X is for (e)Xplosion.....Feb challenge at Scrapology

My goodness.....February already!!! So here we are with another super challenge from the DT over at Scrapology! This month we have lifted a fabulous and fun layout by Corrie Jones, whose blog you can visit here!
So....the challenge is to create an explosion of embellishments.....it can be any kind of embellishments you like .....I chose sequins, crystals, glitter domes and wood veneer hearts.
I scrapped 3 pics of my eldest gorgeous girly at her prom ( I shall still add some journalling at some point)

I inked and painted through a mask to create the background behind the photos and coloured in a beautiful stamped image by Saturated Canary using Promarkers and added Stickles and Liquid Pearls and then just added a splattering of embellies and finished with a title od AC Thickers ( in my fave colour lol)

Here is Corrie's original and inspiring layout that we lifted...

and here is the sketch that our lovely Lynn created for following .

So....there you go....a fun new challenge to join in with and if you visit the Scrapology blog you can see all the beautiful and varied DT examples....plus see the lovely prize up for offer this month.....what are you waiting for????? Go *explode* everywhere :D

Hidden Treasures...a class by Linda.

A few weeks ago now we had the Cardinal Colours Spring Weekend Crop...it was a fab weekend, people could come along and just scrap or cardmake or do anything they liked. And if they fancied it they had the choice of a few classes to choose from too. I chose to take 2, one was with Lynn and I did this page and the other was with Linda and this is the page below. I didn't actually do it at that crop, I took the kit away and scrapped it at our Blossom retreat

The papers ARE gorgeous! ( Fab choice Linda!!) so elegant and striking in the black and white....very classy!
Now I don't really get on very well with white space lol( infact I really do struggle with it!) and the original class had its fair share of white space on it ( and very nice it looks too on Linda's original page)
so I added a half sheet of another paper in the same range and just changed the placement of the little diamond sections.

The photo opened up to reveal 2 more inside from our wedding day ( the one on the front was our last wedding anniversary)
I loved Linda's addition of a little bit of colour with the ribbon and the distressing with matching ink pad and I decided to carry the colour onto some of the clear crystals we used. I just coloured them with a Promarker to the same shade.

Thank you Linda for a lovely class xxx

Meeting Maddie....and a couple of cards to welcome her.

Well I have been to meet Maddie now...and was lucky enough to have a cuddle with ( I am such a lucky Aunti!) she is just soooo teeny, I am sure neither of our girls were that small! Although they must have been as they were both considerably smaller that that at birth! So hard to remember or imagine.

Anyway, I made a couple of cards today, one for her Mummy and Daddy and one for her big Sister and Big Brothers, so I thought I would share them here :)

The first one is for her Mummy and Daddy, I used some Bazzill Bling ( from Cardinal Colours),
papers from Basic Grey 'Blush' collection, the image is a Penny Black coloured with my Promarkers ( again all colours available from Cardinal Colours).
I have used AC Foam Thickers for her name and coated with some Stickles, also used some Liquid Pearls. The little butterflies were from a MS punch and the circular sentiment is by Craftwork Cards


And this is the card I made for Maddie's Big Sister and Big Brothers :)
It's another Penny Black, again coloured with Promarkers and with another CC sentiment. I have a large square sheet of bling and have cut off 2 strips which I used around the edge of the image and although you can't see it, the whole card is really sparkly as I have sprayed it with Spray and Sparkle....so pretty...honest!


So anyway, here she is! Isn't she gorgeous? So teeny and pretty and soft...and she has that divine new baby smell, THE best smell in the world!

Welcome to big wide world dear little Maddie, I hope its filled with love, laughter, happiness and lots and lots of cuddles....especially from me ;)

Can you tell I am smitten?

October Card challenge at Scrapology

Over at Scrapology the latest card challenge has been set! This time we have been challenged to use eyelets by Sue ( Doogle007).
Here is my first of 2 cards that I created for the DT this month. I have used an image called Allura Von D ( saucy little number isn't she!) by KennyK and coloured her in using my Promarkers. The chipboard '16' has been coated with a silver and also a pink nail varnish and the sentiment is by Craftworkcards.


The metal flower is one taken from a necklace that I purchased in Primark and I just added the hot pink crystal in the centre for a bit more bling.



I will pop by another time and post my other card, but why not pop yourself along to Scrapology and see the fabulous cards that the rest of the DT and have made and hopefully you might like to join in the fun with us, we would love to see what you create :)
Warmest wishes
Anita..xxx

Little Goth Girl

Just a very quick post tonight as i am off to bed in a moment, nursing a right minger of a headache/jawache and PMT....GGGGRrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

I thought I would blog this card I made this afternoon for my Aunt whose birthday it is tomorrow
I used scraps from my scrap bag, i *think* they are Making Memories, Off Beat by Basic Grey and the cream and spot one I think is also Basic Grey, possibly from the Blush Collection. I cut and stickled the Sissix swirl and added some flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts. The image is a Gorjuss Girl stamp and I coloured her with my Promarkers


I ran the brown square through an embossing folder before matting each section with brown bazzill and tied some organza ribbon round the card.

Hope she likes it :).xx

Scrapology May Card Challenge

Over at Scrapology this month we have a new card challenge....set by our lovely and super- talented friend Zoe Pierson

The theme was 'Thanks' and this one of my 2 cards that I created for the DT. Its to celebrate mine ( and Zoe's lol) absolute love for those delicious little green orbs...AKA brussell sprouts lol! Well ok.....its only me who loves them ;)
( for some reason the photo looks blurred, but if you click on it and see it full size its better)

this is the sketch that we worked from and you can see the other DT members beautiful creations if you look here

Why not join in with the challenge yourself? You could win this gorgeous prize, very kindly donated by Zoe ( thanks for your generosity Zoe)

I used a lovely fairy from Kraftin Kimmies ( thanks Linda) and coloured her in with my Promarkers and cut out with a scalloped edge nestie. The background is sprout wrapping paper ( from a lovely birthday pressie from Linda and Lynn, thank girls xx) and then have added some angel hair mesh, crochet net, various blossoms and crystals....and LOTS of Stickles!

I made the decorative pin using some beads from my stash.

Hope you like the look of the challenge and decide to have a play along with us.

Warmest wishes

Anita..xx

Happy 40th to the best Little Sister ever!

Yep, she has hit the biiiiiig 40! So, wishing you the happiest and most special of birthdays Donna and hoping it was a fabsulous day ( I know the evening was ;) LOL!)

This is the card I made for her, I have used the CC Designs Swiss Pixie Cupcake Birgitta , coloured with Promarkers and finished with various blossoms, stamped sentiment using an SU stamp ( thank you Zoe xx) AC Thickers, die cut shapes and some free papers from a mag...oh yes and a sprinkling of Stickles!

See, she really IS a wonderful little Sister....always has been.

She was lovely even way back then.......even with a wonky fringe he!he!he!

So, on Sunday night she had a big party so we could all share in the celebrations. It was really lovely to see so many of our rellies and her friends all in one place, but such a shame that our parents couldn't join us due to illness ( maybe we should do it all again next week? What do ya think??)

He is me and my lovely gang ( Sharon, recognise the shirt? ;) )

Donna and my Hubby....well part of him!

Donna and my lovely Brother-In-Law and Neice and Nephews ( before the alcohol lol)

Hope you had the most wonderful day Hun, you so totally deserve it ((((hugs))))

How Charming! A new challenge....for card makers!

Hello there :) I hope you have had a beautiful weekend and had chance to enjoy the amazing weather we seem to have been blessed with! Long may it continue. Over at Scrapology we have just launched a new challenge....alongside our monthly Scrapping challenge there will now also be a card making challenge.....some months there will also be prizes to be won. This month we have had a fab challenge set by Elaine of Quixotic Paperie, she has a fabulous online shop that sells the most fabulous stamps, papers and lots and lots of lovely charms, please do go and have a looky at her goodies, you will not be dissapointed! Elaine has set the Challenge 'Be Charmed'and all you have to do is incorporate a charm on your card....so what are you waiting for? Go and create and leave us a comment with a link to your card....there is a voucher to be won for Elaine's shop up for grabs Here are the 2 cards I have made for the DT posting. This first one was for my daughter's Birthday. The image is the 'Birthday Fairy' by Lili of the Valley and I have popped her onto some Papermania papers and embellished with various blossoms, a bit of sparkly Papermania Ribbon, I used my LeoneM punch, Perfect Pearls, Stickles and added a charm. The image is coloured with Promarkers. My 2nd card is using a Penny Black stamp, called Flutter-Bye and I have coloured it with Promarkers, the butterfly is coated with Glossy accents. The papers are from a small pad by K&Co and I have also used some Stickles, half pearls, daisy punch, CC sentiment and of course a charm. So, why not come and join us on this challenge and create a card....you have got to be 'in it' to 'win it!' Warmest wishes Anita.xxx

A couple of cards .....

to share with you :)
Hello there :)....I have found myself in a strangely creative mood today ( most bizarre as of late my mojo seems to have left the building!!!) Anyway, I thought I would strike whilst the iron was hot...
I have actually managed to make 2 cards and 1 and a half layouts!!! So tonight I thought I would share the cards with you.
The first one is for my Nephew, who is going to be 5 on Saturday. The stamped image is one from the Greeting Farm, coloured with Promarkers and lots of the Promarker blender pen and the papers are from K&Co, with a CC greeting and a glittered chipboard No 5. I just finished the card off with some Liquid Pearls around the edges. The scalloped bazill square was cut using one of the large Spellbinder Dies on my friends Grand Calibur ( cheers Sue.xx)





The second card was made really just to use the scraps of paper from the first card. I used another scalloped square of Bazill, some Stickles, a cabochon rose bead and a SU stamp for the sentiment( thanks Zoe Hun.x) The butterfly was an image I printed from the internet and then I added Liquid Pearls along the wing edge and then coated the whole thing with Glossy Accents, and when dry, I cracked it. I sprayed the whole card with Spray and Sparkle Silver glitter spray


Hopefully i will get a good photo of one of the layouts tomorrow and can upload it, its for a challenge on a fab blog that I have found and its a challenge to use old stash....so watch this space.
TTFN

Warmest wishes Anita..xxxx

Websters Pages and Wooly Ruffles...

hello there :)
I hope you are having a lovely weekend so far( even though the weather is pretty pants!) I have been busy making a good start on 18 flannel reindeer that I am making for my Nephew and Neice's school Christmas Fair...they are filled with yummy chocs....just got to finish putting bells onto their antlers and they will be done! ( need to get some more bells though)
Also I have been doing a fair bit of knitting too. I made this scarf a few weeks ago and thought I would get the girls to take a couple of photos so I could scrap them at some point. I am so NOT a knitter LOL( I knitted lots of small squares several years ago and sewed them together to make a jumper.....it was more like a sleeping bag!!!), but I must admit I am thoroughly enjoying creating these ruffly scarves.

I fell in love with these Websters Pages papers a few weeks ago and ordered some after being totally and utterly inspired over the past few months of looking at the lovely blog of Jo's

She is a fantastic scrapper and superb card maker( aswell as being a lovely, lovely blogger) and she has used Websters a lot in both crafts, please do pop over and enjoy some time floating through her inspirational posts.
I am totally in love with the colour Teal ( you may already know that lol) and on a trip over to Crawley recently I found this beautiful trim in a fabric shop, it would have been so rude to come out without buying some wouldn't it! I also had the sequin trim in my stash, which I thought went well with the page.

Out came my beloved Ice Stickles and I spattered them EVERYWHERE lol.
I had some large creamy coloured paper flowers and wanted to match a couple to the papers

, so I coloured a couple with a Marine Promarker..... I love the depth of colour, so rich.
I used 2 sheets of the same Hollywood Vogue papers and made the large circle using the reverse side and cut out and Stickled the other elements and then layered them up with foam pads. I then just added some fancy pins, crystal sprays and some gold dots

I have to say I really enjoyed creating this page and now I really REALLy want to play with some more Websters pages.....so THANK YOU Jo for your wonderful inspiration!

Have a super weekend and thanks for looking.

Warmest wishes Anita..xxxx

Perfect Promarker Prize!.....and a layout.

Just thought I would drop you a reminder about this months challenge over at Scrapology
its called E is for Embellishment and its a beautiful layout that we have been lucky enough to lift. Why not pop over and have a look and join in.
Its well worth a try I can promise you, just check out this months fabulously perfect prize that once again has been very kindly donated by our lovely friend Jill of Cardinal Colours
This lush set of 10 Promarkers could be yours.....so what are you waiting for? You have till 4th dec to enter this months challenge, we would love to see what you create.

Right, well I have a layout here to share with you. I have used the pink Paislee 'Queen Bee' range for this and 2 sheets of bazill cardstock ( Auckland and Bitter chocolate)

Lots of cutting out for this page and layering up using foam pads to add depth to the page. It was then inked and Stickled and I finished it using Velvet thickers for the title( they are sooooo lovely to stroke lol)

That's it for now...thanks for looking.

Warmest wishes Anita..xxx

Birthday Cards,Doughnut Bobbing and Fail Bake!

Hello there....I have got a few things to share with you in this post....not all good...eeeek!
Firstly I thought I really must post my mum's Birthday card that I made for her.....or rather Birthday Explosion Box Card.


Its made in basically the same way as a normal explosion box, but I have cut the corner sections off at an angle and then added flowers and a little Magnolia figure in the centre. I have seen these boxes in my travels round other blogs in the past, but i am sorry I can;t credit which ones as I never saved a link :(

Its very sparkly in real life and rather pretty( if i say so myself...hope I don;t sound big headed though lol) The flowers are all edged with Crystal Stickles and there are Stickle dots on the paper too. The little girl is coloured with Promarkers

I guess I really should have taken a photo of the box with the lid on....oh well...maybe another time.

So...onto the doughnut bobbing! This was the main evening entertainment( apart from pass the parcel LOL) the other night at my Mum's house...we popped down to see her on Sunday on her actual birthday and we took a long a couple of bags of doughnuts and long ribbons!

These were then hung from a long ribbon going from the top of the door to the top of the broom and then it was held high so the doughnuts dangled temptingly ( is that even a word??) infront of the girls. They had to try and eat the whole doughnut as fast as they could....without using their hands!

Holly was quite good at it!

I said WITHOUT using your hands Lauren!!!

Good fun was had by all.....and there was sugar EVERYWHERE!!!!!

Ok, so now we are moving onto the not so good.................Fail Bake!!!!!!!

Bet you can't guess what this is supposed to be???????????

Nope, it's not chocolate sponge triangles..........or burnt apple turn overs....... they ARE supposed to be croissants!!!!! And no...not chocolate ones at that!

Firstly i know they are totally the wrong shape for a start....yep, I forgot to roll them up.....and yep, they cooked for just an oodle too long....and no....the birds didn't like them either! At one point we had 2 seagulls with a kango hammer trying to break into them on the front grass.



Soooooo......I had another go....and followed(read) the instructions....he!he!he!

And they came out like this

so when they were cooked ( to perfection I might add) I also popped in some ham and cheese....yummy yum yum! The seagulls did NOT get any! I don't think I will give up my day job though.

......right, just going out for a little stroll up the road to see if we can see any fireworks and to take out some sparklers....Happy Bonfire Night :)

Sunny Sunny Smiles and Sunflowers...and some new stamps too!

Hello there.
Well, I hope you have had chance to make the most of the beautiful day we have had today, it's certainly made a change from what the recent days have been like. we spent a lovely day yesterday down on Hastings seafront....I had to work as usual first thing, but then came home, changed and off we went before it got too busy. We had a smashing time floating in and out the little old shops down in old Town and along the seafront into the amusement arcades....and then enjoyed hot dogs, chips and Dale and Chloe also had some fresh doughnuts!


The sky was absolutely beautiful and I thought I really should take some shots of Chloe's sunflowers that she has grown this year ( I guess I really should have taken photos of its growth progress all along the way...oh well, maybe next year eh LOL!)
Here is one of the blooms, there are 4 more that are starting to open too....I really loved the contrast of the bright yellow against the stunning blue of the sky.

Later in the evening i was scouting through my photo files and found this one of my gorgeous little nephew, Joshua.....and was struck by the similarity between the 2 photos....well, apart from the fact that he hasn't got a deeply tanned face and leaves LOL. He is such a happy little soul and gives the sunniest of smiles bless him.


I thought I would share this new card with you too. I popped up to the Glitter Pot the other day and took my lovely Mum along for the ride as she hasn't been to the new location yet. After having seen Liz's beautiful cards on her blog and also the stunning examples at the Glitter Pot I actually bought myself a set of stamps!!!!! And, more unlike me....I actually got them out and used them THE VERY SAME DAY!!!!!!!

So this is my first card using them....and I have to say i really like it...it makes a change from the other cards I normally do. I coloured the image with my Promarkers and then added some Stickles to finish it off.

Right, that's it from me tonight....I need to pop up to the shops and grab some strawberries, melons and other bits as I am determined we WILL get a day at the beach tomorrow befor ehte girls go back to school on Thursday....it's supposed to be a nice day again, so keep your fingers crossed! Then tomorrow evening and Thursday evening I have classes at Jills ( Cardinal Colours) to look forward too......I can't wait!.xxx

Warmest wishes Anita..xxx

From Me to You......

I made this card for a lovely blogging friend that I have met online, she always leaves such heart warming comments for people on their blogs and leaves a smile on their faces, so I thought I would like to leave a smile on her face too, not only is she lovely BUT she is very talented too and creates some stunning work that is a pleasure to look at....*waves* to Sarah




Thank to my lovely and VERY talented friend Lynn for this gorgeous Kimmie image that she kindly sent me. It was lovely letting loose with lots of bright colours LOL.
Right, must get our youngest beastie ready for her disco tonight and then get on with dinner and sort out some page kits for tomorrows crop :), can;t wait to meet up with everyone again. xxx