My Garden

Ok, so this goes against my blog header - it is NOT a post about cards - but I just can't resist sharing a few (sorry, I mean many) photos of my new garden.  See, our previous two houses had courtyards the size of a button, so having space that is all MINE (sorry, ours) is the best thing in the world.  Andy and I are both very keen gardeners, and have spent the last 5 months creating the garden of our dreams.  And it's nearly there...  

So here it is (click to make bigger and spot Peter the Pigeon - named after he came down our chimney a few weeks ago and spent almost a week behind the fireplace without us realising.  To be honest, I'm not actually sure this is the same pigeon, but I like to think it is):

And here is our vegetable plot.  Andy built this.  He's so handy!  We have potatoes, carrots, salad, onions, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and loads of varieties of beans and peas.

And I thought I'd share some photos of my favourite flowers.

This poppy is to die for, look at those crinkly petals.  Yum.

Love my philadelphus.

Our pyrocantha finally opened today.

Not sure what these are called, but I love them. :)

This is one of my favourite sights. 

The best thing is - I can't remember what it is going to be. :)  So excited.

Oh, and although I don't have a good photo of what it was like before we started, this photo may give you a clue as to how much work we had to do before we could plant anything.  It was taken on January 3rd.  And yes, Andy did almost everything, including cutting down several enormous conifers. (Do you see him up the ladder).  Looking at this, I am amazed I've had the time to make any cards this year.

And finally, my lovely mum gave me the most beautiful bunch of stocks the other day.  Mine (grown from seed) are still babies, but this is what I hope to have soon. :)

Note my colour choices - blue, white and pink... remind you of anything. :)

Have a very happy Friday - back tomorrow with CARDS.

Sorry non-gardeners.

x
E.T.A: look what just burst open!  My first ever peony.  I couldn't be happier.

I ♥ New Stamps!

One of my new sets is the fab Hero Arts set Let's Chill. How CUTE are the images in this.  A perfect Summer set.  I wanted to really showcase the crab and the fish, so chose to make two very very very simple cards with typed punned sentiments.

I added copious amounts of Diamond Stickles to really make these creatures sparkle. :)

Happy Wednesday everyone. :)

Sparkly Seal

I love this seal stamp from My Cute Stamps, and today I decided to glitterise it. :)

A pink, glittery seal. Yum.

I added THIS and THIS glitter using Glossy Accents as the glue.  The paper is from THIS pad (using it a LOT), and the alphas are THESE (also using a lot...)  I also used THESE cute rub-ons.

Have a great Tuesday.

Graduation Owl

This card is dedicated to my clever sister who just graduated from Harvard on Friday.  She's now an official non-medical Doctor.  Hooray. :)

I used THIS gorgeous owl stamp from My Cute Stamps, and added a graduation cap made from some foam packaging I hoarded a while ago.  The lined paper is from THIS cute pad by Jenni Bowlin and the patterned paper is from the October Afternoon 'Fly a Kite' pad.  The alphas are also October Afternoon (HERE).  And the rest of the sentiment is from THIS HA set.  I use this sentiment stamp a lot, although I don't think I've ever used the full sentiment.  I love masking my sentiments to create new ones :)

Have a happy holiday Monday everyone.  I'm enjoying mine a LOT.

More flowers :)

Two more little cards I made with Jen Martakis' 'Watercolors' digikit.

On this one, I combined it with some fab ledger paper from another of her fab kits: Notebook Basics.  Love this kit too. And how sweet is this little flower.  Makes me think of my fab new garden. :)

And this one was a simple one layer card - I like this digi tape from the Watercolours kit, and just did lots of layering here.  I added glitter to the centre of the flower for fun. I always think I don't like orange, but this flower is so sweet.  Couldn't resist it. :)

Hooray - it's nearly the weekend.

And don't forget my digi challenge if you have the time. 

Embellish It with Butterflies

Have you checked out Embellish Magazine's current challenge.  The colours are fab and the theme is butterflies.

Here is my card.  Like yesterday, it's a bit different from my usual style I think (look, no stitching), but I got a new butterfly die (HERE), and once I'd got black butterflies in my mind... I was off.  My husband was scornful... "a black butterfly", he said, "where do you see those?"  
Answer: In my mind. Obviously.

Have a happy day.
E.T.A - just noticed... there IS stitching.  Lots of it.
I'm overtired. :(

Tuesday Trigger

OK so this card is my version of this week's Tuesday Trigger over on the Moxie Fab World.  

Here is the trigger photo which I instantly fell in love with:
and check out the card Betsy Veldman made inspired by it.  Two such stunning cards.
I am guessing you can see how I was inspired... i.e. by EVERYTHING!!!
For my version, I used a set of long neglected K&Co Dollhouse Grand Adhesions, although I peeled off the orange gemstones and replaced them with bright pink ones to match my ribbon.  

As I am terrible at stamping straight, and knew I'd NEVER get 9 squares evenly spaced on my paper, I decided to go digi with the square pattern.  I reduced a 12x12 digi paper to 1x1, then layered over Hero Arts Old Letter Writing, resizing it to fit the square.  Then I copied and pasted it 8 times into a Word document.  Easy.
As this card also contains PINK (myfavourite colour), I am entering it into the current challenge on the Passion for Papertrey blog.
This style is not usual for me - but I love it.  Thanks for the inspiration Jessica and Betsy.

You're Fabulous

Michelle Underwood releases a new digikit today - it's called The Smile and it's another good one :)

The pink polka paper and the fab ledger paper are from the kit.  I just layered Hero Arts digital Old Letter Writing stamp on top, added a sentiment from THIS set and a flower cut from THIS stamp.  I quite like the strange mix of vintage and modern :)  I made this card for the Shabby Team Rooms challenge which this week is polka dots!  Yay.

Go to twopeas and check out what other digital releases there are today.  I love release day :)
Oh, and don't forget my challenge!  Hope you get a chance to enter.

Beautiful Bouquet

I made another card using Jen Martakis' digikit 'Watercolors'.  I adore this aqua bouquet and thought it would look pretty with some added Prima Pearls.

Love this digikit!
Hope your Monday was better than mine...

Watercolour Flowers

So today I've been playing with Jen Martakis' new digikit 'Watercolors'.  It's gorgeous.  Love the many many different flowers in the kit... and the gorgeous papers too.
I especially loved this pink polka paper.

I embellished the flower with Glossy Accents and THESE Prima crystals.

This card is for the Sirstampalot challenge, 'Butterflies and Blossoms'.
And I couldn't resist making one more card with the yummy paper... I thought it seemed romantic, so went with a love themed card.

Hope you have sunshine like we do.  It's 27 degrees here!!!  Hooray for the sun.

Challenge 10 winners

This is TERRIBLY late... but I am finally posting the winners of my stitching challenge from a month ago!  So sorry - things have been very busy here - especially at work - and my time has been limited.

But I have finally chosen... and the winners are:

drumroll...

                1.  Nancy
                2.  Elizabeth Schaffer Miranda
                3.  Virginia Lu

And honourable mentions to:

Giovana, Lorena (check out those ladybirds!!!), Patty and Kasia.  

Thank you all for entering your gorgeous cards!
Scroll down for my current challenge. :)

Lucy's Cards - Challenge 10

So the time has come to challenge you again... and this time, it's a subject close to my heart: DIGITAL!!!

The details: Create a card that uses at least one digital element.
Your card can be any theme.
Link me to your blog post or photo using the Mister Linky tool below.  Remember to link directly to the card.
Challenge closes: Friday 4th June.

If you are new to digital, see my tutorials HERE and HERE and video HERE.

AND I thought I'd share some links to some of the MANY digi kits out there.

First, a few of my all time favourites - the ones I use over and over again.
Patterned papers: THIS and THIS are essentials.  And THIS is great if you are a true HA fanatic :)

Stamps: THIS and THIS.

And HERE is a link to the 121 free digikits available at twopeasinabucket.

THIS, THIS and THIS are my favourites.

HERE are some free fonts.  I use the one at the top of the list a lot.

Vicky creates free digital templates each week and posts them on her amazing blog.  See them HERE.
And of course, check out Hero Arts, Michelle Underwood, Jane Beljo, and Vinnie Pearce.

I ♥ Recycling

OK, so I am quite proud of this :)

All the paper on this card is recycled.  Yay.

It is all packaging from my Imaginisce products - the heart paper was from a package of flowers, and the yellow paper from some transfers.  How pretty???  Far too pretty to throw away.  So I added rub-ons and my favourite thickers and voila.

How great is recycling :)

I also made this little card using a few leftovers and more of that yellow packaging.

I can't believe how quickly this week has gone... I'll be SO glad when it's over.  Being a teacher can be so stressful....
P.S. I'm on the Papercrafts blog today - they've shown a card I had published in Stamp It! Cards.  Yay! :)

Huge flower

So I couldn't decide what sentment to put on this card or where to put it... and then I decided that the HUGE bright pink flower spoke for itself. :)

I made this card using more of the GORGEOUS Lucy Bird products by Imaginisce, including paper and a gorgeous pink flower.  I added my own flower on top of this - made out of felt, following THIS fab tutorial by Betsy Veldman.  She rocks.

Happy Wednesday. 

Best Wishes

Sometimes I need a completely flat card - and I rarely make them.  I am always too tempted by buttons and bling and ribbon.

But this card is entirely flat.  I like the dimension a little bit of stitching can add.

Here I combined some beautiful Imaginisce products with a sentiment stamp from THIS PTI set.  The black polka paper is a great backdrop for a brighter complementary colour.  And I love this rub-on from THIS set from the elegant Love and Cherish collection.

It's Tuesday - the week's nearly half way through :)

Bugs...

Who'd have thought snails could be cute.  Seriously.  I mean, I like them in the garden... I know they eat my plants, but I like them.  And I always save them if they are on the road and going to get squished... but cute?  No.

But snail stamps... CUTE.  Love 'em all.

So today I played with bugs.  All the stamps are from THIS gorgeous My Cute Stamps set.  And the papers are from THIS digikit - think it might be my all time fave digital paper kit :)

Lots of chunky glitter (here) on the bee's wings.  And some diamond stickles on the dragonfly.  And the snail is glossified!  All the sentiments are typed.
So - there you have it.  A cute snail.  And a happy bee.
Bee happy everyone :)
xxx
P.S. The winner of the fab digi tulip image is Handmade Cards by Erin.  I've emailed you!
P.P.S.  I'm featured on the Imaginisce blog today... how exciting.  Click HERE to see. :)

Lucy Bird

OK so I've been wanting to try this line of Imaginisce products for a while: it is, after all, named after me :)  And then the LOVELY people at Imaginisce sent me some, and the fun began.

Lucy Bird has the CUTEST papers, transfers and stickers, and I've been playing with them all weekend.  Lots to share over the coming week.

THESE cute chipboard stickers are great for card making.  And I adore the pretty paper.  I just added some smooth shimmer dots for extra sparkle.

And THESE puffy stickers remind me of my childhood.  I used to collect stickers, and puffy ones were my favourite.  Never though I'd still be playing with them 20 years later!! :)  Love THIS green paper and THIS aqua one.  Yum.

The sentiments for both card are from THIS happy Hero Arts set.
Have a lovely Sunday.

Thanks Teacher

OK, so I don't have any kids, but maybe I can send this card to myself :)

It's just that as soon as I sat and looked at this gorgeous newly released Retro Tulip image by Jane's Doodles, and this yummy lined paper from THIS lovely digikit, I wanted to put them together.  I thought the flower looked so sweet on the lined paper - just like a little doodle on some student's notepad.  Not that my students ever doodle of course - they are all FAR too stimulated by my lessons ;)

Leave a comment here to be in with a chance of winning this digi tulip for free.  You have until Sunday night. :)  Jane's so generous with her digi stamps. 
Have a great weekend. 
xxx

Winner

Tell you what, forget the bad month - you've all made me feel so much better.  Thank you for all the wonderful comments and well wishes.  Chicken soup - who needs it... my readers are good for the soul.  (Just as well, I am a vegetarian).

And the winner is...

Patti J who said:

I'm so happy to have stumbled onto your blog! I watched your video with the owl on Hero Arts, but didn't know how to find your blog from there! I hope your week gets better! I'm off to become a follower! Your work is so beautiful! Congrats on being published, and wahoo on the Moxie Fab!!!

Thanks Patti, I've emailed you. 

And thank you EVERYONE.

Promise I'll have another giveaway soon.

xxx

A Good Day

I've had a rough month.

But today it got good. :)

CARDS magazine is publishing one of my cards.

And I won the Moxie Fab world 'Three Cheers for Chairs' Challenge.

Do you know, without you readers I'd never have the drive to go on creating.

Thank you so much.

So I'll share the love with a giveaway.   Just leave a comment below - I've lots of nice things I want to send you.