Secret Crafters - Clean & Simple

Wey-Hey for the weekend & double bonus for me as I am officially now on leave & we go on holiday on Monday. Can't wait, boy do I need a break!!

So it's Saturday & another fab challenge at Secret Crafters, this weekend chosen by my lovely D-Teamie, Kelly. She wants us to have a go at

CLEAN & SIMPLE

this week. Not a style I'm very comfortable in to be honest. But it is something I want to try more of as CAS cards always look so elegant.

So I used Lavinia stamps for this card. As clean & simple as it is, it took me ages to come up with an image I was happy with as I kept overloading it with images or getting ink where I didn't want to! The background is created with Adirondack inks, of which Wendy has a good selection here. I stamped the fairy in black Versafine then used Adirondack Eggplant for the other silhouettes. I added a little liquid pearls in places to try & make it look like the moonlight was catching the plants. Finally I glittered the moon & anywhere I'd put stars for a little extra fairy magic!



So there you go. There is not much else to say really. But I must remind you that this is your last opportunity to join us this month & hence you last opportunity to be in with a chance of winning our monthly prize sponsored by the fabulous people at The Stamping Boutique

So whatever you are up to, I hope everyone has a fabulous Bank Holiday Weekend & that wherever you are, the sun shines on you at least once!!

Thanks so much 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

Secret Crafter - Anniversary Cards

Hey, Hey for the weekend & another new Secret Crafter's Challenge! My lovely D-Teamie, Kate, chose this week's challenge to make an anniversary card.

My hubby & I are a pair of old romantics at heart, though if you saw my hubby, you'd have trouble seeing the signs! We have our wedding anniversary to celebrate of course, but we also celebrate the day we first started going out together, & the night that Paul proposed to me - also known as Tuna Pasta Bake night, because that's what he cooked to seal the deal!!

I made this for Paul to celebrate our getting together anniversary, hence it not being a more conventional anniversary card & lacking much in the way of embellishment & flowers. This is such a super cute LOTV image & I had been dying to ink it up. It's coloured with Distress Inks & cut out with a Spellbinders die, both available at Secret Crafters. The sentiment is also from LOTV & the papers by Fancy Pants, It's the Little

Things. The charm is from my stash.

There's not much else to tell about this as it's all quite simple! It's such a darling image, I love it!

Whatever you are up to have a great weekend.

Thanks so much for looking.

Big Hugs,

Andie xx

Crafts 4 Eternity - Embellishment Recipe

Yay for Friday once more! Is it wrong to live for the weekend as much as I do?! Time for another fab challenge at Crafts 4 Eternity. This week we want to see your cards using, ribbon, flowers & bling!

I coloured this totally gorgeous Tilda with Distress Inks. Big pat on the back for me too, in using some very old K & Co papers, amongst the first I ever bought - £2.95 they were at full price about 5yrs ago! I treated myself to a new die cut however. The romantic lace Doo Hickey from Magnolia is now officially my fave!! I also love the Magnolia swirl die I also used. The flowers are from WOC & a little bling finished it off!

We are thrilled to be joined by our regular sponsor - Crafty Sentiments, again this week. Look at this gorgeous image the lucky winner will receive. I hope you'll now pop on over to the C4E blog to see the fabulous inspiration of my fellow D-Teamies.

There are a few other challenges I would like to enter my card into this week.

At A Spoonfull of Sugar, 'Anything Goes'

Creative Card Crew wants to see cards that are 'Cute & Girly

That's all for now then! Thanks so much for looking.

Big Hugs,

Andie xx

Crafts 4 eternity - Finally!!

OMG, I didn't think I was ever going to get this posted! If you are not already aware, this week's C4E challenge is a colour theme from  a choice of these colours

I needed to make a card for one of my son's friends who is a United fan (Booooo). So I used this little Sugar Nellie Manga boy in his footie kit.

He's coloured with Promarkers & the papers are a mix of MME, K& Co & plain Bazzill. A bit of ribbon, a few button & dew drops & there you go. Not much else to say really!

I based the card on the sketch at a Spoonfull fo Sugar so I would also like t enter this there.

Apologies for not posting this sooner, it has been a somewhat hectic weekend with having a belated birthday party for Jack. Poor thing turned 8 on April 14th, but with Easter & all the bank holiday weekends we finally made it happen yesterday. Today I have been running the Manchester 10k, if you can call my dragging my backside round Manchester & Old Trafford running! If anyone out there braved the horrible weather to come out & support, I thank most sincerely. It makes a big difference when you have people cheering you on.

So I'm off to relax now & se if I can stay awake long enough to have an early night!

Hope you are all well & have had a good weekend.

Big Hugs,

Andie xx



Secret Crafters- Jane's Sketch

Whoop Whoop for the weekend & another Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge! It's the turn of my lovely D-Teamie, Jane, to chose this weeks theme & she has created a fab sketch for you to follow.

This is Jane's sketch

I used one of the cute little fairies from the last Kraftin Kimmie release. This one reminds me a bit of Kylie Minogue! She's coloured with Promakers (for a change!) & the gorgeous papers are by Kaiser Craft & available at Secret Crafter here. I added a little watered down liquid pearls to add a bit of shimmer to her wings, but you can't see it very well in the photos. The sentiment is from LOTV & the flowers from WOC.

She's a bit cheeky isn't she, LOL! I wish my backside was as pert as that! Well I'm working on it. I'm lugging it round the Manchester 10K tomorrow, so wish me luck with that!!

I am also entering this at the Creative Card Crew, where this week's challenge is May Flowers.

Stamp Something are celebrating their 3rg anniversary with an Anything Goes Challenge & a fab blog hop.

So that's it for now. I'll be back later with my belated Crafts 4 Eternity DT card.

Thanks so much for looking,

Big Hugs,

Andie xx

Secret Crafters - Dust off Your Neglected Stash!

Big Yay for Saturday!! This week fab Secret Crafter's challenge has been chosen by the lovely Helen, who is asking us to use some of our older, more neglected stash. You should pop by her blog as she has a lot going on there today!

You might be thinking that this Magnolia stamp is not that old. I have to admit that after a while a lot of them start to look the same. I was shocked & ashamed to find I've had this one in my collection since it came out with the wedding collection last year & she's been lying lonely & uninked all this time! Shame on me!

Tilda is coloured with Distress Inks with the tiniest amount of Gold Liquid Pearls added to the flower, both available at the Secret Crafter shop. The papers are Prima - Fairy Flora. I've fallen in love with these papers. I need to find somewhere that still has them in stock! The flower embellishment was created with EK Success retro flower punches, available here, topped off with a cute little flower button also from Secret Crafters. Flat back pearls finish it all off. I held off from adding anything more as I didn't want to cover up the papers!

Time to hop on over now to see the fabulous creations of my lovely D-Teamies.

I would also like to enter my card at Just Magnolia & hAnglar & sTanglar where the challenge is 'Anything Goes' (I forgot about the stitching bit!)

The sketch I used is an old one from Sketch & Stash, number 19 I believe. This week you can chose your own from their wonderful catalogue.

So there you go. Whatever you are up to, have a fabulous weekend!

Big Hugs,

Andie xx