ATC Crazy...

...that's me!

Just love these little guys.

When Shari Caroll asked the Hero Hostesses to help out with an international ATC swap on the HA blog I jumped at the chance, what FUN!  And we got to create one for the blog too.

I went digital (of course) and made this:

Supplies: Butterfly, Script, Green Paper, Sentiment, Pearls - Hero Arts; Kraft ATC; Ribbon - Creative Impressions; Machine stitching.

And of course I couldn't stop there:

Supplies: Penguins, Christmas sentiment, Friend sentiment - Hero Arts; PP - Cosmo Cricket; Silver thread and sewing machine.

So, having NEVER created an ATC before, I am now addicted.
Click HERE to get involved in the HA ATC swap.  I'm hosting the Europe swap... I'm so excited.   Hope to see you there. :)

Birthday Daisies

This daisy image  from Hero Arts Poetic Petals kit is one of my favourites: perfect for any occasion.

Supplies: Image , Stamp, Button - Hero Arts; PP - Sande Krieger; sewing machine; Coloured Pencils - Faber Castell.

To make the background paper, I re-coloured one of the background papers from THIS digikit, using Photoshop.  I love the result.

Yellow Poppy Thanks

OK so it's time for more flowers.

Supplies: Flower Image, Leaves, Stamp, Notecard - Hero Arts; PP - Carina Gardner; sewing machine. 

This stunning flower is from the Hero Arts digikit Poetic Petals.  My neighbours have yellow poppies in their garden and I am hoping they will spread this year into ours. :)  I also used the Delicate Leaves kit.  The background paper is another one from this gorgeous Bella Bella Overlay kit.  
Hope everyone is having a good week.

World Card Making Day Countdown...

Welcome to Papercrafts World Tour of Cardmaking and welcome to sunny Manchester, England ;)

Papercrafts Magazine and Moxie Fab World are counting down to World Card Making Day by having a week of national and international bloghops.  And today is UK and Australia day!

I made this card with a message for YOU!

Supplies: Paper and rub-ons - Cosmo Cricket; Stamp and gems - Hero Arts; Die-cut shape - Lily Bee.

There are prizes to be won from Papercrafts every day this week.   Leave a comment below to be entered into today's draw for $200 worth of products.  (See the prizes here).  The more blogs you visit the bigger your chances of winning :)  Check out the other blogs in the hop at the Moxie Fab World Blog.  And don't forget that this event lasts ALL WEEK - loads more blogs to visit and prizes to be won!  YAY!!!

If you want to join in the build up and celebrations, head over to the WCMD website where you can get ideas on how to celebrate.  

Bye for now, and have a good day.

Nature Week

I've decided to have a nature week on my blog.  I'm feeling a bit sad about the end of the Summer and thought that having a sunny, floral blog for a week might cheer me up.  

So here is Monday's card:

Supplies: Image, stamp, gems - Hero Arts; Backgrund Paper - Colour, overlay; Nesties - Labels 1.

I love this digital tulip image  from Hero Arts.  I just resized, printed and coloured with a Copic marker.  The background paper is also digitally produced using 2 fabulous kits at 2Peas - Basic Background is the most useful set EVER and I just printed  these Bella Bella overlays on top! 
See you tomorrow for something a bit different. :)

Photocard, Sketchfest Final Day and my Giveaway winner!

Happy Saturday Everyone - 3 things to share today.
First, I've been playing with Hero Arts stuff today, trying to create a Photocard for their current challenge.  I am not good with photos and stamps...  but I've tried.

Supplies: Stamps and gems - Hero Arts (sentiment, scallop); PP - Bo Bunny; Ribbon - Creative Impressions; sewing machine.
Secondly, today is Caardvarks Sketchfest final day.  I've had SO much fun with this challenge - Studio Calico kits are AWESOME.  I had enough material in the pack to make a LOT of cards and I still have lots left :)  So this is my card for the final day.

Supplies: PP - My Mind's Eye and Little Yellow Bicycle; Journaling Tag - Little Yellow Bicycle; Stickers - American Crafts (thickers); Distress Ink - Ranger (tea dye and old paper); thread.

My husband is pretty dismissive about my cards - but he quite likes this one :)

I hope you have all had a chance to play along.  If not, there's still time, and still prizes to be won!  Click here for details.  


And finally, I have drawn the winner of my Blog Giveaway.  I had an amazing 202 entries - thank you all so much for your wonderful comments.  You really are so kind.

And the winner is: 
Louise Charlton 
Congratulations on your 30,000 visitors! You have a great blog - I love your cards! What a great give away you have! You are very generous!

Well done Louise. :)

Happy Birthday Kathy!!!

Today is a special person's birthday... happy birthday KATHY.  Not only is Kathy a wonderful cardmaker (click here to see her GORGEOUS blog), she is an incredibly lovely person.  I will never forget the wonderful box of wedding cards she gathered for me from all my Flickr friends...  Thank you Kathy - hope you have the best birthday ever.

Supplies: Stamps - Hero Arts (deer, sentiment, alphabet); PP - Doodlebug and Papertrey Ink; Cardstock - Core'dinations; Gems - Papermania; Sewing machine; Beads

TIP: I stitched the beads on after sewing with my sewing machine. 

Happy Friday everyone - I am thrilled that the weekend is here again.  Time seems to be flying by at the moment.

Krafty Penguin and Sketchfest Thursday

The penguins set is PERFECT for Christmas or winter themed cards and this card couldn't be more simple. I resized the penguin in Word, printed directly onto a HA kraft notecard and coloured in.  I drew in the snowy ground too.  I wanted a very simple look and I do love colouring on kraft!

Supplies: Image, Sentiment and Notecard - Hero Arts; Coloured pencils - Faber Castell.
And... today's sketch is up at Caardvarks.  Check it out HERE ...

Supplies: PP and journal tablet 'a very good day' - Little Yellow Bicycle and Bazzill; Flowers - Maya Road; 'Have' sticker - Making Memories; corner rounder.
Hope you are playing along...

Friendship Birdies

This digital image by Hero Arts is my favourite.  I can't get enough of this row of birds... it's just the sweetest thing!

Supplies: Image, stamp, notecard - Hero Arts; Kraft Cardstock - Bazzill; sewing machine and blue thread; Copic marker.

I just coloured the birds in with a Copic marker.  Such a simple card really.

Half way through the week... the weekend is getting closer :)

Winged Friends

I don't think it's a secret that I LOVE butterflies.  I have overused my butterfly stamps terribly, so am so happy that HA has made digital butterflies too.  This butterfly and dragonfly are from the Winged Friends kit - and there are 2 others in the kit too.  Gorgeous.  AND these are uncoloured so you get to add your own mark or print on patterned paper.

Supplies: Image, Sentiment, background, notecard, ink - Hero Arts; Inkssentials White gel pen; Colored Pencils - Faber Castell.

Supplies: Image, sentiment, notecard - Hero Arts; PP - Scenic Route; Coloured Pencils - Faber Castell

And as today's Tuesday it means new kits have been released over at 2Peas.  Check them out here, especially if you like Hallowe'en stamps!!!

Special Delivery!

Today I've been working with the gorgeous Hero Arts digikit "Special Delivery" (available here)  There are 8 images and 2 sentiments in the kit, but this little stork is one of my absolute favourites.  How ADORABLE.
I made my own background text paper using the words from "Twinkle, twinkle little star", and printed onto paper by K&Co.  I love the way that you can make the digital images whatever size you want, meaning they fit onto any size card :)

Supplies: Images, stamps , button and gems - Hero Arts; PP - K&Co but with own text added; Ribbon - Creative Impressions; silver thread; Spellbinders Nestabilities - Labels 1 and 8.

And, it's Caardvarks Sketchfest Day 2.  Here is my card - I rotated the sketch again today.  

Supplies: Blue PP, flowers and leaves - Making Memories; White textured paper - Bazzill; Lined paper - Little Yellow Bicycle; Stickers - American Crafts (thickers); kraft cardstock; scalloped scissors; thread.

Hope you are enjoying the challenge - click here to see the details and don't forget the great prizes!
Happy Monday to you all. 

Caardvarks Sketchfest and playing with packaging!

It's Day 1 of Caardvarks Studio Calico Sketchfest.  Studio Calico makes the most amazing kits - and they sent us a BEAUTY to play with.  Make a card a day for the next 7 days, using the sketches posted on the Caardvarks site and you could win a place on the Caardvarks design team, or lots of Studio Calico goodies. 
 Here is my Day 1 card, based on Heidi's fabulous sketch (here ). 

Supplies: PP - Little Yellow Bicycle; Stickers - American Crafts (Thickers); Ranger Distress Ink - Tea Dye; Martha Stewart Butterfly punch

I turned the sketch around and used a square instead of an oval - it has some link to the original sketch :)   Good luck - hope you get a chance to play along.


I was also so inspired by Jennifer McGuire's amazing recycled packages from the HA blog last Wednesday that I made some of my own.  I decided to turn them into little packages for giving jewellery - thanks Jennifer - such an amazing idea!

Supplies - Hero Arts stamps (script, sentiment); ribbon - unknown.

Supplies: Stamp & gems - Hero Arts; Paper - Bo Bunny; Ribbon - unknown.

Supplies - Stamp & Gems - Hero Arts; Paper - Cosmo Cricket; Ribbon - Creative Impressions
I have also entered these for the current challenge over at the CARDS blog , to make a card out of embellishment packaging - great timing!


I hope you have all had a great weekend, don't forget to enter my giveaway  below if you haven't already.
Bye x

30,000 Visitors Giveaway...

I promised a giveaway, and here it finally is.

I can't BELIEVE I've had more than 30,000 visitors to my blog since March.  I am so happy - and so honoured.  Thank you all so much.

To be in with a chance of winning leave a comment below and please pass it on. :)

Giveaway includes: Clear Stamps by Hero Arts, Pink Paislee and Studio Calico; Stickers and Gems by Hero Arts, K&Co and Making Memories; Rub-Ons by GCD Studios; Distress Inks by Tim Holtz; and lots of buttons. :)

I will draw the winner next Saturday 26th September.
Good luck.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED. :)

Happy Friday

Today I am featured on the Hero Arts blog.  YAY.  We hostesses were all set the task of redesigning one of our older cards using techniques learned from Hero Arts.  Well... where to begin.  I owe EVERYTHING to Hero Arts.  I knew NOTHING about cardmaking before I found this blog.


So this is the card I made, based on THIS one from last year, almost a year ago to the day in fact!):  

Supplies: Image, stamps (sentiment, script) and notecard - Hero Arts; Ribbon - Creative Impressions; Pearls - gift from a friend; Spellbinders Labels 1 Nestabilities.


I am in love with this digital image... so many different possibilities for 99 cents!


Lots of time to create this weekend I hope, I do love weekends :)

Caardvarks GCD Studios Bloghop

Welcome to Caardvarks Blog Hop Day 3, sponsored by GCD Studios!  If you've come from  Ashley's blog then welcome.  Isn't she just so talented!!!

If you have stumbled on this by accident, then please scroll down for the bloghop order.  It's worth doing... there are gorgeous GCD PRIZES to be won.

GCD Studios make the most wonderful products.  Their patterned paper pads are so luxurious.  All the paper is from the Sunny Days Collection Pack and it includes loads of great tags too.

These glittery letter stickers are GORGEOUS.

The stamp and button in this are by Hero Arts.

They also make great chipboard shapes like the one above, and I used rub-ons too.

Thanks GCD - I LOVED playing with your products.

So, here is the order, in case you are lost.  
Ashley
ME!!!!
Heidi
Michelle
Jolene
Daniela
GCD Studios Blog 

So, the next stop on the hop is HEIDI !  Hope you have fun there.  Or click  here for Caardvarks and more Bloghop information.

Bye and have fun
x

New Hero Arts Digikits... and a whole lotta cards!!!

Lots of new Digikits released today at 2Peas .  YAY.  More for me to play with.

First, the GORGEOUS Winged Friends.

Supplies: Digi Image, Stamps - Hero Arts; PP - Digikit here ; Ribbon - Creative Impressions.

Then, the stunning Delicate Leaves :

Supplies:  Digi Leaves, Digital script background, flower stamp - Hero Arts; PP - K&Co; 

And finally, Dot Alphabet which has this brilliant lined paper overlay in the kit.  This is my card for Kate .  Hope she likes it.

Supplies: Digikits - Penguins and Lined Paper, stamp , notecard and button - Hero Arts.

I've also been palying more with some of the other FAB kits:

Special Delivery :

Supplies: Digikit and stamp - Hero Arts; PP - Pebbles Inc.

Flutterbies (one of my absolute FAVOURITES):

Supplies: Digikit - Flutterbies ; PP - M Mind's Eye and Papermania; Distress Ink - Old Paper.

Supplies: Digikit - Flutterbies , Stamps (background, sentiment), button - Hero Arts.

And of course, PENGUINS , because this kit makes me HAPPY!

Supplies: Digikit - Penguins Hero Arts, Sentiment computer generated.

This card took 5 minutes to make in Word - tempting to make a whole pile for last minute Christmas greetings.

Wow - what a MASSIVE post.  Can you see I had a fun weekend :)

Oh, and finally, hop over to my lovely friend Kathy's blog - she's doing a FAB giveaway with HA and Papertrey Ink stamps.  YUM!!!
xxx