Oh! Baby

Another interesting challenge blog I have found is Raise the Bar, I believe an Australian hosted blog. Their challenge this week is Oh! Baby!! I made this card very much in the style of Card Craftworks, the source of the Card Candy. Various pieces of card stash lain on silver mirri card. The elephant stamp was a gift, the baby elephant has been made from the same stamp onto shrink plastice. Baby girl pretty ribbon added. It's my first entry on Raise the Bar, I look forward to joining in future swaps.

I feel this will also be suitable for 365 Cards No 258 Tone on tone

To my Followers and Friends

I am thrilled to see I now have 40 followers, Wow! that's fantastic. Thank you so much to everyone, it is so gratifying to see my work is being viewed by others. I am amazed how the internet has changed so many of we ladies' lives, giving us such a wonderful opportunity to have friends throughout the world who all share a common interest of crafting. Thank you to you all.

Ginger Gem Award

I am so thrilled, another winner this week. My thanks to the Gingersnap team for choosing my Autumnal card, for the GC 74 - Versamark Challenge, as one of the 7 Ginger Gems, see here. I will show my badge with great delight.

Halloween Tag

I've had a fabulous busy day, where I have been able to spend ages just crafting away. It has taken me a while to look around the challenge blogs to see which challenges I could stir up some mojo for. My first attempts are this Halloween tag for two challenges.Orange and Black at Something Completley Different and of course Halloween at Crafts and Me Challenge.

I used several of TH Distress orange shaded inks, Spiced Marmalade, Rusty Hinge and Wild hiney, rubbing around the edges with Black Soot. I stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black. All of the stamps are from Tandastamps. The two pumpkins are orange, though don't look it on the photo, I stamped onto heated Funky Foam, then cut them out, they are raised on a dimensional pad. Thanks so much for looking at my entry.

Take a Leaf - Keep It Simple

I am thrilled to have been invited to join the Design Team of a new challenge Blog - Keep It Simple. Many thanks for choosing me, I am greatly looking forward to the exciting future challenges. At first the idea of keeping it simple, sounds simple, which it is, as long as you can think less is more. I find this in itself is THE challenge, which makes it even more interesting. We are to try to make our craft item, within 30 mins, this is only a guide line, the most important requirement is to Keep It Simple. I have used three leaf tapestry stamps to decorate a die cut, added a dimensional butterfly and stamped the greeting. I used two die cuts, one, I cut off the scollop edges, stamped on it, then fitted it onto the other die cut. All done in less than half an hour. Thanks for looking at my blog.

Walk with me Daddy

This 8" x 8" scrapbook page was, I admit, made a little while ago, but it has always been one of my favourites. I was inspired by the lovely poem Walk with me Daddy. The photo is of my eldest son with his son Matthew, during one of their walks at Centre Parks. I am hoping this will be okay for the Tuesday Taggers challenge of 'Inspired by a poem'. Again thank you for taking the time to look on my blog, I welcome comments.

P.S. For novice bloggers if you click on the photo, it will enlarge, then you can read the poem.

The Sea - Tuesday Taggers

I'm calling this ATC 'Stormy Morning'. I am fairly occupied at present making as many ATC as I can in preparation for the Do -Craft ATC forum's Geordileand Meet to be held in September, so it's probable a lot of my challenges will be ATCs for the next few weeks or so. Again I have used TH Distress inks, Tumbled Glass, Faded Jeans, the sun is Mustard Seed. I finger painted some Frosted Lace Stickles over the sea to add a little sparkle, I hope it shows. I am entering this into the Tuesday Taggers for their Sea- Water - Boats challenge. Thanks again for looking in my blog.

No Stamps Allowed

This week 'Tag Your It' has a challenge where my beloved stamps are not allowed. Oh! how I missed them. The pretty background paper is from a V & A linen paper pad. I edged it with T.H. Distress ink -Walnut Stain, had to at least use some ink.
The image is from a Crafty Individuals sheet of pretty ladies. The grey edging is from a Nellies die, matted onto gold mirri, flowers, leaves and pearls are from my craft stash.

Stampman Challenge

I do like easel cards, they can make a relatively easy simple card look that little bit different and special. This wedding congratultions easel card I am entering into the Stampman Fortnightly challenge.
I used white embossed card, silver mirri card, white and black craft stash card. The stamp I used is one of Do Crafts. I embossed the cake and flowers with silver EP. I tried to show the added dimension of the decoupaged flowers on the cake, but sadly it doesn't show it very well. The card looks equally as nice with cream and black card, with gold embossing on the cake. I have used this card with various colours for several weddings and anniversaries. I hope you like it too.

Yellow, Orange and Red.

I love these fantastic bright colours, I am entering this tag into the

Gingersnap Creations colour challenge - yellow, orange and red.

The background was created using TH Distress inks, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Fired Brick, pads onto my craft mat, spritzed with water.

The stamps - Carnival from Elusive Images, a bargain purchase at Graphicus open day yesterday, I already love this stamp. The fine swirls are my favourite small swirl stamp from La Blanche.

A little sunshine

Boy! do we need some sunshine! This tag was made for several challenges, it has rained most of today, so the thought of sunshine was very appealing.

Background - TH Distress inks - Mustard Seed and Wild Honey

Stamps - Verse and stems - Elusive Iamges

Punches - Dragonfly -Dovecraft - Flowers - Woodware

Fibres -from craft stash.

Challenges this tag will be entered into are

Tuesday Taggers - Sunshine

Gingerbread Random Redhead - Sunshine

Alphabet Challenge P - Punches.

Tree-mendous

This challenge caught my eye, any purpose I can find to use the wonderful tree stamps from Elusive Images. This is my first entry to http://daringcardmakers.blogspot.com/ so I hope it will fit in with the challenge Tree-mendous this week.

Background -

TH Distress Peeled Paint, Forest Moss, Tumbled Glass, Faded Jeans

Birds handrawn V marks.

I am back

Hi to all, I have been a naughty blogger this past month, I just seemed to be getting the hang of blogging when real life took over from my crafty world, which seemed to take away my mojo. Well, I am fighting back, and on instructions from my pal Meggymay, I am going to join in some challenges again. So watch this space! I need to do some catching up on both my blog and those of fellow bloggers.

The Craft Barn - An unusual shape card

Here is a shoe card, for the Craft Barn unusual shaped card challenge. This makes a big change for me in more ways than one, mainly there is no stamping. It opens where the two black brads are, just above the edge of the heel. I used embossed card with a pretty flocked red pattern. If a girl likes shoes, this is a card for her. Pop over to The Craft Barn there is a £30 goodie prize available for the winner. Good luck to everyone who enters.

Tag Your It - By the Beach

I have had this set of stamps for ages, it's nice to be able to find a use for them again, from Joanna Sheen -On the Beach. I have used Distress inks, Mustard Seed, Tumbled Glass, Faded Jeans, Frayed Burlap. I used watercolour pencils for the little person. I finger rubbed some clear glitter glue on the water to get a sparkly glistening finish.

I am also adding this in to the

Alphabet Challenge Blog K - Kids. I think there are some fabulous challenges again this month, but I am beginning to think, I am not a cutsie person, so I may come over as being old fashioned or just out of date, if so, I still hope you can like my style.

The Stampman Swaps - Wings

The bees and dragonfly backgrounds have both been painted with a mixture of Cosmic Shimmer powders, watercolours, LuminArte paints and a quick spritz with Cosmic Shimmer Mists - Red Lava and Aqua Lagoon, onto glossy card. The background on the bird is a mixture of paints, scrunched when wet, heat dried, then a spritz of gold Cosmic Shimmer watercolour.

Stamps used Bees - Botanical Creative Expressions

Foliage on bees and dragonfly Eastern Grasses - Elusive Images.

All the stamps on the Bird ATC are from Birds - Creative Expressions.

The dragonfly is from Debbie Moore Dragonfly and Butterflies set.

I do hope the partners who receive them will like them.

I am looking forward to receiving my swaps.

GC (Gingersnap Creations) 59 Fairies - I like making easel cards, but pink and fairies is not my usual comfort zone. The stamp is from Lili of the Valley - Thistledown Fairy, I think.

coloured with Worn Lipstick Distress Inks, flowers and touch of lace and glitter to complete.

Many thanks for the comments fellow bloggers. Isn't this exciting? I have so much to learn. I mis-typed helicopter earlier and am still trying to work out how to edit it. LOL I want to run before I can walk, typical of me. I am looking forward to learning so much, to joining in other bloggers challenges, I have been looking at lots of blogs for a long time, so I am on my marks, ready, set and raring to go.

Decoupaged helicopter - I needed to make the simple deoupaged helicopter more exciting for a grandson's birthday. Again I used TH Distress inks, direct to card, dipped by fingers into a cup of water and splashed the water onto the background. Dried the card, using 3 different TH Distress inks I stamped the trees, with a stamp from Elusive Images.

Mr. Fix-it was my first stepper card, I found it wouldn't stay up so I fixed a bar between the back and the front which worked a treat. I have used Tim Holtz Distress inks, as watercolours. The skin tones are Promarkers.

Hello -my first steps into blogland

Hello everyone in Blogland, not being competer literate, it has taken me a long time to manage to get into blogland, but now that I am here, I am hoping to be a regular blogger.