Saturday 28 November 2009

Crafts 4 Eternity Recipe Challenge #9

Sunday again & time for another fab C4E Challenge. It is scary how time flies this close to Xmas. So many cards to make, so little time, LOL!! This week the challenge is to follow Michele's gorgeous sketch & include something that flies & a scalloped edge.


I changed my card shape to accommodate this one & made a gatefold card. The DPs are Basic Grey, Wassail. The tree is from the Egg & Nog plate by Squiggly Ink. I'm a sucker for gorgeous trees at Xmas. This one I stamped in crimson ink, embossed & distressed a little with Distress Inks. The baubles are Papermania adhesive stones. My birds are from Hero Arts & are so cute, I love them. I glimmer misted them for a little extra magic! The scalloped edge is done with a Martha Stewart Doily Punch.

Not much to tell you about the inside. The sentiment is from Anna Griffin. The swirly bits are from Imaginisce.
Now it's time to see the fabulous creations of my fellow DT collegues at the Crafts 4 Eternity blog. Michele is offering another lovely goody bag as a prize for this weeks winner. Hop on over & join us, we would love to see what you come up with.
Thanks for looking. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.
Big Hugs,
Andie xx

Thursday 26 November 2009

Now meet my Sister!

I introduced you to my youngest son, Ben, in my last post. Next week it's my sister's birthday & this Shopaholic stamp from Sugar Nellie just fits her to a T. Not only is she a keen shopper, but she exudes the same style & grace as the girl in the image. She's from Clitheroe in Lancashire, but now lives in Paris, where these qualities enable her to fit right in!


I have used the fab sketch at Friday Sketchers for my layout. The DPs & the ribbon are all from Cosmo Cricket, Everafter. She's coloured with my trusty Distress Inks.


I hope you like her, but more importantly, I hope my sister does. She & my adorable little niece, Emma, are coming over this weekend. I'm so excited! Me & my Mum are taking her Trollbead bracelet shopping for birthday & Xmas.
Hope everyone is having a good week. Thanks for looking!
Big Hugs,
Andie xx

Monday 23 November 2009

Max/Ben does Papertake Weekly

Just a quickie from me, I'm not feeling so good. If anyone read my post from a week last Sunday, all I will say is, now the boot is on the other foot! Anyway, at least it is not stopping me from cardmaking, so here's my entry for this weeks lovely sketch over at Papertake Weekly.

There is not much to tell you about the card. You'll see in a minute why I just had to get this image when I saw him & why I think he would be better named Ben. He is one of the new Twinkle Tots from the Greeting Farm. The papers are Oh Baby! Boy from Basic Grey. I've had them some time!! The corners are made with those fake brad thingies. I still can't remember what they are called. He's coloured with Promarkers. Couldn't be simpler!


Now, you're about to see why, I think the stamp should be called Ben. I have to say, I took this picture this morning & it is not staged in any way!


What do you think? Ben is 4 next month & I made this card for his birthday. I could use it for my other son, Jack, who is also completely mad for video games. It drives me to despair, I wish they would read more & play with their other toys. Lord knows they have enough!! They take after their Dad in this respect!
Anyway, better go, I need to go to the supermarket. Food shopping, the last thing I feel like doing right now! Hope you are all in better shape than me!
Thanks for looking,
Big Hugs,
Andie xx

Sunday 22 November 2009

Crafts 4 Eternity Recipe Challenge #8



Yay! It's challenge time at C4E again. This week along with Michele's marvellous sketch, we would like you to use flowers & add some glitter to your cards.




I've used my all time favourite Father Christmas stamp. He's a few years old from Rubber Stampede, but he is the perfect embodiment, in my mind of what Santa really looks like! My papers are from Melissa Frances. I may have to stock up on these!



You can see the glitter better in this photo, I smeared glitter glue through Santas beard & the snowflakes, & even gave his eyes an extra twinkle! The poinsettas I made, following a fab little tutorial at the new Whiff of Joy Tutorials & Inspiration blog, here . There is loads of fab ideas on there, it's well worth a look.

So now it's time to hop on over to the Crafts 4 Eternity blog to see the wonderful creations of my fellow teammates. See the sketch & their cards here. I hope you will join us this week, especialy as you are in with a chance of winning a set of Michele, oh so cute, Christmas Cupcake digital stamps.





My card this week, coincidentally fits in with this weeks Colour Create Challenge, where the colour scheme is green, red & white. Nice traditional Xmas colours!
Well, that's it for now. I hope everyone is having a great weekend.
Big Hugs to You All,
Andie xx




Tuesday 17 November 2009

Whiff of Joy Challenge #55

Just a quickie as this is rather late. It has been a while since I last entered the Whiff of Joy challenge & could not let this fab colour scheme go by without having a go. It's not the most Xmassy set of colours, brown, orange & ivory, so I decided to make a card that could cover Xmas or just winter in general. Sadly, I'm too late to enter it, but I thought I would post it anyway!

Apologies for the quality of the photos. I coloured Charlie with Promarkers & used plain & MME Bloom papers. The snowflake was cut with a Nestie & I added Dew Drops & ribbon from Crafty Feeling

There's not much else to tell you about this, but Thanks for looking. Hope you are having a good week.
Big Hugs,
Andie xx

Sunday 15 November 2009

Crafts 4 Eternity Recipe Challenge #7

I'm a bit late with this today. Had I known how little time I would have had, I would have scheduled this post. This week at C4E we have another fab sketch for you. Additionally, we would like to see you use a snowman & use some cotton wool.
There's not much to say about this. I coloured the Whiff of Joy image with my Promarkers. The DPs are Imaginisce, Snowy Jo. I think I overdid the snowflakes a bit, but I had to cover up yet another mistake, duh!! The two halves of my circle looked rather uneven. I've forgotten what the red circles are called. but they are those fake bradlike thingies!

Now it's time to hop on over to see the fabulous cards of cards of my wonderful DT teamies at Crafts 4 Eternity. Lovely Michele is offering a goody bag from her own C4E store as a prize, but you must use the full recipe. Good luck. This sketch is fun, have a go!
I'm off to bed now. It's been a long day. It did not quite go to plan when Ben woke up at 5am this morning with the Squits, (sorry, hope you are not eating!). Three changes of pants later, (Ben's, not mine!) we decided to get up at 7. It was my hubbies birthday today. We had planned to go out for lunch. I went to Sansburys instead! Then friends came round, as we could not go out to meet them. After tea we put the boys to bed & cleared up. It's been good though. Ben's bottom may have been poorly, but fortunately, the rest of him wasn't, so I think Paul has had a good day, all in all. Family days are always the best!
Hope you are all well, & have had a good weekend.
Big Hugs for you all,
Andie xx

Saturday 14 November 2009

Creatalicious Challenges #4

For this months challenge at Bizzy Bec's Creatalicious Challenges we want to see cards with a Christmas theme, that include snowflakes, with lots of sparkle &/or glitter!







I made a Joy Fold card. So please indulge me with the length of this post, so I can show you my photos. I could have taken more, LOL! My images are some of the new Whiff of Joy Xmas Gnomes. They're just so cute!







It is hard to see all the sparkle & glitter I used. It was so dull when I took the photos! You'll have to look closely to see it. I did not go overboard with the snowflakes. I made mine with a Woodware punch, a Cuttlebug die & a gorgeous silver spacer from Bec's shop.






The DPs are Melissa Frances & are a fab mix of cute & classy!







Finally, here's a close up of those adorable gnomes. I coloured them with my distress inks & added stickles & glitter to bling them up a bit! The green card stock I used came pre-glittered & looks even better IRL.





I hope you'll now hop on over to the Creatalicious Challenges blog to see the fabulous creations of my fellow DT members. No excuses for not joining in, you have a whole month to enter & you are bound to be making an Xmas card or too over the coming month, so why not enter the challenge & maybe even win a fab prize! See you there!!


Thanks for looking & perserving through this mammoth post! Hope you are having a great weekend.


Big Hugs,

Andie xx

Tuesday 10 November 2009

I Love it when a plan comes together!

In the immortal words of Hannibal Smith, "I love it when a plan comes together!" Did anyone else watch the A-Team? Who was your fave? Definitely Face for me! Sorry, I digress & I haven't even started!! I really love the way this card turned out. So much so, I might even give it to my hubbie to give to me for Xmas, LOL!
I am entering it into 5 challenges this week, yes 5! They all seem to fit nicely, so why not! The sketch is from this weeks Create 4 Fun. I love it & will definitely use it again. Blue, silver & white is the current colour scheme at Colour Create. It's so sophisticated! Unfortunately, in the photo, my silver, looks more grey, but IRL it looks loads better.

Just Magnolia want to see cards that have been distressed. This definitely qualifies on that score. In fact, I must do more distressing, it hides a multitude of sins!! At Secret Crafters the challenge is to make an Easel Card. I was dying to have a go at one of these, so this was the perfect opportunity.


Finally, last but not least, Stamp Something have a fab recipe challenge where they want to see you use, 1 ribbon, 2 papers & 3 embellishments. I used felt ribbon, stripey paper (I don't know where from) & MME vellum (from 2004!). Unfortunately the snowflakes on the vellum are rather spread out & I have managed to cover them all up! The embellies I've used are dew drops, buttons & the flowers, which I sprayed with glimmer mist & added Stickles. I also added Stickles to the ice.
So there you go, Tilda & Edwin all loved up! The sentiment is from Whiff of Joy. Hope everyone is having a great week. I'm enjoying reading about everyone's adventures at the NEC. I sure wish I could have gone. Never mind, maybe next year!
Big Hugs!
Andie xx

Saturday 7 November 2009

Crafts 4 Eternity #6

Good Morning, back again! Time for this weeks C4E Recipe Challenge. As usual, Michele has provided another fab sketch to follow. Additionally, we would like to see you incorporate some holly or ivy, & you need to use a punch somewhere on you card. It's the perfect excuse to get another Xmas card out of the way!
I have not actually used a Xmas image, but I think this cute little fairy from CC Designs is so versatile. Her official name is Fidget Goblinspider (what a fab name!), but I thought the circles on her skirt could look like holly berries, so I have made her more seasonal! I've also used a DP that includes holly & a little holly punch too. I did not have anything with ivy on! I've used three punches in all on the card, for the snowflakes & to thread the ribbon.


Now it's time to hop on over to see the fab work of my DT colleagues, see it here. This week to help you with your Xmas cards, my lovely teamie, Suzette is providing a great prize. It's a set of her fabulous Xmas sentiment stamps. The phrases are just perfect. Michele has also released a wonderful Xmas kit at her Crafts 4 Eternity store, full of fantastic MME papers & lots of other irrestible goodies. See it here.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend. We had a lovely time at the fireworks last night, though Ben hid behind me for much of it, as he found them a bit loud. But towards the end the expressions on his & Jack's faces were a picture as they gazed open mouthed at the terrific display. Ah, bless!
Anyway, thanks for looking!
Big Hugs to you all,
Andie xx
Recipe:
Stamps: CC Designs digi image, Sentiment by Anna Griffin
Paper: Basic Grey Fruitcake
Tools: McGill Holly punch, Woodware snowflake punch, Martha Stewart ribbon threader punch.
Embellishments:Papermania jewels, ribbon from Crafty Feeling

2 in 1 Twinkle Tot Madelynn

Could not wait to get this new little Twinkle Tot inked up. I just love the movement in this image & her outfit is gorgeous! As for attittude, she has it by the bucketload!!

I have used the wonderful sketch at Papertake Weekly for this card. Love the simplicity of it. Creative Card Crew also want to see cards with ribbon & jewels incorporated. My gorgeous sheer ribbon is from Bizzy Becs. The photo does not do justice to it's fabulous shimmer.
I coloured this little cutie with my Promarkers. I'm starting to feel a bit more confident with these. I just wish I had more colours!
Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Will be back tomorrow, with my card for the next Crafts 4 Eternity Recipe Challenge.
Till then, have fun!
Big Hugs,
Andie xx
Recipe:
Stamps : Greeting Farm - Madelynn Twinkle Tot, Sentiment from a TCP Studio sent me by my lovely blogging pal, Dena!
Papers: Crate Paper
Tools: Retro flower punch
Embellishements: Ribbon from Bizzy Becs, Jewels by Prima, flower from Hobbycraft

Thursday 5 November 2009

Sketch & Stash #22

Here's my card for this weeks fab sketch at Sketch & Stash. It's a lovely simple layout, just how I like them!!
I've used my new gorgeous Winter Wonderland stamp from Sugar Nellie. I just adore this image she's is adorable. I paper pieced her scarf & umbrella & coloured the flowers with my white highlighter pen.
My DPs are somewhat older. They are from last years Basic Grey Wassail collection. The snowflakes were cut with a punch & edged with a glitter pen for effect. I also glittered the snowflakes in the image, but the photos do not pick that up very well.

Not much else to say about this. I hope you like it!
Hope you are having a good week. The weekend is nearly here, YIPPEE!
Big Hugs,
Andie xx


Sunday 1 November 2009

Crafts 4 Eternity Recipe Challenge #5

Time for Crafts 4 Eternity Recipe Chalenge once, more. Michele has excelled herself once again with another fab sketch to get busy with. This week the other ingredients of the recipe are to use a paperclip(s) & two ribbons.
The paperclip idea is great & I must try & remember to use them more often. When I first met my hubbie 14 years ago, he had a bag of elastic bands & coloured paperclips. The bands have practically all perished, but the paperclips are still there. So this one is virtually an antique! Shows how often I use paperclips at home. I like the effect with a scrap of ribbon tied round it.

There is not much else to say about the card. I used Anita's glaze to make the icing on the biscuit more realistic. Using adhesive pearls on the biscuit also got me wondering if anyone had ever tried putting real cake decorations on a card, or would the glue just melt the sugar? The band across the middle was created with a Martha Stewart Doily punch with another ribbon over the top. Anyway, another Xmas card crossed off my list, yippee!
I hope you will pop over to Crafts 4 Eternity this week & join us. Michelle is very geneously, giving away more digi images as a prize. See the fabulous creations my wonderful DT colleagues have conjured up this week here.
Hope everyone had fun over Halloween! We went to see Coraline this morning. That's why this post is a little late, sorry! If you haven't already seen it, it's amazing & so inspirational from a visual point of view. Though my 3 year old, Ben, was rather scared my it, Jack, who is 6 was totally entralled by it. I was too!
Have a great week!
Big Hugs to You All,
Andie xx
Recipe:
Stamps: Xmas Henry Mouse from Whiff of Joy, Sentiment from an old Anna Griffin set I got on QVC.
Papers: MME - The Merry Days of Xmas.
Tools: Fiskars Circle Cutter, Snowflake Punch, Martha Stewart Doily Punch, Anita's Glaze.
Embellishments:Paper Clip, Anita's Ribbon, Papermania Adhesive Pearls & Jewels.