Anything Goes Team Challenge…

 

Morning everyone, it’s been really cold this past week and today it’s pouring down with rain so I don’t think I’ll be going far!

 

Some of you probably know I had a hip replacement about 8 years ago and after 8 amazing trouble free years I’ve very suddenly been having a lot of pain. I don’t know what I did or what happened but I didn’t expect this for another 10 years so it’s a bit worrying

 

It’s taken us over a year to find a date that fitted in with us and the kids for a holiday and we were going to book it next week for the end of March. Now I daren’t book anything because there’s no way I could go on holiday like this …which is so disappointing

 

Keith’s Mum has been in hospital on top of that, she’s 92 and generally in very good health but she’s had some heart problems and a chest infection so poor Keith is running around after the both of us!

 

Jess is home for the weekend as she’s swapping her car, it’s always lovely to see her but 2 minutes after she walks through the door the house is like a bombsite! Joe decided he was leaving home last week after we wouldn’t let him spend £200 on some furry pet in a cage so he’s been making a point at his friends for a few nights …..

 

….happy days!!!

 

 

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Needless to say I’ve been struggling to get in the attic to do any crafting, I can just about climb the ladder and sit in my chair as long as I don’t twist and some days it’s better than others. I made this heart in plenty of time for the new Ribbon Girl challenge and then Keith brought it down for me yesterday to take a picture

 

 

The team challenges start again next week and to kick off the 2014 challenges this week is an Anything Goes theme with the whole team joining in and there is also a brand new blog….this one is a dedicated space for our challenges so that our other blog can be kept for sharing inspiration and giveaways so make sure you have them both added to your favourites

 

 

As always we have a lovely prize and this week it’s some goodies from the Ribbon Girl online store

 

 

The lucky winner will get a Prima Park Bench & Bridge Set, White Mixed Dahlias to colour yourself, a metre of 10mm flat back ivory pearl square trim and a packet of ten aurora borealis hearts

Full details and some fabulous inspiration from the full Ribbon Girl team can be found on the challenge blog here

 

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I decided to try something different for this one, this heart was hung in my conservatory, I love things like this but it was a bit boring as it was just cream…

 

 

Here’s what I used;

 

Lili of the Valley Country Lady papers

Treasure Gold wax

 

and from the Ribbon Girl;

Old rose pleated crushed organza

Tulle

Pink pearl bead string

Diamante heart stick pin

Key heart charm

Button twine

 

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Hope you like it, I’m going to try and do other things than cards this year and I enjoyed making this for a change

I’m trying to rest a bit so I’m going to grab the chance to do some blog hopping and see what you’ve all been up to. A few of you regularly leave me a comment and it’s very much appreciated

 

Have a good Sunday folks x

 

 

Another giveaway …and Bows or Dies (or both!)

 

 

 

Evening all, it’s a week since I posted yet again, my good intentions are not really going to plan so far in 2014!

I’ve had a hectic week, more about that when I have some time but for now I have a new challenge at Papertake Weekly and there’s another giveaway at the Ribbon Girl

For the last giveaway before our regular challenges begin next Sunday there is one each of the new vintage style bronze frames, 3 charms, 10mm ivory flatback pearl braid, 10mm ivory flatback pearl flower string, and pink satin ribbon

 

 

 

 

Pop over to the blog for full details if you want to enter the draw for this fab bundle of goodies

 

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Onto the Papertake challenge and our theme this week is…

Bow Dies

All we want you to do is to add a bow and use a die

You can do one, or the other, or both  …it’s up to you!

This was an easy one for me, I love bows and I love dies so of course I put both on …

 

 

 

I used 2 scrummy ribbons from the Ribbon Girl; red silky crush and 16mm aqua open weave

I can’t resist adding a bit of ribbon even when it’s not a requirement, I adore it!

 

Here’s everything else I used;

Lili of the Valley art pad from Party And Cake

This image is called Rosie With Cake and is available as a stamp too

Simply Sophisticated sentiment

K & Co papers

EK Success corner punch

LaLa Land heart banner die

Stickles glitter glue

 

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Thanks so much for stopping by, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a quiet weekend so I will be catching up with all your blogs and seeing what you’ve been up to

 

Have a lovely evening

 

 

 

 

 

Prima giveaway …and new stash challenge!

 

 

 

Hey everyone, thanks for stopping by

We were overwhelmed by the response to our blog hop hop last week, thanks for joining in and for all your lovely comments  …it’s so nice that you all take the time to actually read the post and look properly at our cards rather than just whizz round with a copy and paste of ‘lovely card’ to get you in the prize draw!

My  blog was one of the hidden prize blogs too so well done Keeley, her comment was drawn from the ones left for me and she won the full set of new stamps. They’re on sale now and there is a special offer if you buy all 10 before Friday

 

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There’s another fab giveaway at The Ribbon Girl this week, not long now until the challenges start again

 

 

 

 

There are some Prima embellishments now in stock with more to come soon! If you would like to win this gorgeous Junk Yard Findings 'Ballet' set plus one metre of pure silk ribbon just visit the blog for full details

We'd like to know what you would do with this pink and girly collection and we'll pick one winner at random.  Winner will be announced on Saturday 18th January

Good luck!

 

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Onto this weeks challenge at Papertake Weekly and the theme is…

 New Year, New Stash!

We just want you to use something new that you may have got for Christmas. If Santa was mean and you didn't  get any new stash then feel free to use something that you haven't ever used before (and we all have plenty that fits in this category don’t we!!)

I went completely out of my comfort zone for this one. I needed to make a 21st birthday card for my nephew and I’ve been trying to find a use for my lovely new ‘on the edge’ star die from Tim Holtz

I also used a Tim Holtz embossing folder that I’ve not used before to give a bit of extra texture

 

 

 

 

I cut out the letters on my circut - ooh, by the way, I really like the look of the new Brother scan ‘n’ cut, did you see it?

 

That’s it really, there’s one of the Handwritten Phrases and I used foam pads and pinflair for the layers so it’s quite dimensional

 

 

 

 

 

It looked a bit bare so I thought of adding the brads after I’d stuck it all together (don’t you just hate it when that happens!) I broke a few nails pulling all the little legs off but I stuck them on with glue but it looks better I think

I always buy cards for the men in my life as I enjoy making pretty cards so I’m interested to know what you think of this as it’s very different for me

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I was glad to see this theme come up as I’m still on a  bit of a mission to use all the stash that I haven’t used yet, in fact I’m trying to use something new on every card I make!

 

 

That’s it from me, enjoy the rest of your evening everyone

 

 

Sneaky Peek Blog Hop …

 

 

 

Good morning lovely crafters, how are you today?

 

We’ve got the first hectic week back at work nearly out of the way, the trimmings are packed up until next year and everything is back to some sort of normality. Now I need to get back into healthier eating habits and lose the few pounds that crept on over Christmas!

 

We have the first Lili of the Valley stamp launch of 2014 this weekend. Our fabulous design team have all made cards to show them off and we’re having a hop with 2 chances for you to win the full set

There are 10 of the cutest new designs featuring everyone’s favourite James the Bear and some more of the adorable Jack, Patch and Puss

The stamps will be available to buy on the website from midday (UK time) on Monday 13^th January and also in the shop this Saturday if you’re near enough (we’re open 10 – 4)

 

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Just ‘hop’ from one blog to another following the links and leave a comment on each card, hopefully we can give you lots of ideas and inspiration for using these cute new images

As always we have some hidden prizes along the way, we don’t know where they are so do be sure to visit and comment on every blog

We will let you know on Monday morning which were the ‘lucky’ blogs and the winners will be drawn at random from all the comments that were left on those blogs

We have 2 full sets of the new stamps to give away, 2 lucky winners will each get all 10 new designs

Here's a list of all the blogs taking part, and remember that you will need to visit them all and leave a comment on each one to have the best chance of winning;

 

Ideas to Inspire

Anne (that’s me!)

Becky

Dawny

Debbie

Dena

Elise

Fleur

Gretha

Jen

Kathy

Kim

Lou

Mary J

Mindy

 

Here’s my card and I used one of the Jack, Patch and Puss stamps

This one is called Let’s Celebrate and I wanted to use some bright cheerful colours    …they look like they’re having such a fun time at their party!

 

 

 

Here’s everything I used;

Handwritten Phrases

K & Co papers

Kort & Godt rolled roses

My Minds Eye gems

Doohickey border die

Penny Black heart string die

Tulle (lots of it, you can’t really see on the picture)

 

I’m still practising with the distress inks, I actually cannot believe how long I spent colouring this one image, I daren’t tell you, but I think I’m getting a feel for them now. I was trying to blend them like the markers which I’ve used for so long but it’s a completely different technique and it’s taken a while to get used to…

Right, enough chit chat I know you’re itching to see what else we have on the hop …next stop is the fabulous Becky

 

If you get lost along the way just go back to the Ideas to Inspire blog and pick it up from where you were

Finally, don’t forget to stop by the Ideas to Inspire blog on Monday morning when you can find out who the lucky winners were of the prizes before the stamps go on sale

 

Enjoy the hop everyone, good luck!

 

 

 

 

 

Sneaky Peek …

 

 

Hey everyone, happy new year to you! I hope you all had a wonderful  Christmas, where on earth did the holidays go?

I didn’t get much crafting done (best laid plans and all that …) but I did do a few jobs that I’d been putting off and caught up with some friends which was nice. I think it’s good sometimes to just do nothing although the days seem to go even quicker when you have no purpose

Jess started her new job so she was home which was an unexpected bonus, but both her and Joe have their own agendas now and it takes a bit of getting used to not having to think about what they want to do before making plans!! It’s the first Christmas for ages that everyone has been fit and well, there’s usually some lurgy going around just in time for the festive season!

 

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Mary and Andrea at the Ribbon Girl have got an exciting new blog! The old inspiration blog will keep going and there is now a new one just for challenges which you can find here challenge blog

They have a smashing giveaway at the moment so do pop over there if you’d like to win these lovely brass charms. They are some of the new goodies which they are stocking, brand new for 2014!

 

 

There’s a little banner too for you to put on your own blogs;

 

 

 

Time for the first challenge of the New Year over at Papertake Weekly 

It’s the beginning of the month so it’s Anything Goes and the optional extra theme is to ‘celebrate something new’

I’m celebrating the brand new stamps from Lili of the Valley which go on sale next Monday, everyone loves James the Bear and this one is called James – Daisy

 

 

 

I made a bit of a mess of the colouring to be honest, he looked ok and then I couldn’t leave well alone and decided to add some prismacolour pencils and sansodor. All the bloomin ink smudged so I used copious amounts of stickles in a very bad cover up job lol – he’s seriously sparkly!!

Here’s everything I used;

Handwritten Phrases

Grunge swirls (the dots around the image)

K & Co papers

German glass glitter

EK Success retro flower punch

Tim Holtz idealology brads and film strip

Liquid pearls

Doily from stash

The gorgeous butterflies came all the way from Holland with my lovely friend Gretha, they are fab!

 

Some of you who visit my blog regularly will remember me deliberating over wether to throw away the teensiest scrap of lace a while ago – you all said NO, don’t do it!!  ...so I kept it. You can’t see very well on the picture but it’s tucked in front of the film strip behind the paper flowers!!

 

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It’s Tuesday so I’m off to see my friend next door now for a sneaky glass of wine!

I hope you all enjoy your evening whatever you’re doing