Publication Week!

So I thought I'd share some of my recently published cards this week.  I have so enjoyed seeing my cards in print.  I encourage all of you to submit!  Believe me, it took AGES before one of my cards was accepted.  Months and months of rejection.  I was determined not to give up, even though it felt a bit demoralising every month when nothing was chosen.  But seriously, ignore this feeling.  And go on submitting - it's definitely worth the time!  And it's SO exciting when your card gets chosen and you receive that happy email...

So here's a Valentine's card that I had published in Paper Crafts January/February magazine.  I have another card in there too...

If you've never checked it out, click HERE to see their current publication calls.  There's a FAB one on right now for Stamp It! Cards 8.
I hope I've persuaded you to have a go.  Who knows what might happen :)
I've not given any tips, as, to be honest, I am still a newbie.  But Dawn McVey's page HERE is great.  She rocks! Or email me if you like.
See you tomorrow.

Supplies

Look... no stamping

It's not often that I make a card without any stamping.

But here one is...

Journaling cards, punches, patterned paper, Glitter Thickers, Ribbon Girl twine... love it ALL.  (Can't remember the name of this journaling card though... hmmmm....)

Hope you have enjoyed your weekend.

Have a very happy evening.

Supplies

Lots of Love

Here's another card I made with the new Lots of Love Digikit by Hero Arts.  I really love this kit.  And when I saw it, I immediately had the idea of making a sort of bouquet of hearts. :)  I printed the hearts onto white paper, then stamped with one of my favourite new stamps, Envelope Pattern, then inked the edges.  I tied it together with some yummy silk ribbon from The Ribbon Girl.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend.  It's a cold but gorgeous day here.  Lovly sunshine.

And best of all, my new studio is built!  We are painting at the moment, waiting for the flooring, and shopping for furniture.  Ikea tonight I think!  So excited to share pictures when it's done.

Supplies

Birthday Wishes

Hero Arts released some great new digikits on Tuesday.  On of them is the fab Birthday Wishes Digikit. Just a sentiment, an image and lots of possibilities.

For this card, I paired it up with Pink Petticoat 'Doodle Dots' digikit, layering the candles over the dotty papers and printing, then printing again onto kraft cardstock with the sentiment. A bit of paper piecing, Stickles, Glossy Accents and stitching later, and I have a very simple shiny card...

Hope you enjoy the end of your week, see you again soon.

Supplies

Little Fox and Valentine's Couple

Today I have a video over at the Hero Arts blog, all about stitching.

And I have a card too...

For all supplies and instructions, click HERE.

Here is the video.

And I just wanted to share one more card today.  It uses the newly released Vintage Couple digikit from Hero Arts.  SO cute.

Happy Wednesday. :)

So Sweet

Today is my 2nd day on the Hero Arts blog.  And my card today is another hybrid digi card inspired by the fabulous Sally Traidman.  The strawberry image is from Hero Arts' Sweet on You digikit.  I just love resizing digi stamps... it's gotta be the BEST thing about going digital. :)

All the supplies and instructions are HERE.  And the sentiment stamp I used is 25% off this week HERE at the Hero Arts store.
Tomorrow it's a VIDEO day :)
x

Happy,happy me.

Happy, happy me.

I'm hosting over at the Hero Arts blog this week.  Such a happy week for me.

My cards are all inspired by the talented Sally Traidman.  (Oh, and incidentally, Sally's book, Simply Cards, was the book that introduced me to cardmaking, stamping and Hero Arts. It's a fabulous book - still a source of inspiration now. So THANKS SALLY!!!!  Without you, I'd probably still be a struggling scrapbooker...)

Anyway - here is the card I made:

All the details are HERE.

The sentiment is from a digikit that is to be released tomorrow at twopeas.  Keep your eyes open - it's lovely, and perfect for loads of occasions, not just Valentine's Day.
Tomorrow I have another card, also inspired by Sally.

See you then. x

Happy Birthday to You

Here's a birthday card I made for a friend that combines stamping, journaling cards and GEMS.  Oh, and stitching of course.

Hope you have had a great weekend.  I am sad it is over.
Just got back from watching 'The King's Speech' at the cinema.  Highly recommended!!!
Enjoy your evening.

Supplies

Color Inspiration...

First - happy Friday!  The week is over (for me) and I am ready for a weekend curled up in front of the fire.  It's frosty here, and I am exhausted.

So, on to today's news.

I was absolutely honoured when I had a couple of cards chosen for Paper Crafts newest publication, Color Inspiration for Card Makers.  

And the magazine is STUNNING.

So I thought I'd share one of my creations here today.

This is a hybrid card - I used a Hero Arts digi strawberry stamp and typed my own sentiment.

I hope you have a WONDERFUL weekend, whatever you are doing.  

Don't forget, my sketch challenges are all still open, and I plan to draw prizes at the end of the month... Scroll down or look at the sidebar for more details :)

Supplies

Best Teacher

Here's a card I made using Hero Arts Simply the Best stamp set and some Tim Holtz alphabet dies.  The cute papers are from the Old School pad by Pink Paislee.

I actually added foam adhesive to the centre of the apple so it sticks up more than the rest... this adds a bit of dimension to an otherwise pretty flat card.
Happy Wednesday. :)

Supplies

Hello!

Hello!  Hope your week has started well.

Just popping in with a simple card that uses a stamp from the lovely new Just Saying Hi set.  I mixed it up with some Papertrey Ink products... :)

Have a great day.

Supplies

One of a Kind

I have to say, combining stamping with journaling cards and stickers is one of my all time favourite things. There are just so many combinations...

And here is one:

The Hero Arts Friend Definition stamp is the perfect background for this card :)

Hope you have a restful Sunday.

Supplies

Butterflies...

Welcome weekend.

I couldn't be happier to see you.

Here's a simple card I made with just a few ingredients.  Love negative die cuts :)

And loads of new goodies arrived in the mail for me today... I have a weekend of creating coming up.  YAY!

Happy Weekend everyone, enjoy yourselves. :)

Supplies

Yummy Shiny Strawberries...

This little strawberry stamp is adorable.  It's from Hero Arts Kiss the Cook set.  Such a cute set...
So I wanted to make a card that featured the strawberry on its own.  I love taking a small stamp from a mixed set and making the focal point of a card - I feel such a sense of accomplishment :)


Nearly the weekend.  Just... keep... going...

P.S.  Check out THIS amazing seam binding from The Ribbon Girl.  I've gotta have some of that!  It's selling out amazingly fast...

Supplies

Perfect Pear

Today's card is another simple one.

Do I make too many simple cards??? Probably, but I like them.

Just some sweet pears, stamped on polka paper, inked with distress ink, and dolled up with a smile and google eyes. :)  LOVE me my google eyes.

Have a pear-fect evening. ;)

Supplies

Happy Birthday Friend!

Here's a quick and easy card I made over the weekend with a couple of new Hero Arts digikits.

The Gifts Galore kit is perfect for a quick card.  It has one image with all the presents together , as I've used, but it also has all 13 individually and pre-coloured.  I layered the image onto lots of different polka papers from Pink Petticoat and paper pieced with foam adhesive.  I also added Glossy Accents to the ribbons and bows.  The sentiment is from the Happy Bird-Day kit.
Have a great day. :)

Supplies

Stitched Stripes

Just thought I'd share a card that was published in the December issues of CARDS magazine.

Lots of digi goodness here...

I used the Hero Arts Flutterbies digikit (one of my all time faves) and a gorgeous paper kit called Sugar and Spice by Brandy Buffington.  Such a pretty kit.
Can't wait to see the real thing - for now I am having to be satisfied with the online edition. :)
Enjoy your day. I love sunny Sundays :)

Supplies

Sketch Download

I've created a PDF of some of my sketches...

If you'd like a copy, click HERE to download it. Click on 'File' in the far left hand corner, then click 'Download Original'.
And enjoy. :)

A Winner...

Thanks to ALL of you who entered Sketch Challenge 1 to win the yummy ribbon from The Ribbon Girl.

I have chosen a winner.  And it WASN'T easy.

I narrowed it down... and some more... and more... until I chose:

DEBBY!!!

You MUST check out her card.

But because I loved so many of them... I chose a runner up too. :)  And that is...

CRISTINA.

Girls, I've emailed you both.

Everyone else, thanks again for joining in.  The sketch is open until the end of the month. And I'll be choosing MORE winners from some of the other sketches too.  Hooray!

Happy Saturday everyone.

Sketch Week - Day 7

Oh no.

It's the LAST day.

And I'm feeling rather sad.
I have LOVED this week.  I am overwhelmed by the number of you who've played along.  And I'm leaving all the challenges open for the rest of the month for anyone else to join in.  I'll choose a winner for Sketch 1 after midnight tonight though - this is for the yummy Ribbon Girl goodies that are waiting on my desk :)

So... here's the final sketch, and I thought I ought to challenge you a bit.

I chose the perfect stamp for this sketch - Hero Arts Hugs and Kisses cling stamp (on sale Here).  Isn't it adorable.  A perfect Valentine stamp.  I just stamped it onto 4 different papers and paper pieced it all together, using foam adhesive between the layers.  I added some Smooth Gemstones to the centres of the flowers for some shine.

So... I hope you join in.

And I hope you have enjoyed the week.

Let me know if you'd like me to do another sketch week in the future.

PLUS - if you are good girls, I might consider creating a PDF of all the sketches so you can print it out. ;)  Someone suggested this and it seemed like a nice idea.

Have a HAPPY weekend.  I'm going to make some more CARDS!  And I might share a photo of my developing craft space too... it's coming on so well. :)

Bye!

x

Sketch Week - Day 6

My nest sketch returns to a CAS design.  this is, after all, my favourite kinda card.

And here is my interpretation.  Have you noticed how rigidly I keep to the sketch.  That's some strange obsessive thing I have... it seems like breaking the rules to alter anything.  So stupid... I LOVE seeing others varied interpretations, but just can't work that way well myself :)
And don't forget - all my supplies are listed and linked up below.  Check out the cute digi cupcake stamp from Hero Arts' A Sweet Birthday Digikit. (ETA - just printed this directly onto some patterned paper scraps and paper pieced it together.) Then I just added a cute cherry from their Simply the Best stamp set.  :)

Join in if you like - and thanks for all the comments, I am so glad people are inspired by the week.  I certainly have been.  Inspired by YOU.

Nearly the weekend.

Yay!

Supplies

Sketch Week - Day 5

It's Day 5!

Today's sketch has echoes of Saturday's.  The circle can represent anything!

And here is my card:

Love that baby deer...
As always, share cards using the linking tool below.  In answer to someone's question - you can submit as MANY cards as you like.  I am enjoying looking at them all so much.

As for me, tonight I'm heading to my favourite store... with a long list. :)

Oh, and I'm going to get THESE lights for my new craft room (which is coming along nicely).  Won't they be perfect for crafting.

Happy Wednesday.

Supplies

Sketch Week - Day 4

OK, OK - those of you who responded suggested you'd like the new sketch today... so here it is :)

And my card:

The gorgeous crocheted flowers were a gift from my dear friend Patty.  Aren't they beautiful.  I just layered two of them up, added a little button and stitched it all together with twine.

Have a great day, and don't forget to link your card up if you play along...

P.S.  Sorry to all the people having issues with the linking... I've put the supplies at the top to try and combat the problem.  Can you email me if you still have difficulties - it all looks fine on my blog. Very odd...

Supplies

Are you ready...

OK. Are you ready for sketch 4

Or shall I wait a bit longer....

Leave a comment to persuade me either way!

:)

Sketch Week - Day 3

And it's time for Day 3 of my sketch week.  I am SO happy so many of you are playing along.  Thank you so much!
Here is today's sketch 

And my card:

I love my new camera!!!!

The fab chipboard heart and patterned paper on this card came from a Chatterbox mini book kit, a gift from a FAB crafty shop, A Trip Down Memory Lane.  Love it.  Thank you!

As always - submit your creation using this sketch below!

Supplies

Sketch Week - Day 2

Welcome to Day 2 of my New Year's sketch challenge week.  Happy 2011!!!

Today's sketch is a little more complicated...  I hope you like it.

And my card - a bit of a bright one to welcome in the new year on this dreary winter's day!  (My husband was disgusted by the pink glittery strawberries...)

Yummy ribbon and Bakers Twine from The Ribbon Girl... in fact, the ribbon I've used is one of the ribbons you could win if you enter my challenge from yesterday.

So, thanks to those who have already played along with yesterday's sketch, and I hope some of you play today too... I have more prizes to give.  Enter below.

And see you again soon for more sketch fun.

Supplies