Last card for CAGI

Today is my last post as a Guest Designer for Come & Get It :( I have had a fab time as part of the lovely DT team and will miss the fantastic weekly challenges, thanks for having me girls!

This week we have a colour combo from Meighan for you. ‘Calypso Coral, Pool Party & Daffodil Delight’. Do pop along to the other DT blogs to see what they have come up with.

I decided to go a bit more CAS this week, but now I feel like my card is a bit bare, lol! So, horror of horrors, no die-cuts!! Ouch!

Image - ‘Cara’, part of The Stamp Barn’s ‘Enchanted Hollow’ range – J & C Creations shop, coloured with Promarkers
Card – Coredinations from Crafter’s Companion 
Papers – Dovecraft’s ‘Garden Party’
Ribbon, flower button & card candi (coloured to match with Promarkers) from my stash
Hobbycraft butterfly punch
Gems – Anitas
Hunkydory’s Diamond Sparkles ‘Angel Whispers’ for her wings

Challenges:
’Spring Is In The Air’ – I ♥ Promarkers
’Mother’s Day/Female’ – C.R.A.F.T
’CAS’ – Dutch Dare
’Oh So Girly’ – Sweet Stampin
’Cardstock & Bling’ – Catch The Bug

Thanks for looking!
Natx

Spring Into Spring!

Firstly my regular visitors may have noticed that I have given my Blog a facelift, it was about time. I wanted something a bit bigger, fresher and brighter and  I even managed to customize my header, how about that! Hope you like it :)

Well, Spring, what is that? I don’t think there is a single spot in the UK that can boast even a glimpse of Spring on the horizon, luckily in Blogland we are very good at pretending! I have several LOTV stamps which I adore, but don’t seem to get around to using at the moment due to DT cards and a lack of crafting time! So today’s card makes a lovely change as I have used an older (but still oh so cute) LOTV stamp.

 

Image - ‘Spring Bunny With Daffodils’ & sentiment – LOTV coloured with Promarkers
Card – Coredinations – Crafter’s Companion  
Papers – Docraft’s Me To You ‘Spring Chic’
Ribbon – Dovecraft
Pearls – Hobbycraft
Dies/punches used: SB ‘Heart Circles’ die & Xcut ‘Flower Doily’ border punch

Challenges:
’Spring Colours’ – Lili's Little Fairies
’Easter Parade’ – Cute Card Thursday
’Happy Easter’ – Little Miss Muffet
’Lots Of Layers’ – Sweet Stampin
’Use Pastels’ – Incy Wincy Designs
'Pastel Colours’ – Love To Create
'Spring Is In The Air' - I ♥ Promarkers

Thanks for looking!
Natx

Bingo!!

This week at Passion For Promarkers the theme is one of my favourites - ‘Bingo’. Pick any line of 3 items to use on your card and the rest is entirely up to you.

We are being sponsored by Bugaboo who are offering 7 digi images as the prize.

The DT have come up with some fab inspiration and there is a real variation of cards, so please pop along to the Passion For Promarkers challenge blog to see them all.

I ‘killed two birds with one stone’ for this card as I was asked to make a card for a colleague’s father’s wife (still with me?!) for their anniversary. I’m afraid I went into panic mode as it’s a while since I was asked to do this and the brief was quite vague - ‘big and with flowers’! I don’t know about anyone else, but when I’m given such a broad spec I find it more difficult to decide what to do. However, I started with the flowers and realised I had the perfect papers from Live & Love Crafts which I won last month and a fab digi from Stitchy Bears (another win – I’ve been very lucky recently!) After that the card came together fairly easily and I’m surprised to find myself having made 2 vintage style cards in one week when I’ve never attempted one before! I popped everything onto an 8” x 8” card blank and am keeping my fingers crossed that it will go down well. As usual, the card is much prettier in real life, but I’m trying not to obsess so much over my bad photography!
I have used ribbon/free/blooms

Image - ‘Floral Watering Can’ – Stitchy Bears coloured with Promarkers
Sentiment printed on my pc – I love this font!
Grey backing paper from stash
Gorgeous papers & metal corners – Live & Love Crafts
Ribbon (yet another win!) – The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop
Pearls, pink flowers & fancy button – J & C Creations
Dies used: SB ‘Decorative Labels 8’, Cheery Lynn ‘Exotic Butterflies small’ & ‘Fancy Flourish'
Tim Holtz ‘Stormy Sky’ & ‘Black Soot’ distress ink pads

Challenges:
’Spring/Pastel’ – Crafty Bloggers Network
’Anything Goes’ – I ♥ Promarkers
’Lots of Layers’ – Sweet Stampin
’Use A Digi’ – Whoopsi Daisy
’Use Pastels’ – Incy Wincy Designs
’Pastel Colours’ - ‘Love To Create’

Thanks for looking!
Natx

Vintage Fairy

I'm not going to mention the weather, suffice to say my sister will notice the drop in temperature when she arrives for a visit from Mallorca at the end of the week!! Today's card was a bit of a challenge for me as it is a vintage card - a subject I have trouble with (among many, lol!), however I thought I'd give it a go and was reasonably pleased with the result. I have had yet another fiddle with my camera settings and think this time I may have made some improvements - the backing card I have used is a peachy colour and before I made the adjustments the photos came out a bright orange!! After the adjustments they are much nearer, but not exactly the same as the actual card, so I'm feeling a bit happier.

Card blank - 'Vintage Stepper' card - Which Craft

Card (Coredinations), backing papers and decoupaged fairy from the Flower Fairies cd (Rose) all from Crafter's Companion
Ribbon - The Ribbon Girl
Fancy button & pearls - J & C Creations
Leaf charm - Joanna Sheen
Viva pearl pen 'Ice White'
Dies used: SB 'Decorative Labels 8' & Cheery Lynn 'Exotic Butterflies'
Tim Holtz 'Spiced Marmalade' distress ink

Challenges:
'Vintage' - Crafter's Companion
'Shaped Card' - Dutch Dare
'Use Pastels' - Incy Wincy Designs
'Pastel Colours' - Love To Create




Thanks for looking!

Natx

In The Pink

I can’t believe that today is my penultimate post as a Guest Designer at Come & Get It, the time has simply flown! This week we want to see your take on Shell’s fab sketch.

We are being sponsored by Fred She Said and the prize is a fantastic $10 voucher for their online shop.

Please pop along to the other DT blogs to see what they have done. I decided on something floral for a change and chose this pretty ‘Corner Peony’ which I have made 3d with silicone glue although it looks flat on my photo!

Image - ‘Corner Peony’ – Fred She Said coloured with Promarkers 

Card – Coredinations
Papers – J & C Creations
Ribbon & gems from stash
Dies used: SB ‘Floral Fancies’, Cheery Lynn ‘Exotic Butterflies small’ & ‘Decco Corner B’
Tim Holtz ‘Spun Sugar’ distress ink pad
Viva Pearl Pen - ‘Ice White’

Challenges:
’Punch It Out – Whoopsi Daisy
’Anything Goes’ – Love To Create
’Anything Goes’ – I ♥ Promarkers

Thanks for looking!
Natx

 

Music Day

March 18th is 'Music Day' and I wasn't sure how to interpret this for my card at the J & C Creations Blog, I didn't have any musical orientated stamps, however I did find this lovely background paper at the J & C warehouse. So I decided not to use an image, but chose this very famous quote instead! Hope you like it!

All items from J & C Creations
Black card

Musical note paper
Black & ivory ribbon
'Fancy Buttons'
Spellbinders 'Decorative Labels 8' die
Tim Holtz 'Antique Linen' distress ink pad

Challenges:
'Seeing Double' - Anything Goes (buttons)
'Anything Goes' - Cute Card Thursday
'Anything Goes' - Love To Create

Thanks for looking!
Natx

***NEW CHALLENGE BLOG***

Evening everyone, I just popped in to tell you about a fantastic new Challenge run by Paula Holifield called 'A Little Bit Crafty'. Paula will be running the new challenge from her own Blog as well as running the hugely successful Joanna Sheen Challenge Blog. She has worked very hard to get the Challenge Blog ready and has lined up some fantastic sponsors and fabulous prizes for the coming months. 

She has chosen a wonderful DT and I'm so chuffed and excited to be part of that DT! Thank you Paula, can't wait to get started!

The challenge will be a monthly one and will start on 1st April - the theme will be a nice easy one to get everyone started - 'Anything Goes'. So please pop over to Paula's Blog, find out all the info, grab the new blinkie and start following the Blog so that you don't miss anything!

Natx

Oh Baby!

Oh my gosh, is it really Sunday already? where did the rest of the week go!! Today’s new challenge at Come & Get It is a lovely easy one – ‘Baby Projects’. I was spoilt for choice for an image for this card and I have opted to use a digi stamp from Pollycraft which is now closed :( 
I have followed the sketch at Sweet Sketch Wednesday

Image - ‘Moon Lullaby’ – Pollycraft coloured with Promarkers
Sentiments printed on PC
Card – Coredinations
Papers – Docrafts' ‘Me To You Spring Chic’
Lace & Sparkly ribbon – The Ribbon Girl
Ribbon – Joanna Sheen Shop
Charm – Ebay 
Pearls – J & C Creations shop

Buttons from stash

Dies used: SB ‘Circles’ & ‘Scalloped Circles’ & Cheery Lynn’s ‘Deco B corner’

Hunkydory’s Diamond Sparkles ‘Angel Whispers’ 

Challenges:
’Buttons Or Bows’ – Whoopsi Daisy
’123’ – Papertake Weekly (1 image, 2 papers, 3 buttons)
’Ribbons & Bows’ - I ♥ Promarkers
Sketch – Sweet Sketch Wednesday
’Anything Goes’ – Cute Card Thursday
’Child’s Play’ – Stampin For The Weekend
’As Easy As 123’ – Allsorts
’Bingo’ – Catch The Bug (Pearl, Circle, Die cut)

Thanks for looking!
Natx

Something Different!

Firstly, I would just like to say hello to my new followers, thank you for joining me! Also, sorry to my existing followers – there are not enough hours in the day at the moment and sometimes I get behind visiting all your lovely Blogs, so my comments are a bit delayed!

Today is the start of the new monthly challenge at J & C Creations Challenge and this month it’s a nice easy one – ‘Easter’! There is plenty of inspiration over on the Challenge Blog, do pop in to see all the different takes on the theme from the fab DT . The prize is a fantastic £20 voucher to spend in the online shop.

Regular visitors to my Blog will probably have been expecting some cute bunnies or chicks on my DT card and that’s nearly what I had decided on when I saw this rather beautiful stamp in the J & C warehouse – not my usual style, but it really took my fancy! I stamped the design in 'Rich Cocoa' instead of my usual 'Tuxedo Black' as I thought it would soften the image a little.

Items from J & C Creations

Stamp & Sentiment from Heartfelt Creation's 'Wrought Iron Cross' set
Papers - Craft Creations Pearls Flowers
Memento 'Rich Cocoa' ink pad
Tim Holtz 'Antique Linen' distress ink pad
Dies: Spellbinders 'Ovals' & 'Floral Ovals' & Marianne Designs 'Flowers & Leaves'

Other items 

Promarkers 

Kraft card from stash
Ribbon – Joanna Sheen shop

Challenges:
’Spring/Pastel’ – Crafty Bloggers Network
’Buttons Or Bows’ – Whoopsi Daisy
’123’ – Papertake Weekly (1 image, 2 papers, 3 flowers)
’Spring Fever’ – Cute Card Thursday
’Easter/Spring’ – C.R.A.F.T
’Springtime’- Allsorts

Thanks for looking!
Natx

Christmas in March!

Well, with the weather we are having at the moment, it could well be Christmas, but my post title actually refers to my DT card for this week’s challenge at Passion for Promarkers! The theme is ‘From Around The World’ and we are being sponsored by Clearly Besotted Stamps

who are giving away this fabulous ‘Going Places’ stamp set as the prize. Do pop along to the challenge Blog to see all the lovely DT cards.

I had a good rummage through my craft stash and was getting a bit stressed as I had nothing which seemed relevant to the theme this week and then I remembered this stamp that I had bought before Christmas and had not got around to using. As reindeers are not indigenous to the UK, I thought I would use this cute fella!

 

Reindeer & robin from the clear set ‘Santa’s Reindeer’ – Hobby Art
Red paper & Kraft card from stash
Holly paper – Dovecraft’s  ‘Contemporary Christmas’ 2” x 12” strips
Ribbon was part of a prize won at The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop
Gems – Anitas
Hunkydory’s Diamond Sparkles ‘Angel Whispers’ glitter
Viva ‘Ice White’ pearl pen for snow drops
Dies/punches used: SB ‘Labels 25’ & a Woodware snowflake mini punch

Challenges:
’Sparkle & Bling – Christmas Cards All Year Round
’Anything But Square’ – I ♥ Promarkers
’Buttons Or Bows – Whoopsi Daisy
’Ribbon’ – Creative Card Crew
’Bingo’ – ABC Christmas Challenge (ribbon/animal/die cuts)

Thanks for looking!
Natx

Mum’s The Word!

My second post for today is my DT card for the challenge at Joanna Sheen. This fortnight the theme is ‘Mum’s The Word’ – very relevant given today’s date! The prize is a fantastic £15 voucher for the Joanna Sheen shop,

so get on over to the challenge blog to check out all the inspiration from the DT.

There is no stamped image on my card today!! as I have used this gorgeous decoupage from the Joanna Sheen shop, it made a nice change, however this was NOT die-cut decoupage and I realised how lazy the die-cut versions have made me, lol!

and a sideways view:

 

Card, decoupage & ribbon – Joanna Sheen shop
Flowers – WOC & The ribbon Girl
Pearls – J & C Creations shop
Dies/punches used: Martha Stewart PATP ‘Layered Arches’, Cheery Lynn ‘Exotic Butterfly’ ‘Lace corner Deco B’ & ‘Fancy Flourish’
Hunkydory Diamond Sparkles ‘Angel Whispers’

Challenges:
’Anything Goes’ – That Craft Place
’Ribbon’ – Creative Card Crew
’Anything Goes’ – Papertake Weekly
’Spring/Pastel’ – Crafty Bloggers Network
’Spring Fever’ – Cute Card Thursday
’Easter/Spring’ – C.R.A.F.T
’Springtime’ – Allsorts
'Mother's Day' - Dream Valley

Thanks for looking! 

Natx

Recycle It!

It’s Sunday again! That means the start of another challenge at Come & Get It. This week we want you to use something ‘Out Of The Recycle Bin’ on your project. Make sure you visit the other DT members' blogs for some inspiration. 
I’m sure this is not a difficult challenge for all you crafters out there, no doubt like me, you save all sorts of bits and pieces that other people would throw in the bin! I have used some wrapping paper, buttons off an old cardigan and some ‘ribbon’ (threaded through the buttons) that was the hanger for a blouse.

Image – ‘Eileen’ – Mo Manning coloured with Promarkers
Sentiment – Stamping All Day
Papers, buttons and white ‘ribbon’ – recycled
Spotted ribbon from stash
Pearls – J & C Creations shop
Dies/punches used: SB ‘Labels 25’, Cheery Lynn’s ‘Exotic Butterfly’ & ‘Fancy Flourish’ & small & medium flower punches from Hobbycraft

Challenges:
’Anything Goes’ – Papertake Weekly
’Ribbon’ – Creative Card Crew
’Buttons & Bows’ – Divas By Design
’Green Thumb’ – Catch The Bug
'Mother's Day' - Dream Valley

Thanks for looking!
Natx

Boy Gamer

The sun has was shining yesterday, what a welcome sight, I wish it could last, but the forecast says different! This was a recent card I made and as the image is from a die-cut sheet,  no colouring was required, perfect for when you are in a hurry. The image caught my eye as this could well be a picture of either of my boys, they do seem to get carried away with their gaming, lol!

Image - 'Boy Gamer ' - Kenny K

Card - Coredinations & ribbon - J & C Creations
Papers - 'Back To Basics II' - Dovecraft
Ticket sentiment stamp - Stamping All Day
Tim Holtz distress ink pad 'Bundled Sage'
Brads from stash

Challenges:

’For The Boys’ – Dutch Dare
’Anything Goes’ – Catch The Bug
’No Stamps Allowed’ – Here Come The Boys
’Anything Goes’ – That Craft Place
’Make It Manly’ – Anything Goes
’Anything Goes’ – Papertake Weekly

Thanks for looking!
Natx

Buggy Bookmark

Today’s challenge at Come & Get It is ‘Anything But A Card’ and we are being sponsored by Bugaboo stamps who are giving away 7 of their fab digis to the winner, please pop along to the other DT members’ blogs as they have come up with some inspirational projects.

Now this is not my favourite kind of challenge, I struggle for ideas so I popped over to Lena Katrine’s Blog as she has some wonderful templates and tutorials. Time has been really short for me lately and I would love to have made one of her more complicated projects, but her corner bookmarks took my fancy as they looked less time consuming and so here is a bookmark featuring Deacon from Bugaboo. I thought it would be perfect for my nephew who is forever bring my sister delightful gifts from the garden, lol! The image is called ‘Deacon Bugs’ so I thought adding a few 3d bugs would finish off the bookmark.

And here it is in action!

Image - ‘Deacon Bugs’ – Bugaboo Stamps coloured with Promarkers 

Kraft card, papers & bugs from stash
Dies used: SB ‘Circles’ & ‘Scalloped Circles’

Challenges:
’Anything But A Card’ – Incy Wincy Designs
’Make It Manly’ – Anything Goes
’Something Old’ – Cute Card Thursday (bugs are from when my children – now 17 & 13 were at pre-school!)
’For The Boys’ – Dutch Dare
’Anything Goes’ – Catch The Bug
’Anything Goes’ – That Craft Place

Thanks for Looking!
Natx

Lady In Red

Two posts in one day, I am on a roll! I made this card for LOTV’s special challenge as they are celebrating their 9th Birthday – see the side bar for more info. I love LOTV stamps, however I don’t get to use them as much as I like which is why this cutie has not seen the light of day since I bought her with some challenge winnings last year. I was a bit frightened of colouring her, but now I’ve done it I really can’t think why! I decided to shape the card like a fan, but then I got a bit carried away and went and covered up the edges!

Stamp – Aimi With Lantern – LOTV coloured with Promarkers
The fans were made with a stamp I have had for absolutely years and have no idea where it came from!
Sentiment – LOTV
Ribbon, silver fan & red embossed card from stash
Flowers – WOC
Pearls, fancy button and silver flowers – J & C Creations shop
Tools used: SB ‘Floral Ovals’ die, Memory Box ‘Faux Crochet Border’ die & SB M-Bossabilities ‘Whimsy’ embossing folder

Challenges:
'Birthday Card' - LOTV
’Ribbon & Bling’ – Dream Valley
’Add A Sentiment’ – Whoopsi Daisy
’Mother’s Day/Birthday’ – Inky Chicks
’Birthday’ – Creative Card Crew
’Anything Goes’ – Divas By Design
’Lace And/Or Pearls’ – I ♥ Promarkers
’Something Old’ – Cute Card Thursday (fan stamp, red card and silver fan)
’Use Embossing’ – C.R.A.F.T

Thanks for looking!
Natx

National Pig Day – 1st March

Here is another card made for the J & C Creations Blog. National Pig Day is an event held annually on the 1st March  in the United States to celebrate the pig. The holiday celebration was started in 1972 by sisters Ellen Stanley, a teacher in Lubbock, Texas, and Mary Lynne Rave of Beaufort, North Carolina. According to Rave the purpose of National Pig Day is "to accord the pig its rightful, though generally unrecognized, place as one of man's most intellectual and domesticated animals.” The holiday is most often celebrated in the Midwest.

National Pig Day includes events at zoos, schools, nursing homes, and sporting events around the United States. It is also recognized at "pig parties" where pink pig punch and pork delicacies are served, and pink ribbon pigtails are tied around trees in the pigs' honour.

I’m not quite sure how eating pork delicacies is a tribute to pigs, lol! As this card was made for  the J & C Creations Blog, I have used one of the many Penny Black stamps which are available on their website.

Items available from J & C Creations shop 
Stamp – ‘Party Animals’ – Penny Black coloured with Promarkers
Paper – Craft Creations
Pink card – Coredinations
Pearls
Tools: Marianne Designs ‘Picket Fence’ die, SB M-Bossabilities ‘Whimsy’ embossing folder

Other items

Hunkydory’s Diamond Sparkles ‘Angel Whispers’

Challenges:
'Animals' - Allsorts
'Add A Sentiment' - Whoopsi Daisy
'Use Embossing' - CRAFT

Thanks for looking!
Natx