Far more than a bottle bag

This was a really quick make as it took less than an hour. I wanted something to make a champagne bottle look a bit more like a gift for a couple whose evening reception I was attending but didn't want a traditional bottle bag. I came up with the idea of a collar so made 3 flowers using a sissix die and my bigshot and lots of ribbon. The collar was decorated with stamped images that wrapped around the back -sorry in the rush I forgot to take piccies of the back as I didn't start to make the collar until 2 hours before we left for the do. I attached the flowers and the ribbon loops and trails using split pins and also added a tag with ribbon with our good luck and congrats message. The congratulations is a peel off which I stuck to a shape I received as a prize many months ago.

I was actually quite pleased with how it turned out as I felt it looked far more impressive than a bottle bag.

I would like to enter this creation into the following challenges:-

Auds sentiments-any sentiment

CRAFT-well done/congratulations/you've done it

Delightful challenges-make the cut

Paper craft journey-anything goes

creative craft challenges-not a square

party time tuesday-anything goes

craftin desert divas-anything goes

created with love-anything goes

Victorine-wedding or love

613 Avenue create- anything goes or create your own challenge

Be happy , have fun back at school

Last summer we had new neighbours move in and they have a wee daughter called Grace who is a real character and I'm sure a crafter of the future. She loves making little books, masks and drawing but when you ask her about school she is never very enthusiastic and to listen to her the only good thing about school is her friends.


I thought it might be nice to make her a card for her return to school along with a book mark for her reading book, I thought it might cheer her along a bit. I know she goes to dancing class and is a real girly girl with her pinks and pretty dresses and she loves sparklies so I thought magnolia would be the perfect image to use.

I coloured 2 images in pretty pinks so not my comfort colours and added some pink paper scraps on a base of embossed dotty pink paper( I am slowly getting to grips with using my bigshot), along with some pink striped thin card from magnolia packaging and gingham. I added a trio of roses again pink and ribbon from my stash. The sentiment is from a LOTV set which I love.

The bookmark which fits into the pocket I created on the card is again cream card with a dancing tilda again promarkered in pink and sakura glitter pen for sparkle. I rounded the corners and added a little bow, on the reverse I die cut letters for Grace's name , again in pink. I then laminated the bookmark and added more ribbon through a hole I punched.

Hopefully it will help make Grace's return to school not quite as bad as she seems to think it will be.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:-
Nutcrackers-spots and stripes
joanna sheen challenges-pretty in pink
The ribbon girl august magnolia only challenge-girly cards
Card mania-ribbon
The cheerful stamp pad-anything goes
Lady Anne's challenge-use a stamp
crafty sentiments-make it girly
City crafter-roses and gingham
Simon says monday challenge-dotty
Little red wagon- polka /dotty dots

One cool birthday cat

Afternoon all hope you are all enjoying the warm weather we are still having even if its not blazing sunshine. The card I share with you today is one I made ages ago for my mum to give to my brother, for some reason I took piccies and put them in a post and left it in draft on blogger so thought I'd let him see the world. The image is a bugaboo and he really is a cool cat with his shades and earring. I kept the rest of the card simple just using bronze mirri card for matting and some embossed lines on a kraft base card and finished with a peel off. The image is coloured with promarkers and happy to say the card was well received.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:-

Cards und more-insprational song( stray cat strut by stray cats)

2 sisters challenge-square cards

ABC challenges-no flowers

Cards for men-funny cards

C is for challenges-animals

A very teddy thank you

This card has the cutest teddy on with a daisy, the image is a LOTV stamp and for all those who know me or visit my blog will know I have a thing for daisies.

this card is for my sister to say thank-you for the lovely gifts she bought me for my birthday, I felt a bit bad just saying thank-you as she spoilt me rotten, not only did she by me a huge handbag with a sparkly swan on it made by Floozie- I thought she was trying to tell me something LOL that to a heathen like me she explained is a designer , as if that wasn't enough it had a Yankee candle in with daisies on and the most beautiful necklace and earrings with an enormous cut peridot ( my birthstone) . It was stunning and rendered me speechless. That's why I needed to make a special card for her as I really wanted her to know how much I loved her gifts.

The card I kept simple using all cream, making a base by embossing cream card and cutting out a die butterfly and spellbinder fancy ovals and a floral circle on the LOTV sentiment. The ribbon is from my stash and I thought balanced the card and tied in with the colour scheme I'd coloured with my promarkers.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:-

Lacy Sunshine-girls,girls,girls
Crafty ribbons-anything goes
Brown sugar-bugs
Crazy 4 challenges-use animals on your card
Nutcrackers-spots/or stripes
Creative corner-cute critters
Left Of Centre-LOC or girly
Totally gorjuss-bows
Catch the bug-photo inspiration
Sister act-anything goes
one stop craft challenge-spots and dots
Hobbycutz-create your own background
IDIC-rectange cards only

Thank you

This is another thank you card but I have tried to aim it towards being more of a masculine card. I often find when I make cards for men that browns greens and other dark colours tend to be what I use so I purposefully have tried to make a bright and bold card for a change.

The base of this card is a die cut I won from susie sugar and is one of her own dies and although a dark colour has a gold sheen so I decided to use this to tie everything else in.The papers are all scraps from my scraps folder . The brads are from my stash as is the peel off  and the red mirri card I cut the frame from with a sissix die.

The stamped images are freebies from a craft magazine , the bird cage I powder embossed with pearl gold and the bird I coloured with sakura gel pens after masking the bird to hopefully give the illusion of the cage being behind the bird. I added a peel off sentiment in gold to finish off.

I feel although there are quite a few mats it still has quite a clean and crisp look and will be suitable for a male recipient.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:-

A creative romance-masking

Delicious doodles-'Birds of a feather'

Jellypark-things that fly

QKR stampede-anything goes

CRAFT-sketch

Polkadoodles-all things bright and beautiful

Inky impressions-make it masculine

sweet stamps-anything goes

Fab n funky-use sticker or peeloffs

A gem of a challenge-anything beginning with B

happy summer days

Afternoon all hope today finds you all well and cheerful.
Today I have a card I made just to wish someone a happy day I had the idea that I could send it someone when they are a little down or have something to do that they aren't looking forward to to cheer them along and because it a stamp I hadn't yet inked up so I guess it could be counted as new.



I am trying to practice shabby chic cards as its something I don't feel confident with and any guidance is welcomed so please don't be shy in offering your advice, also pastel shades and none conventional shaped cards. The base card is from a card I received which I really liked the shape( so I guess its my favourite of the moment) so I drew around it to make a template and then reduced the size to make the layers. The image which is from penny black and I love is stamped onto one of my new spellbinders floral circles and coloured with promarkers.

The papers are from my scraps folders and the ribbon flowers I made from ribbon I got from JTF and added brads for centres. The butterfly is another new die and I coloured with promarkers to match the paper colours.






I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:-
ribbon carousel-summertime fun
one stop craft challenge-add stripes
stampin for the weekend-butterflies
penny black-in this the garden
southern girl challenge-warm and fuzzie
Auds sentiments- anything but a birthday
Pennys-dies/punches
Little red wagon-at least 3 layers
crafty creations -shabby chic
I love promarkers-bugs
paper nest dolls-shaped card no squares
papertake weekly-flower power
as you like it- favourite shaped card and why
penny black saturday challenge-bright and sunny
happy campers -use a stamp
Alphabet challenge-N for the newest stamp or decoupage

sweet treats

Hi all and hope this post finds you fit and well.
My post today is something different from a card , I woke early this morning with an urge to play with some tempered chocolate so by 5:15 I had some dark chocolate melting over a pan of hot water.The reason behind all this madness is that tomorrow I celebrate my birthday and though I still feel in my early 20's and often act as though in my teens much to my sons dismay I will be celebrating a grand age of half a century. It sounds so old when I put it down in words but its only a number and I intend having a fun day surrounded by family who will be sharing lunch and an afternoon of fun , well hopefully. I hope this explains my whim for making cakes and chocolate butterflies just a little bit anyway.

I used a die cut butterfly which I placed under some greaseproof paper and then piped in a rough fashion over the die to gain butterfly shapes.I also made some chocolate letters. I made loads of butterflies but the ones that had fancier designs collapsed as soon as I touched them when they were dry but 5 survived and made it onto my daisy shaped cake. (I love this tin my sis bought me from Lakeland a few years ago, I have a thing about daisies they were even my wedding flowers).
I made 2 cakes one orange sponge laced with Cointreau with cream, satsuma segments and home-made lemon curd topped with white edible glitter cream and white chocolate curls, covered in yellow edible glitter the second cake is a vanilla sponge  with cream , white grated chocolate and pitted cherries and maraschino cherry syrup. This is topped with cream and cherries and chocolate butterflies coloured with edible glitter.

They are now both in the fridge ready for tomorrow hope they taste ok but if everyone gets merry I don't suppose the taste will matter really.

I thought I ight enter my butterflies into a couple of challenges just for something different:

come and get it-things with wings

QKR-don't bug me

glitter n sparkle-anything but a square

kraftyhands-anything goes

bloggers challenge-flower power

chocolate,coffee,cards and challenges-sweet treats

China 20 years to celebrate

Hi all hope today finds you full of joy and happiness as after the rain yesterday we have sunshine at the moment but I guess its still early.

Today I am sharing a card I ave made for my hubby for our anniversary on the 28th of this month, and we will be celebrating our china anniversary. My card celebrates this fact as my main colour used is china blue, I didn't think a teacup would be very romantic not that I have any teacup stamps but that's by the by.

I used this fab image from Sugar Nellie, one of a couple of cutie couples I have and find so useful for not only anniversaries but engagements too.I coloured them with promarkers as I said using china blue as my main colour which I carried through with some flowers I won from Wild orchid crafts .











 The base of my image is a new die I got last week one of 2 I bought spellbinders floral oval and I suspect will be amongst many to follow. I've had my bigshot for about 3 years now and sad to say apart from alphabet dies and a big daisy- I have a thing for daisies I even had them for my wedding flowers I haven't until now invested in any bases.

The ribbon was from a stamp nation set I got from QVC several years ago when first starting out with crafting and the base card was a real find, its from the freebies on offer by Debbi Moore. Recently mum asked me to make a wedding card similar to one she'd seen(in a post below) and I liked the paper Jayne had used so decided to investigate. I couldn't find what other papers were on the CD she used (Debbi Moores Venetian collection) but found there was quite a selection of freebies and amongst them this base card. There are so many marriage related word on both back and front and it was just the right colour for what I wanted as I had blue for my bridesmaid dresses so had decided to use blue on my card despite emerald and white being the 20th anniversary colours as they mean more to me.

The design is probably only my second attempt at shabby chic, I think I had to do one when on a DT ages ago -really not my comfort zone and am willing to accept any pointers ( I know there are flecks missing in the girls hair -intentional as my son keeps telling me I have the odd grey hair so that's for him, my hubby is well grey and my son even has a few at 19 which is why he is so desperate for me to join the club).



I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:-
Addicted to stamps-shabby chic/vintage
polkadoodles-have a heart( no actual hearts but certainly for and of a heart-hope it still counts)
Totally papercrafts-favourite colours
totally gorjuss-die cuts and punches
Allsorts-use your new stash
A gem of a challenge-punch it out
crafty sentiments-dies /punches

Anniversary wishes

This is an anniversary card for my step brother and his wife mum of Laura who gets married in a week or so. I had a play with my new dies again and a punch and of course there has to be a bow and some sparkle. I think its their 17th anniversary for which there isn't a traditional gift /theme and the modern one is furniture but somehow didn't think that would make a fun anniversary card but maybe I'm just not thinking far enough outside the box.

The papers fop the card are some of my collected magazine freebies sorry not sure which magazines and the image is from Sugar Nellie. I did try some line-less colouring but didn't quite get it right so will have to practice more and so this one has line definition.The image is coloured with promarkers. The shapes are from freebie patterns at lotv , now just got to find an envelope to fit, maybe I should have thought of that first.

Must admit all the swirls etc. are out of my comfort zone as is the pink but I think I'm getting there .

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:-
card and scrap-anything goes
ladybug crafts-say it with flowers
just for fun-anything goes
natalie and amy-celebrate
little blue button stamps-rhinestones /bling
seemacrafts-butterflies

Little boy blue

Hi all and hope you are all well.

My card today uses a favourite of mine from sugar Nellie and I so wish I could use it more often but not sure how many boys over a certain age would appreciate it but I just think it is squeezably cute and so reminds me of my son when he was little.

I coloured the image using shades of blue and brown promarkers and kept the design fairly simple using geometric shapes. The papers are from docrafts Wellington set and just work so well together. I figured using the time pieces might extend the card to be used for an older male but I'll have to be careful who I use it for . There isn't a sentiment on the card as yet as I haven't decided what to use it for I think it will probably be a birthday card but I do have a stamp with a 'life journey ' sentiment on which I think could also work well but I like it without a sentiment also.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:-
The sugar bowl-anything goes
hobbycutz-for a child
panpastleuk-cute and cuddly
jellypark friends-cuddly wuddly
bearly mine-anything goes

black and white wedding

Summer is the time for many weddings and in our family we have 2 this year, my step nieces in late august and later in the year my niece.

This first card is for my step niece and I decided to stay with black and white as that was the colour of her invitations. The image I used was a freebie in a swap and unfortunately I have no idea of the make as it wasn't written on it. It reminds me a bit of seaside charactuers but cute at the same time.I like how the doves finish the scene and the cute little hearts as they admire each other with doey eyes.
I added 2 peel off hearts to balance the image once framed and the sentiment was already on the image so I'm not sure if its all part and parcel or was added  by the stamper who sent it me.

I rounded all the corners of the card and layers with a corner punch for a softer look.

I completed the card with different matting and layering of embossed white and black papers and a couple of gems from my stash topped off with black and silver ribbon and a hand tied double bow.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges-

little claire's -wedding/anniversary

that craft place-monochrome

papertake weekly challenges-occassion-ally

through the craft room door-anything goes 

card mania challenge-your favourite embellishment( at the moment mine is hand tied bows)

craftdeebowz-anything goes with a hand tied bow

craftyblogger network-favourite things ( bows at the moment)

creative creations-monochrome

Fancy little card

This card I made for my mum to send to my step niece for her wedding. Mum had seen a card on lilis little fairies site for their monochrome challenge and came to lunch last week with kindle in hand and the site saved asking if I could make something similar. The card was made by Jayne and can be seen on her blog here, and it is beautiful. I unfortunately didn't have any fancy edged dies and on looking found that with my bigshot could only use spellbinder large dies not the grand ones so my card is dinky. I'm hoping mum thinks its OK and that good things come in small packages. I have only recently started to expand my die collection but after purchasing these fancy edged dies could easily become addicted and am currently planting seeds in my hubby's head for a new A4 die cutting machine made by jus-cutz which is based in Mansfield not far from me, as this will allow me to get and use bigger dies.

I used spellbinders floral ovals large die for the bases and the purple paper is a freebie from Debbi Moores site from the Venetian freebie collection. If I knew what the rest of the papers on the CD were like it might be worth investing in. The image is coloured with promarkers and sakura glitter pens and one I love from LOTV. The ribbon and charm is from my stash. The sentiment is a peel off and just the right size.

 The card base has the next size down floral oval as a place to write their congratulations on and as its an easel card I used some wild orchid company (WOC) flowers I won a while ago as the stopper interlaced with some iridescent pearl string to tie all the colours together as I think they look lilacy .

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:-

little claires -wedding/anniversarry
stempelsonne-anything goes
WOC-anything goes

Hiking or walking?

Hi all, strange title I know but when does hiking become walking or vice versa?

My in-laws like in Tenerife and dad does a lot of walking in the mountains out there in the sunshine and generally its shorts , boots and a top of course with only emergency stuff like first aid kit, GPS, compass map and phone along with sun hat sun screen and plenty of fluids carried amongst the group. In the UK if you were to go walking in the hills as we don't have many mountains even in summer you would need far more just to be prepared for the weather let alone any emergencies.

The card I made is for dad in laws birthday and as I don't have images of hikers in shorts for sunny climes it had to be UK hikers and a sentiment that was fitting and unfortunately hand written. I hope he'll see the funny side to the sentiment, can't say I ever remember him hill walking or hiking in the UK so I guess that sums things up really.

The image is from stamp nation ,one I got in a kit from QVC and is coloured with promarkers. The papers more scraps and also docrafts green collection. The dies are my latest toy so I guess you'll see lots of those in the near future , this square is from a set by go kreate and the ovals I cut by hand using fiskars cutting boards (sorry can't remember the real name but they are orange boards, must be a senior or blonde moment as they say and funny but I'm neither yet).

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:-
Happy campers-summer
heck of a challenge-summer holidays
totally papercrafts-summer fun
so artful challenges-maps
a gem of a challenge 92-summer

Pink thank you

This card I made for my son to send to someone who had helped him gain confidence for a telephone interview for a job he applied for. He had never met this kind lady but through a mutual friend said she would have a chat with my son as she had recently had a telephone interview by the same company but for a totally different position and grade.

Although she couldn't tell him the areas of questions he would be asked she explained to him the format and said that after talking to him for only a few minutes felt sure he would be fine as the preparation he had obviously done already shone through. She was right and he sailed through this part of the selection process, just another step forward after completing the on-line application and 2 on-line assessments, only the interview face to face to do.

He wanted to say thank you and thought a card would be a nice way to convey that he really did appreciate her taking time to help him.

The card uses freebie magazine papers that have been in my scraps files for well ages and flowers from my stash that I won as a prize when I was regularly blogging. The swirl is one of my new dies along with the square, one from die-namics the other Go kreate respectfully. The sentiment is a peel off. The flower centres are craftwork cards paper brads marshmallow and the ribbon from JTF again many moons old. The corner punch I used is a Martha Stewart daisy punch.I really must learn to structure my list of items used better- will work on this lol.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:-
one stop craft challenge-pastel colours
brown sugar-anything goes

Commissioned Golden wedding anniversary Card

Earlier this year I made a card for a special number birthday for mum to send to one of Dad's cousins and Dad's cousin loved it so much that there and then she told mum that she would like me to make a golden wedding anniversary card later in the year, well this post is about the later golden wedding anniversary card.

The couple in question were married on 14th September 1963 hence 50 years and Jose Dad's cousin wanted something similar to her card she received from mum which was personalised with events of the date.

It does take time doing all the research but I enjoy finding all the information and sharing with those its relevant to, things such as what was on TV or in the charts. The problem come when there wasn't that much news or relevant events, well who really would be interested in some Russian pole volter being born on their wedding day unless it meant something to them.

I had fun finding the weather as I visited the MET website and couldn't find a link to their archives so I emailed them and asked if they could direct me to the information I wanted, they were extremely helpful passing the date and place on to their archives department and within a day they sent me the full weather report for the date and area along with weather charts, now that's what I call service and a Big thank you to them.

The colour scheme was an obvious one yellows and golds and Jose sent me a copy of their wedding photo which I managed to copy and use on the inserts as a watermark background and also on the front of the card and inside on the facing page for their good wishes to be written.

 I sent the card back with mum to pass on to Jose and haven't yet heard what she thought of the card. I couldn't fit it in an envelope with the flowers on the front so ended up making a box for it to go in but I guess that might make it more of a keepsake, as I had to decorate the box as I wanted it to look finished.

The papers I used were a mix of metallic gift wrap and bits I've collected over the years from computer fairs and craft fares too not sure who the designers are as most came from my yellow and creams scraps file. The flowers are from wild orchid ( some I won as a prize many moons ago and JTF wedding accessories department with the leaves from a Joy craft die I recently got from Joanna Sheens on-line craft shop. The frame is a sissix frame  and the sentiment is from Lili of the valley embossed in gold embossing powder.

The ribbon on the box came off a bundle of towels from Asda I think well waste not want not and I always think it's good to recycle.

Mum asked how much I wanted to charge for the card, I hadn't got a clue so i just said whatever she thought it was worth, have to say pricing my cards I do find hard and I don't like to out price myself so just find it easier to say that.Fingers crossed she and the recipients likes it.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges;-

Bastel-traum-shabby chic/vintage( hope this is ok)
card a day-choice of themes  your choice, die cuts embossing,milestone birthday,with faith
card and scrap-anything goes
emmas cards uk-floral
ladybug crafts-floral
natalie and amy-celebration
sarah hurley challenge-texture/dimension
shellys images-use your scraps

Hope you all have a fun day and hopefully see you all soon. Off to try and get my teenage son out of bed.... am I such a cruel mum lol

Candy from Bunny zoe

Bunny Zoe candy over at pinkpuds











Have to post this candy as a post as I can't remember how to get it into my side bar, thats what happens when you've been away so long and blogger changes . Any advice and quick refresher lessons will be gratefully received.