My Bloggiversary Giveaway

So my blog is one year old today.  AND I just hit 90,000 visitors today.  What a coincidence.

Thank you all for making blogging worthwhile and fun.  Your countless comments and emails mean so much - I really appreciate your support.

I would like to celebrate with a giveaway.

Leave a comment here to be in with a chance of winning...

THIS collection of stuff: (click on the pic to make it bigger)

(Lots of 12x12 patterned paper by different designers; stickers, stamps; notelets; rub-ons; and embellies.)
Good luck.  

(And pass it on.)

:)
GIVEAWAY CLOSED NOW.

Owl-ways There

Today I've been playing with these yummy stamps by My Cute Stamps.  I adore this little owl - and the sentiment from Little Forest Friends is the perfect match.  Another opportunity for playing with goggly eyes!!!  Hooray.  The stamps are such great quality - deep etched, non beading - just perfect impressions every time.  I can see I am going to have fun with these sets. :)

The paper is from Michelle Underwood's new digikit - I Heart Spring.  This kit is FULL of delicious patterned papers - lots of dots and patterns.  Check it out HERE.

Supplies: Paper - Michelle Underwood; Stamps - My Cute Stamps; Ribbon - Creative Impressions; Nesties - Labels 8.
Have a happy Saturday everyone.

Caardvarks Inspiration Challenge

Caardvarks' new challenge is up.  Hooray. And the task is to create a card based on this gorgeous photo:

 Wow - how pretty!!!  I knew straight away that I wanted to play with a real twig.

So I had some fun with a few new release digikits from twopeas. The background paper is from the English Garden digikit by Stacy Marks. I love this kit.  For the side banners, I recolored one of the papers from THIS kit.  Gorgeous.  And the bird and sentiment are both from THIS sweet kit.  And the twig is from my new garden.  Thank you my beautiful silver birch tree! (So happy to have my own TREES... my "garden" at my last house was about 1 metre squared and concreted over.)
Here is my card:

Supplies: all from twopeas.
Hope you get a chance to enter - such a perfect Spring themed challenge. Click HERE for details.
Bye for now.

Inspired by... Day 3

Lisa Spangler makes the CUTEST cards.  I always smile when I see one of her creations.  And her style is HARD to duplicate.  But I had a go. :)

I fell in love with THIS card as soon as I saw it.  Love everything about it.

And I've been wanting to play with THIS adorable stamp for AGES.  Here was the perfect excuse.  Lisa  uses the sweetest stamps on her cards - and LOTS of critter images.

Supplies: Stamps - Hero Arts and PTI; Notecard - Hero Arts; PP - PTI.
On this card - I decided to stamp the central panel then add stitching over the top.  Something a bit different. :)
Don't forget to check out my current challenge - not many entries to this one - have I made it too hard :)

Feel Better

So I couldn't resist making another card for the Embellish challenge... these colours are really delicious.  Today I tried out THIS Vinnie Pearce digikit.  I love green, and this paper is my favourite in the kit.

Supplies: Papers - Vinnie Pearce and PTI; Stamps - Hero Arts and PTI; Buttons - unknown; Ribbon - Creative Impressions; Twine - PTI.

Loving my new Papertrey goodies - the polka paper and twine are gorgeous, and the Everyday Buttons Bits stamp set has the most adorable sentiments.
Happy Monday - hope your week has got off to a good start.

From me to You

I made this card for Embellish Magazine's current challenge.  I adore this mix of colours, and loved the challenge of mixing peach and pink.  I must just add, that THIS digital paper kit is delicious.  I see a new addiction coming on... (sorry in advance).

Supplies: Paper - Vinnie Pearce, Stamp - PTI, Sticker - K&Co, Ribbon - Creative Impressions, Punch - Fiskars, Button - from stash.

Oh, and if you've not yet seen it, Jennifer McGuire has just posted a FABULOUS Copic information sheet on her blog (click HERE to read it).  Thank goodness - I've just ordered a stash of pens, and need HELP.  It's my March mission.
Oh, and other stuff I love today:
I've been playing a lot with THIS kit - love all the sentiments and have ideas for that tree...
Some people asked me about the black stamping on THIS card - it's from THIS amazing PTI set. If you have nesties Labels 1, get it.  It's wonderful.
THIS stamp set never leaves my side.  I take it with me to work and everything. :)  I dream about it.
I want THESE... so bad...
Must go and do some work - lots of students' papers to grade....
Have a very happy Sunday.
xxx

I ♥ Pink...

So there's a new digital designer over at Two Peas, and her kits are unbelievable.  Seriously, unbelievable.  Her name's Vinnie Pearce and she is talented!!!!

 So I've been playing a LOT.

First, I made this vintage thank you card using pink paper form THIS kit, and text paper from THIS one.  The butterfly is my new favourite image, and is from THIS Hero Arts stamp set.  Love it.  And the sentiment is from THIS set by Making Memories.  I forgot I had it, and realise now how much I like it.

And then I made this card, using a very different kit.  How adorable are the images HERE.  Perfect for kids' cards. :)
I just stamped the sentiment over the balloon.  Fun.

With the next card, I just wanted to showcase the beautiful paper - such a charming image.  It's from THIS kit - yummy!!!

And finally, this beautiful bird, from THIS kit.  I did a lot of layering here - paper, followed by script (here), followed by bird, followed by sentiment (here).  So easy to do in Word.

So there you have it - you can see my obsession with pink has got out of hand. :)

Happy, happy weekend to you all.

xxx

Challenge 5 Winners

I can't quite believe that I had 92 entries for my 5th challenge.  Thank you all SO much.  It's such an honour to have so many people playing along, and I really love looking at your pretty blogs and gorgeous cards.

Choosing the winners was, as always, HARD!  But here are my fave four.

                        1.  Vicky Papaioannou

                        2.  Virginia Lu 

                        3.  Laura Bassen

                        4.  Savannah O'Gwynn

And honourable mentions go to:

Laura O'Donnell

NinaB

and

Hannah an incredibly talented 10 year old!!!

Thank you ALL for joining in the polka dot FUN. :)

Hope you enter my current challenge too.  Click HERE for details.

Be Inspired - Day 2

THIS card by Tami Hartley blew me away.  How gorgeous?????
I decided to use many of the same features in my card - I also added some distressing over embossed patterned paper - she is a GENIUS at this technique.  She HERE for a perfect example.

Supplies: Stamps and Notecard - Hero Arts; PP - Little Yellow Bicycle; Ribbon - Creative Impressions; Distress ink - Tim Holtz.
I made this card for the Dragonfly Card Drive I found out about on the Taylored Expressions blog - such a good cause, click HERE to see the details.  I don't make a lot of sympathy cards - I find them hard to make as they make me feel sad, but I was touched by this cause.
I used the tiny dragonfly from THIS adorable set... love these images (and LOVE that hummingbird... must get it out again soon.)
Check back soon for a card inspired by the fabulous Lisa Spangler. :)  And if you have the time, make an 'Inspired By' card for my challenge. Details HERE.

Lucy's Cards: Challenge 6

OK - so my 'Inspiration Corner' week has had me thinking... why not have an Inspiration Challenge.

So here it is:

The details:

Create a card inspired by another card you have seen.

Your card can be any theme.

Link me to your blog post or photo using the Mister Linky box below.  Remember to link directly to the card.
You will need to provide a link to your inspiration in your blog post.

Challenge closes: Sunday 7th March 2010.

Oh, and you can submit as MANY entries as you like.  The more the merrier. :)

<

1. Lin 2. Jennifer Styles 3. Lin 4. Elena B. (Pelusa) 5. Lynn 6. Agata 7. libeeti 8. cinnamonsally 9. cindy 10. Therese 11. Lorena 12. SmilynStef 13. Sunny Penn 14. Liz Baker 15. Monica L 16. Victoria

17. Jill 18. NancyK 19. Barbara 20. Vera Yates 21. Karen Baker 22. Katherine D 23. laurieloou 24. Katie Tate 25. Vera Yates 26. Virginia L. 27. NancyK 28. Poorvi 29. Elena B. 30. Nancy S 31. Sav O'Gwynn 32. Helen Berry

33. Laura Bassen 34. Vicky 35. Patti 36. Katherine D 37. Agata #1 38. Agata #2 39. Agata #3 40. Sav O'Gwynn 41. Kathy Racoosin 42. Nikita 43. Agata #5 44. Sav O'Gwynn 45. Sav O'Gwynn 46. toomanycrayons 47. Agata #6 48. Deb Neerman

Be Inspired... Day 1

I love the Hero Arts artists, so thought it might be nice if I showcased some of my recent favourite HA artists' cards and made my own versions of their cards. :)

Jennifer McGuire is incredible - we all love her, don't we.  THIS card set is so so so beautiful, and I used it as inspiration for the card below - made for a very sweet person.

Supplies: Stamps - Hero Arts and PTI; PP - PTI and Bo Bunny; Labels 1 Nesties; Cardstock - Bazzill; Pearls - Hero Arts.; Buttons - various; twine - PTI.

I love the way she used one of the flower images from THIS gorgeous cling set to make the leaves.  As my colouring skills are not up to her incredible standards, I stamped on patterned paper instead.  The sentiment I used is my all time favourite stamp (and a gift from a lovely lovely friend.)
Thanks Jennifer for the daily inspiration.
Next up... Tami Hartley... :)

And... the winner of my SRM giveaway:
LauraB.
Email me Laura and I'll send you your stickers. :)

Finally - my HAPPY news... I was chosen to be on the My Cute Stamps design team. I'm so thrilled.  Check out their GORGEOUS stamps HERE and Holly's beautiful blog HERE.  Such an honour.  Thank you. x

Pink Moths... a mini digi tutorial

So I made a very very simple hybrid digi card to share a couple of basic digi tips. This card features the gorgeous 'Mod Moths' digikit by Holly Brooke Jones.  I always love her kits.  I combined it with THIS yummy digikit - lots of gorgeous papers here.

Supplies: Image - Holly Brooke Jones; PP - Jen Martakis, PTI; Font - 2Peas; Glossy Accents; Glitter Pen.

Anyway - I did a bit of EASY playing around with the moths in Microsoft Word and thought I'd show you how with a couple of screen shots.
First - the moths were pre-coloured.  They are really pretty colours - but I wanted a different look.  I decided to make them black and white so I could print them out onto polka dot paper. :)  You know I love polka dots :)  
Here's what I did: (click on the photo to make it bigger)

Left click on the image, then click Format Picture.  Recolour to Black and White.  This gives the outline image only. (Please note: this is not always possible with digital images)

Then, I wanted to layer it over the lined paper.  This means I would not have to hand cut the antennae on my coloured moths.

Left click on the butterfly image and click Format Picture.  Choose Layout and select the option that reads 'In front of text'.  This allows you to place the image over the lined paper image.

And finally - I added a few more moths, a typed sentiment (free font from HERE) and a little bit of distressing using THIS - one of my favourite tools.

I hope this helps someone, somewhere...

If you have any more digi questions, please post them here - I'd love to give more tutorials but am not sure what people need.  I can't help with brushes - I don't know anything about them... but if you have any other questions please let me know.

Green Trees and Pink Cats :)

Here are a few more cards I made using the gorgeous SRM Sticker Sentiments.  LOVE them ALL.  Still addicted to THIS digikit - can't get enough of these big polka dot papers.

Supplies: Sticker - SRM Stickers; Stamp - Hero Arts; PP - Crystal Wilkerson; Cardstock - Bazzill; Die - Provocraft; Sewing machine.
And this gorgeous pink cat is from THIS adorable digikit by Shelley Castillo.  I love cats - so couldn't resist this. :)

Supplies: Sticker - SRM Stickers; PP and image - Shelley Castillo; Notecard and buttons - Hero Arts; Ribbon - PTI.
Don't forget to enter my SRM Stickers giveaway - see yesterday's post for details.
Hope you are enjoying your weekend.
x

SRM Stickers...and a giveaway

Have you come across the new SRM Stickers yet?  Well, they are sponsoring the new challenge over at Caardvarks and BOY their products are gorgeous.  They've just started this new line of card sentiment stickers, and they are so easy to use.

With this card, I used a sticker from the 'Thinking of You' set, and combined it with THIS gorgeous new digital paper from Jen Martakis - just my kind of digikit.  

Supplies: Sticker - SRM Stickers; PP - Jen Martakis, Bo Bunny; Stamp - Pink Petticoat; Notecard and gems - Hero Arts; Ribbon - Creative Impressions.
Check out SRM's new blog for loads more gorgeous ideas.  
To share my love of these stickers, I though I'd have a bit of a giveaway.  I have some extras and would like YOU to try them out for yourselves.  Leave me a comment here telling me what your favourite NEW product is... I want some recommendations.  I will pick a random commenter to win THIS:

2 6x9" sets (Baby and Love) and 6 Quick Cards sets.  And you never know what else may slip into the package.
You have until Monday 22nd to enter. 
Good Luck :)
And click HERE to check out the Caardvarks challenge.

Stitching on ribbon

I'm thrilled to be featured on the Hero Arts' blog today - and I had a lot of fun playing with ribbon.  I decided to try out stitching on ribbon and here is the result.

I chose some gorgeous Hero Arts digital kits to play with on this card; the flower is from the 'February Flower of the Month' digikit - LOVE it.  The background paper is from THIS kit - I just recoloured it to get the shade I wanted.  I used a notecard from the new Floral Folded Cards set and some sweet matching pearls. Love these new Hero Hues.

Supplies: details HERE .
Click HERE for details about how to make the card. :)
Oh and if you are a bit digi confused, check back on Monday - I will post another mini digi tutorial then.

Forever...

I made this very simple card using THIS sweet digital kit by the talented Wilna Furstenberg.  She's just started selling over at twopeas.  Hooray.  I combined her images with more of that addictive grid paper from THIS kit... can't get enough of it.

Supplies: All images Wilna Furstenberg; Gem - Hero Arts.
I thought it might make a "different" wedding card. :)

And Your Bird Can Sing

There have been some gorgeous Hero Arts digital stamps released recently, and I finally got round to playing with a couple of them.  Using word, I just layered all the images on top of each other. So simple. (Click HERE for a digi how-to guide).

Supplies: All images Hero Arts; Cardstock -Bazzill; sewing machine.
For the background I used THIS new release kit: Seed and Pod Backgrounds (only $0.99 - a bargain).  LOVE this, suitable for SO many cards.  I layered it over some cream digi paper. (This comes with the stamp along with 8 other coloured papers.  HA digikits have lots of extras in them!)  Then I added THIS sweet bird cage stamp - I have always liked the woodblock version, but never got round to buying it.  I love that I can make it fill the whole card.  Finally, I added the digital sentiment (from THIS kit) and voila!  A super easy, one layer card.  After printing out, I stitched to some kraft cardstock to add a little texture.  
Happy Wednesday. :)

Birthday Wishes

I've been drooling over Papertrey Ink's stamps for AGES now, and thanks to the lovely Kate Lewis, I now OWN my very own stamps.  Hooray.  They are gorgeous.

So I had a play today, using THIS cute set, and THESE gorgeous digital tree images from Pink Petticoat. I was so excited to find these stamps - and it's an added bonus that they are a British company.  Obviously I love all the amazing American products, but it's still exciting to support a British business too.  The lovely grid paper is from THIS digikit... I adore it.
I am entering this for the current Embellish challenge (although I think the colours may be a little too light...)

Supplies: Stamps - Papertrey Ink, Pink Petticoat; PP - Bo Bunny, Shelley Castillo (text paper my own design); sewing machine.
This card will be for my mum on Wednesday. :)
Can't wait to play more with my new goodies - thanks again Kate. 
And finally, the winner of my 'Jane's Doodles' giveaway is:
TINA
Please email me and I'll get your digi stamps out to you. :)

Happy Valentine's Day

Hope you are having a love filled day.

Here is the card I made for my hubbie.  I wanted to keep it pretty simple and not too pink. :)  He's not into fussy cards. :)

So I used THIS pretty digikit by Jen Martakis.  I will be using a LOT more of this polka dot paper. (Oh, and if you've not seen my current challenge, click HERE for polka dot madness).
And the sentiment is from THIS FREE DIGIKIT from Kristina Proffitt- how wonderfully generous she is. 

Supplies: PP and images - Jen Martakis; Sentiment - Kristina Proffitt

Happy Valentine's Day everyone.

P.S. A few people have been asking recently if I get through a lot of printer ink.  Truth is, no. I use a medium quality setting rather than a photo setting - and the quality is still really good.  I print a LOT, a real lot, but only need new cartridges every few months or so.  I was really surprised how long they last.  I am sure the medium quality thing makes a big difference. :)  Oh, and not replacing the ink when it tells you to.  My printer has been telling me to replace the ink for about 3 weeks... I ignore it until the colour goes strange :)