper Cowgirl collection. I used the Magnolia Halloween Swirl on the backgound paper. The flower is a mix of a Hydrangea, Nesties die &, of course, a button.

My layout is based on Judy's fab sketch at this weeks Sugar Bowl challenge, so I would also like to enter this card there.

If you have not already doen so, please pop over to the PFP blog & see the fabulous creations of my fellow D-Teamies & why not play along.

Thanks so much for looking.

Big Hugs,

Andie xx

Passion For Promarker - Distressing!

Happy Tuesday everyone! We've got another fabulous challenge for you at Passion For Promarkers. This week it's one of my favourites, chosen by my lovely D-Teamie, Michele. It's distressing! Yay, I love the texture & aged look you get with distressing!!

We have another fantastic prize for you this week too, provided by our lovely friends at Just Tracys'. They are giving away a set of Oliver's Orchard stamps to this weeks lucky winner!

I made this card for one of Jack's school friends, who loves riding her bike. The image is by Sugar Nellie, called Going for a Spin. The DPs are from Crate Paper (great for distressing). I added Wild Orchid flowers & the birthday wishes are from Crafty Sentiments.




I probably say this every week, but the my D Teamies really enjoyed this challenge to, judging by their stunning creations this week. Please pop on over to the Passion For Promarkers blog to see what I am talking about & join in the fun.

I would also like to enter this card into this fortnight's Sugar Bowl challenge where there is a great sketch. My blue, ended up turquoise however!

Well, thanks so much for looking. Enjoy your week!

Big Hugs,
Andie xx

Sugar Bowl - Challenge 14, Judy's Sketch

Not too last minute with my Sugar Bowl entry for a change! I love the whistful expression on this Curtsy image. She reminds me of my ballet lessons as a child. I was always tall for my age & not the most graceful of children. At the end of each lesson we had to curtsy for the teacher. I gave up ballet shortly after she told me I had the arms, but not the feet for ballet. Sad isn't how things stay with you & scar you for life! I have always seen myself as a bit awkward & clumsy. But that might just be because I trip up & bang into things a lot! I am never without a good bruise or two, but can never remember getting them. I must be immune to the pain, LOL!

Back to the card, the DPs are Wild Asparagus by MME (love these!). Had loads of fun with this sketch & will definitely use it again. I had to move the position of the bling in the top right hand corner as I did not leave enough space for it down the side, duh!

By the way, have you seen the new Manga images on the Sugar Nellie blog. Gotta get me some of those! Hope you all had a good weekend.

Regards,

Andie xx

Sugar Bowl - Challenge 13, Lilian's Sketch

How do I always manage to be so last minute with all the fantastic Sugar Bowl challenges when I have two weeks? So many challenges, so little time! Anyway, I have used Believe from the new Diane Duda range. she is my fave & so easy to colour, (I like that in a stamp!). I think the eyes on these look quite wierd in the drawings, but once they are coloured they are really quite beguiling. I've used K&Co DPs & the backround paper is the stuff you use to wrap brown paper packages, tied up with string, these are a few of my fav... Sorry lost myself for a moment there, LOL! Hope this is what is meant by kraft. I concertinaed (is that how you spell it?) the band across the middle to add a bit more interest & texture.

Hope everyone is coping with the weather. Those of you who live outside of the UK would probably think it's no big deal. But it has been stifling today & the air con in our office is useless! I thought I was going to melt! Don't get me wrong, I love the sun, but it does not need to be this hot! Anyway, I think I will chill with a bit of cardmaking!

Regards,

Andrea xx

Sugar Bowl - Challenge 12, Lia's Sketch

I'm back from my hols & eager to get back to to my card making, slightly less keen to have gone back to work, LOL! I have only been away a fortnight & it feels like I have missed so much! I have done some visiting, but there has been so much to see, I have not had time to leave any comments, so a big Hello to you all! I have followed Lia's wonderful sketch over at the Sugar Bowl. Now I thought I was also following the green & blue colour challenge too, but these gorgeous My Mind's Eye papers, sent to me by the awesomely talented Dena, turned out to be more turquoise & green in daylight. Last night when I was making this card, they looked more blue in artificial light. There is blue in them I can assure you, but you have to squint a bit to see it! I have coloured my Gorjuss girl, also sent by Dena (what a star!) in green & blue too. Anyway, I leave it up to the lovely Sugar Babes to decide if my card qualifies for entry into the prize draw. I have not seen them yet, but I know I am really going to want/need those Diane Duda stamps! Not much else to tell you about this card, except she was coloured with my trusty distress inks, & the gold spacer on the flower is from the Hobby House.

Hope everyone out in Blogland is happy & well & having a great weekend!

Regards,

Andie xx

Sugar Bowl Challenge #10, Marlene's Sketch

What a fab sketch Marlene conjured up for the current Sugar Bowl challenge. I will definitely be using this one again. I like the new format to the blog too. Following sketches is always fun, but I also enjoy trying to incorporate the optional extra. Though in this case, since I use buttons on nearly every other card, so it was not too much of a stretch! Ther is not much to tell about this card, other than the DPs are by KI Memories & the image is coloured with my trusty Distress Inks.
Hope you are all having a good week so far. I am off on my hols next week , so for me it is not going fast enough!

Regards,
Andrea xx

SOS # 49 and Sugar Bowl Challenges

Just got home from my parents this evening, & was straight on the the crafting vibe! Inked up this little fella from Sugar Nellie & coloured him with my Distress Inks (what else!). I've combined two of my favourite challenges on this card. At A Spoonfull of Sugar this week they have set a colour scheme of blue & green, & the Sugar Bowl theme is to make a card for a man. Well I often refer to my boys as 'my little men' so I think this counts! The DPs I have had for years & quite frankly I had gone off them. So this was a great excuse to cut into them. They are by Deja Views & I must have had them at least five years! In fact I have been very good on this card & used stuff I have had for ages. If I can manage that a little more, I'll soon be needing to buy new stash. Hey when did I ever need an excuse, LOL! Hope you have all have a lovely BH weekend. I'm feeling good as my husband & I are having a 'We Day' tomorrow, where we take a day off work & do all the things we used to do before the children were born, while they are at school & nursery. I'm feeling really loved up & am looking forward to it. We're hoping to see Wolverine. Anyone seen it yet? I will let you know if it is any good.
Bye for Now,

Regards,
Andrea xx

Sugar Bowl Challenge 8 - Tiet's Sketch

1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Once I caught a fish alive... Had to choose these DPs from Basic Grey, to go with this oh so cute image that reminds me so much of my youngest son, Ben. Except he is so clumsy he would have knocked the fish bowl off by now!! Tiets has created a great sketch for this challenge over at the Sugar Bowl, which I nearly did not get round to entering. Just where do the weeks go?
Hope this post finds everyone happy & well. Not long to the weekend, Yippeee!!

Regards,
Andrea

Hope We Have A Gorjuss Spring!

I don't have much need for Easter cards, so I thought this Gorjuss girl would be perfect for the Spring option on the Sugar Bowl challenge. I really love these Gorjuss images, they are fab to colour. I wonder if there are likely to be any Gorjuss boys in the pipeline? If money was no object I would be putting in my pre-order for the second set of Gorjuss girls right now, but I guess I will have to wait till they are available singly again. There are so many stamps, stash & tools I want just now, my boys will just have to go hungry, LOL! There you go, it's official, I am a crafting addict!

FYI, the DPs are from the Phoebe range by Basis Grey, & the sentiment is from Whiff of Joy. I used a Woodware embossing punch to make the flower & the raffia lace is from Hobbycraft.

Hope you are enjoying the Spring sunshine. We had our first BBQ of the year today, though it was not quite warm enough to actually eat it outside! Hope it is the first of many!

Regards,

Andrea xx

Sugar Bowl Challenge 4 - One!

It is a little last minute I know, but just got this done in time for the deadline over at the Sugar Bowl. The hardest thing about this challenge was finding just one patterned paper to use! However, when I saw the name of this one from Pebbles Inc, I knew I would not find another more apropriate. It is called Nellie's Garden Flower! I coloured Daisy with Distress Inks, as usual. The sentiment is from Whiff of Joy. The brads are not brads at all, but funny little bowl shaped things I got from Craftwork Cards stuck on with foam pads. You get hundreds in a packet for £1, & they are available in lots of yummy shades. Everything else is from my stash.
Hope you are all having a good evening.
Regards,
Andrea

Sugar Bowl Challenge 3 - Love & Romance

Yeah I've done it. Entered a challenge for the first time. Now I just need to improve my photography skills & there'll be no stopping me! It is appropriate that my first card is based on a sketch by Marlene whose blog I first visited over a year ago. I was blown away by her talent & over the last 12 months I have found huge amounts of inspiration & information on http://www.mar1ene.wordpress.com/. As I get better at this blogging malarky I will add a list of all you hugely talented ladies out there whose blogs have been a source of wonder & have motivated me to create my own site.

The stamped image is a Leanne Ellis design from www.funkykits.co.uk, coloured with distress inks (I'm not using anything else at the moment!), with pink Stickles to glam up the roses. The papers are quite old from Li'l Davis Designs - Love Affair, how appropriate! It is quite hard to see the floral felt ribbon which was a freebie from www.sillymonkeycrafts.co.uk - Thank you so much! The ornate corner was done with a cuttlebug die. And all the ribbon & heart are from my stash.

Thanks for looking.

Andrea