A big welcome to all of my lovely followers and visitors to my little space in the crafting world of blogland! I love colouring, drool over every embellishment and love to 'look' at papers (never mind using them) - some are just TOO good to use lol. I hope you enjoy your little wander through my creative world and would love to feel that I may have inspired some of you in some small way. Happy Crafting to you all and I hope you will stop by again soon!

Sunday 24 February 2013

Wacky Birthday

Hiya all, hope you're all well and that you've all had a fab weekend!  I have a quick post for you all today as I am super duper busy, but I thought I'd give you all a giggle with this little cutie.

Here is a new, hilarious image called Funny Face, created by the extremely talented Sheryl of Redonkadoodles.  I couldn't wait to colour this bucket full of fun up ..... 


I've been doing a fair few fussy, fancy cards just recently (bet you can't say that in a hurry!!) but, for this one, I let the image take centre stage .... I think she can handle it, don't you? :)  The teal & brown colour combo is one of my all time favourites and I reckoned they'd be perfect for this gorgeous chick.


I've layered the backing papers at angles and added faux 'glitter' stitching on each mat. I then added a simple layering of flowers to add dimension.  The greeting was computer generated then glittered.  I layered three strips of ribbon under each side of the greeting - each ribbon folded over. 

I have to say, I've pulled this face on many occasions - but never once have I looked as gorgeous doing so!! LOL ...

Card Ingredients:
Copics:  Eyes E00, 11, 21, R11  Hair  E37, 35, 33, 53, 51  Dress  BG49, 23, 15 & YR 23, 31
Papers: My Mind's Eye - Paris & Co from Dies to Die For
Flowers - under layer - Prima
Flowers - roses - The Hobby House
Metal corner (coloured with Copic) - LLC
Ribbon from stash

I'd like to enter this babe into the following:
613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes - Optional 'Pile it On'
CMC Copic Challenge - Girly
Creative Card Crew - Birthday
Inky Chicks - Mother's Day or Birthday
Lacy Sunshine Challenge  - Favourite Colour Combo
Sentimental Sundays - Flowers, flowers & more flowers
Totally Gorjuss - Happy

Thank you so much for stopping by today and I do hope this li'l lady brought a smile to you all!
Big hugs,

Monday 18 February 2013

Vintage Victoria

Hello lovelies, hope you're all keeping well and happy!

I've been a very busy bee with my little creation I'm sharing with you all today.  A lovely friend asked me to make her an 8" x 8" birthday card and candle set for her sister, Wendy.  Her sister lives in Canada and so, as you can imagine, they don't get to see each other as often as they would like and so I really wanted to make this an extra special keepsake .......


First up is the card - I have used another of the 'Simply Adorable' Sugar Nellie stamps from Funkykits and this little lady is called Victoria.  I coloured her up with Copics and, as she is so very beautiful, I felt she deserved to be surrounded by beautiful papers and embellishments too :)  The gorgeous papers are from the Pion collection and you can find them here at Live and Love Crafts.  I distressed each edge and inked as well as adding cheesecloth to the back of each mat.  I also inked and stamped up a doily and popped it behind Victoria.


Have you spotted the little spools?  How adorable?  These cuties, along with the string pearls at the side and central flower can also be found in LLC.  I've admired the spools for a while now and just HAD to get me some :)  For Wendy's name I printed letters (miniscule ...... like 7mm square), cut them out and even went as far as distressing the tiny edges - well ...... they had to fit in with the theme didn't they ;)


I used my Martha Stewart punch on the second mat and elevated it to make a pocket for Wendy's birthday poem, which I made a tag for.  I stamped the birthday greeting for the top, cut out and added 3d foam for dimension then added a bow of seam binding ribbon and twine - also from LLC (boy I LOVE that store) - plus my lovely roses from The Hobby House.


I coloured the candle image in exactly the same colours as the card - although it does darken once the image has been heated onto the candle.  I added the tag poem also onto the back of the candle and added adhesive cream lace around the top and bottom.  

Copics ingredients are:

Skin:  E00, E11, E21, R11
Hair: E33, E51, E53
Hat & Jacket:  E21, E33, E35, E37
Hat flowers:  E04, R20 RV95

I'd like to enter into the following:

Anything Goes Challenge - Vintage/Shabby Chic
Bunny Zoe's Crafts - Flowers and Pearls
Crafty Catz Weekly Challenge - Bingo (I've used Pearls, Punches & Ribbon)
Deep Ocean Challenge - Letter 'B' (I have Bow, Butterfly, Brad, Browns)
Live and Love Crafts - Tina's Sketch
Sentimental Sundays - Lace and Pearl (plus a sentiment)
Simply Create Too - Mother's Day or For a Female
The Sugar Bowl - Any craft using a Sugar Nellie stamp
613 Avenue Create - Brown/Pink/Cream or White

Thank you so much for popping by today!
Big hugs xx

Friday 8 February 2013

Cloud 9 Bebe

Hi all, I'm back again with another adorable Sugar Nellie baby  - this one's called Bebe and you can find this little beauty here.  I honestly cannot get over how true to life these stamps are - amazing!


I coloured this little precious one with my Copics -
Skin:  E00, E11, E21, R11     Hat:  YG00, YG03, YG23     Blanket:  B93, B95, B97


       I bought the backing papers, called Cloud 9 baby boy, from QVC many moons ago - can't remember quite how long but it's approx 4 to 5ish years!! They came in a set of 12" x 12" double sided papers with a huge amount of gorgeous embellishments to co-ordinate - it was definitely one of those sets you just want to look at and stroke and woe betide anyone who dared to want to actually USE them ;)


I made the name banner by painstakingly cutting out each flag, then painstakingly cutting out a slightly smaller flag,  painstakingly distressing the edges of each little flag and adding letters from the paper set.  I'm seriously thinking of getting one of those fishtail flag dies - might come in handy ;)  I used my crop-a-dile to punch the holes through and then threaded the twine.  At either end I added a couple of cute little nappy pins, which have also been in my stash for years!


  The 'baby boy', 'heart' rub-ons and 'huggable' chipboard tile were also elements from this beautiful set.   I added some bling and butterflies and voila!! All done :)  Actually, it wasn't as easy as that - in fact, it took me flipping ages lol .... but I do enjoy a challenge!


I popped a personalised computer sentiment on the front and used more of the co-ordinating papers for the inside.

I would like to enter Cloud 9 Bebe into the following:

Challenges 4 Everybody Ch 13 - Anything Goes
Crafting When We Can Ch 37 - Cards for Boys
Dilly Beans Challenge - Hearts
The Sugar Bowl Ch 100 - Any craft project using a Sugar Nellie rubber stamp/digi image
Tuesday Throwdown - Hearts & String/Twine

Thank you to all who pop by and wishing you all have a fabby weekend!
Big hugs,

Tuesday 5 February 2013

Beautiful Bambino

Hi everyone!  Today I'm really quite excited to share with you a card (with a little bit of a difference) made using the adorable Bambino by Sugar Nellie - a lot of you have most probably seen this gorgeous stamp floating around but, for those who haven't, it can be found here.  

I was asked to make an 8" x 8" birth card for a friend's newborn Grandson and here it is .......


How precious is this little image?  I fell in love as soon as I saw it and knew I had to have it for this card! 
The beautiful background papers are from Lili of the Valley called Bear Necessities.
I've made this particular card as a 'pocket card' - the label top centre of the card holds the greeting ..... as there is NO inside to this card!


I coloured the lovely Bambino up with Copics using:  Skin - E00, E11, E21, R11  Hat - B97, B95, B93.
The floral arrangement is a mixture of flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts, Magnolia Vintage Berries from Live and Love Crafts, die- cut leaves and heart pins.


Little one was born last Thursday and so I thought it'd be quite sweet to pop on the actual day he was born using the well known poem, Monday's Child :)

Here's a little Tracey Fact for you ....... I was born on a Tuesday, which, as we all know, means 'Full of Grace'.  Well, hmmmm, some may argue that fact but, I like to think (even if I'm just kidding myself) that I can be quite graceful at times ....... on occasions the grace has slipped, but, on the whole ......

How about you all?  Do you match up to your birth day or are you complete opposite?  It's the poor people born on a Wednesday I feel for ..... All of the other days have good, positive meanings and then you have ...... WOE! Where did that one pop up from? ;o)

Above left is the greeting label, which fits into the top front of the card and the pic above right is my own nifty creation to make the card stand up ...... was a little worried it was gonna fall straight on its back but, thankfully, it was well behaved :)
Please excuse these two pics ...... they're really not the best picture quality but, hopefully, you can understand what I'm waffling on about!

 

Here's a little side view to give you more of an idea of how it stands.

I would like to enter my card into the following:

A Gem of a Challenge - Ch 65 - Gingham or Checks
Allsorts Challenge - Wk 192 - Let's Get Cute
Bearly-Mine Challenges - Ch 72 - Anything Goes
Crafty Boots Challenges - Blue and White
Cute Card Thursday - Ch 254 - A Different Corner
Love to Create - Ch 51 - Let's Celebrate
Sentimental Sundays Ch 140 - Celebrating the 'New'
The Squirrel and the Fox - Ch 36 - Something New
The Sugar Bowl - Ch 99 - Anything Goes
Twisted Tuesday Challenge - Free For All

Thank you all for stopping by today and, for you lovely peeps who leave a comment I'd just like to say I really appreciate them :)

Big hugs xx

Saturday 2 February 2013

The Tree of Love

Hi all - I'm back again! Think I'm on a roll at the moment :)  Hope you're all having a lovely weekend so far. It's a tad cold still, but the sun is shining - which definitely makes for one happy crafty bunny here! 

 Today I'm showing a Valentine's card, which I was asked to make by my fiance's boss to give to his wife.  Last year he made the mistake of leaving it until the last minute, rushing to the shop after work and picking up the first card he came to ...... on presenting it to his wife with a smug glow, imagine his horror when she opened it up to find that he had, in fact, bought her a birthday card!! Hee hee!


For this card I followed the sketch over at CLP Challenge.  I added cheesecloth under the first mat (I do love how this softens a card) and added lace and a doily under my second mat.  The little heart charm was originally silver - I coloured  it to co-ordinate with my tree hearts.


This gorgeous digital stamp called Willow Heart Tree is from Cedar Chest Designs.  I coloured with my Copics - Hearts R32, R37, R59  Tree Trunk/Ground E31, E35, E57.  I then added 3D crystal laquer over each heart to give a raised, shiny effect.


The floral arrangement is a mixture of die-cut flowers and leaves, as well as beautiful roses.  I added little red and cream heart pins to add to the romance :)


Here is a little side and inside view ......... let's hope Mr Boss Man's lovely wife likes her card this year ;)

I would like to enter my card into the following:

Bearly-Mine Challenge 71 - Hearts Galore
By the Cute and Girly - February Roses are Red
Catch the Bug Challenge - February Anything Goes
CLP Challenge 55 - Sketch
Deep Ocean Challenge Blog - Ch #44 - Love and Lace
Gingerloft - GL56 - Love is in the Air
Inky Chicks  - Ch 2 - Bingo (Pins, Image, Lace)
The ABC Challenge - G for Going Dotty
Unique Crafters Challenge - Lace and Fabric (Lace, Cheesecloth, Jute Twine)

Right .... I'm off to colour up another tree now :)  Thanks so much for popping by and Happy Crafting everyone!
Big hugs, xx

Friday 1 February 2013

Alicia Loves Reading

Hiya lovelies and a Happy February to you all ..... Where oh where did January go?? It normally seems such a loooooong month, but has gone in a flash this year! One step closer to spring .... yay!!   
Today I am showcasing this adorable digital stamp called 'Alicia Loves Reading' and you can find her here at Alicia's Little Shop, along with a few other gorgeous little stamps!

How cute is she?

I distressed my backing papers, edged with chalk and added cheesecloth behind it.  I coloured Alicia with copics as follows:
Hair/Eyes/Book:  E35, E37, E49, E57
Skin:  E00, E11, E21, R11
Trousers/Lips:  R00, R11, RV42
I then paper pieced her top, headband and chair to co-ordinate with the backing papers!  Ooh, I do LOVE cutting stuff out :)


The little floral arrangement is made up of flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts, a mixture of die cut leaves from Dies to Die for and Joy Crafts as well as a couple of pearl pins.


I printed the sentiment from my computer - love this sentiment .... I am in the process of finishing my craft room and saw this sentiment in vinyl, which you transfer onto your wall for added decor! Thought it would be quite apt for this little card too :)  I made the tag using some jute twine so that it would 'hang' from the flower - kinda like a picture frame - then added gorgeous shabby seam binding.  Twine, cheesecloth and shabby seam binding all came from Live and Love Crafts.


I would like to enter this little make into the following:

Alicia's Challenge #2 - Use your favourite crafty item! (I have used flowers)
Copic Marker Europe - Ch 13 - Anything Goes
Crafts and Me - Your favourite embellishment (Flowers)
Cute Card Thursday - Ch 254 - A Different Corner
Inky Chicks - Ch 2 - Bingo (Flowers, Image, Die-Cut)
Inky Impressions - Ch 95 - Bingo (Flowers, Sentiment, Twine)
Paper Crafting Journey - For a Girl
Perfect Sentiments - Anything Goes with a Die-Cut

Thanks for popping by today and huge hugs to all, xxx