Skating mouse

Here is another card with one of Melissa Jenkins's cute images. She is the sponsor for the challenge at Cooking it up with Katie this week and the recipe has to include texture, swirls and black.
The texture is in the form of a Papermania embossed section, the swirls are on the fab Cuddly Buddly Fairy Fun paper and the black is kind of obvious!
I coloured this young lady with Copics and then added some Glamour Dust to her dress I always think of skaters in fancy costumes.
I couldn't find any card amongst my stash which toned suitably with the patterned  paper, so I simply coloured the edge of  some card with one of the Copics I used for the dress, to use as the base layer.
The tag comprises a Stampin' Up sentiment punched out and mounted on a Cuttlebug tag.
I did wonder about adding a little something else... fancy corners or adhesive gems, but decided to quit whilst I was ahead!
This is my final card as DT member of CIUWK as I have decided to step down, so I hope you like it.

Lilac Dragon

Anyone fancy this recipe?
Make mine a double, letters and glitter!
If you do, hop over to Cooking it up with Katie and show us how you put the ingredients together.
I used this gorgeous image from Stamping Dragon and coloured it with a mixture of Promarkers and Copics.
The papers are from Fred She Said and the embossing folder from Papermania.
My 'double' is  the gems; the wings and horns have been glittered and the sentiment is the required letters (from a Cuttlebug die).
I saw this sketch which is from Crafts for Eternity and thought I would combine the two challenges, forgetting that the other provisos for the sketch were that it had to be white and and have a Christmas theme. You can see the card I finally made for that challenge in a previous post.
Anyway, I love this cute dragon and I really hope that you will join in with our challenge!

Cooking it Up yet again.

The ingredients for this week's recipe at Cooking it up with Katie are leaves, embossing and a sticker.
I decided to use one of the stickers from a sheet of toppers which I bought when I first walked into a craft shop and hadn't clue what to buy or where to start. I think that these pre-made things are brilliant for those who don't have lots of the gear to create them from scratch or who need to make a quick card.
I inked my Cuttlebug leaves embossing folder with gold ink before running it through the bug and so have used the card on the de-bossed side (as that is the easier side to ink).
The strip of ribbon and the SU sentiment completed the card. As the meercats would say 'Simples!'
Do come on over and join in with the challenge, we'd love to see your creations.
Little red wagon - Something old, something new (Old sticker, new stamp)
Thoughtful Thursdays - F- Flower

What's Cooking?

The recipe at Cooking it up with Katie this week is a quote, red and chipboard.
This image is from Shelly's images, our sponsor this week, which I paper pieced with a little Cuddly Buddly paper. The quote I believe was from Lucille Ball, which reads, 'The secret to staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly and lie about your age!' Fabulous isn't it!
I didn't actually have any chipboard in a shape suitable for this card, so I printed a cake and stuck it onto some chipboard before colouring and cutting it out.
The paper is from the Canon Scrapbook site (I think) and the image and sentiment are mounted on Nesties and the corners are made from a Cuttlebug Vintage square diecut, snipped diagonally and trimmed.
I was wondering about adding  little something more, but decided against it.
Do join in with our challenge. We'd love to see all your creations.

What's cookin'?

This little sweetie is Leo the Lion from Digital Delights, who are the sponsors of this week's challenge at Cooking it up with Katie. The recipe this time around is for Something sweet, Ribbon and Metal.
The flowers and bees were a little gift from my daughter-in-law when I was browsing a craft shop in Bury St Edmunds where she lives and I have been waiting for an opportunity to use them. The lion seems to be looking at the bees in puzzlement.
The paper is from Cuddly Buddly and the corners are made from a Cuttlebug Vintage square cut and half diagonally. I always put double sided tape on the back of the card before putting through the 'bug so that all I have to do once it's cut is to peel and stick.
The sentiment is from Stampin' Up.
Do join in with the challenge, it can be such fun combining the elements for the challenge and you are welcome to combine your card with other challenges.

What's Cookin'?

The recipe this week at Cooking it up with Katie is... make it for a boy, add some check (gingham etc), and add a touch or two of brown or 'Check out that boy in the brown!'

The sponsor this week in the Pixie Dust Studio, who donated the digis for the DT to work with. Don't you just love this cute bear!

The paper is in fact a pink gingham Cuddly Buddly digi, which I turned to sepia in Picasa as I didn't have any DP of a suitable shade. I think it worked quite well.

The embossing is from a Papermania folder, with the border cut with a Martha Stewart punch.

If you zoom in you may see that I paper pieced the boat with a complementary paper (also changed in Picasa). The sentiment is from a Cuddly Buddly rubber stamp.

It's a great recipe this week, so do join in. We'd love to see what you create.

Simon Says Stamp - Paper Piecing

Stampin' for the weekend - Anything goes

Totally Papercrafts - Summer Fun

I'm going to collect my daughter and granddaughter this afternoon, who will be coming to stay until the Bank Holiday, to be joined at the weekend by my son-in-law. Daisy is going to start potty training tomorrow, I wonder why they chose this week to visit!!!

Cooking it Up with Katie & WOYWW

Good morning all you WOYWWers! It took me all week, but I managed to get around to everyone's desks again last week, wow what a journey!

Some people are SO tidy, I think that there must be a tidy gene, which must have been given out when I was at the back of the queue. I don't there were any left for me.

Here are the remnants of yesterday's play. I indulged myself in doing just what I fancied, some of the results of which are in the post below this one. Here there are still about three cards under construction.
I don't have a big yellow tape gun thingy, but I do have a drawer full of glue gliders. I bought these on eBay and get through them at an incredible rate, but they are good value, 20m for 99p (post free because I buy in bulk). They are so much quicker to use than DST. When they're gone I may consider a gun!

If you would like to see other workspaces today, then jump over to Julia's, the link is on my sidebar... and have fun!
Digi Doodles are the sponsors for this week's recipe challenge over at Cooking it Up with Katie, which is where this beautiful image came from for my DT card.

The ingredients for the challenge this week are Flowers, Squares and Pink.

The paper is from Pink Petticoat, the sentiment from Hero Arts and once more I have coloured the ribbon to match the matting paper with a Copic or Promarker pen (can't remember precisely which is was now). My cheap grosgrain ribbon from eBay is certainly getting used quickly, but it works SO well!

If you've never tried a recipe challenge before, today might be a good day, hop on over and take a look.

Senior Moments thick and fast

My excuse is that I haven't been too well this week, but this is the second time that I have failed to post a DT card on the appropriate day! Dear me, senior moments and all that!

This is my DT card from Cooking it Up with Katie, (which was posted on that blog in plenty of time). We were generously given an image from Fairy Knoll (this week's sponsor) to use in our recipe of Buttons, Bows and Blue.

I used Cuddly Buddly downloaded paper... regular visitors to my blog may have noticed that I am quite partial to using single colours and toning papers on my cards, and this is no exception.

One little tip I picked up along the way is to use dental floss to attach buttons onto projects and to colour it with alcohol pens, so as to match perfectly with the card. Neat huh!

It's for a few other challenges

Digital Tuesday - Happy Birthday

One Stitch at a time - Use a digi

Everybody art - Blue and White

I ought to be more organised!

Cooking it up with Katie

This is the birthday card I made for Julia of WOYWW fame! Today is her birthday, Happy Birthday Julia, and today is the day for the challenge from Cooking it up with Katie, for which this is also my DT card!

Katie has come up with a fab recipe this week, the challenge is...

1. Choose a sketch from another challenge blog

2. Add some yellow

3. Do some stitching (real or faux)

This weeks challenge is sponsored by Meljen's Designs and the DT were lucky enough to be able to use one of Melissa's gorgeous images.

I used the sketch from CCEE Stampers, the twist from that blog is to include a beverage... well the bees are sipping nectar!

I'm not brilliant at stitching paper and neither is my machine, as it keeps stitching even when I've taken my foot off the pedal, so it's faux stitching for me!

There is a whole new bunch of new designers on the team from this week, so do check out the blog and see their fabulous work. We'd love you to come along and join in the fun.

Cooking it Up with Katie #19

The recipe this fortnight at Cooking it Up with Katie is to use Green, Embossing and a Ribbon. The Sponsor for this challenge is Digital Delights and the DT were given their choice of images from the extensive range available on website. I chose Dilly Duck in the rain... quite a cutie I'm sure you'll agree.

I coloured Dilly with my Copics and mounted him/her on a square, embossed with Cuttlebug's random dots embossing folder. I added a sentiment from Unity Stamps. The corner was made with two square Nesties, cut simultaneously, one nestling inside the other and the resulting frame was cut diagonally to make the corner. I believe that the paper was a free digi download... sadly I don't remember the source. The card was completed with the ribbon and umbrella charm. As weather is the theme of the challenge at ABC this week it is for that too!

Before the sponsor at CIUWK came forward, I had already made the card below for the challenge, so I thought that I would show it anyway.

For the embossing in this card I used the Letterpress technique, where my Impressibilities stencil was inked with silver, before the card was embossed by running it through my Cuttlebug with my tan mat. I love the effect, but cleaning the stencil afterwards is tricky, as the filaments on this particular stencil are very fragile and easily bent out of shape. The butterfly is a digi from Chris Dark, the Sketching Stamper (link on my sidebar), the sentiment is from Stampin' Up, the corners are Cuttlebug and the paper from Cuddly Buddly. This is quite a fresh green, compared to the warmth of the colour in the previous card, I'm not sure which I prefer. How about you?

Cooking it up with Katie #18

'Wing it you Pink Petal' is the recipe for this fortnight's challenge from Cooking it up with Katie! So the card must contain, wings, petals and pink... fairly obvious I expect!

It's also for Paperplay's Challenge is Up in the air.

The days have run away with me this week whilst looking after my family so somehow this DT card didn't get blogged on the correct day! I'm really sorry about that!

I used a couple of new things for this card. The Marianne's butterfly die is one new acquisition which I think is really pretty. The background was stamped with my new Jumbo Roller from Stampin' Up from the current mini catalogue. It's a fabulous stamp and creates beautiful backgrounds. I used gold ink on a pearlised paper to make this one. Victoria at Blue Jelly Stampin' can supply any Stampin' Up requirements you may have. Take a look at her fabulous blogs, you can't help but be inspired.

The flowers were made with Nellie Snellen Cut & Emboss punches.

Have a great weekend everyone!

A little late!

With all the excitement of family arriving and preparations for the wedding we were all attending on Friday, I forgot to list my DT card for Cooking it Up with Katie!

What a senior moment!

The recipe this time is

A card for Mom or a special lady

Punch it Up

Add a brad (or two)

I was asked to make this for the aunt of a friend, who loves spring flowers, so this was my choice of image from Chris Dark, the Sketching Stamper.

The sentiment is from mounted on Nesties. The paper is from Cuddly Buddly and the embossing is Cuttlebug Swiss Dots. The border punch is from Martha Stewart.

Crafty Catz Challenge #30 is for Spots so as there are printed and embossed dots on this card, it for that challenge too.

Cooking it up with Katie DT Debut

Whilst I was on holiday, Katie emailed me to invite me to join the DT at Cooking it up with Katie, but being somewhat incommunicado, I didn't find out about it until my return. So this is my first contribution for their fortnightly challenges.

This week's recipe is

• Use a digital image (this garland is from this week's sponsor Glitterbabe)
• Use the colour purple
• Add something in threes

The paper is from Pink Petticoat and the image is by Stampin' Up. My threes are the sets of tiny pearls.

I am delighted to have been chosen to join this great set of designers and would love you to come and join in the fun.

See you there!