ARTY GIRLZ - THEME THURSDAY - MY PAPER WORLD

This card was designed using the sketch over at My Paper World. I love the fact that when my brain is a bit lacking!! sketches are a way to kick start me into action :)
I have been playing a little bit with my Cuttlebug, and i decided to try putting ink on my embossing folder, this is a technique i had found whilst blog hopping, and decided to give it a go!! It works better if you use a brayer, but as i don't have one i just smoothed the inkpad all over the inner side of the printed part! (hope this is making sense!) Pop your card in as normal and run through machine...... embossed and inked at the same time :) For this card i used Adirondack 'Espresso' to keep in with my colour theme.
I stamped the little cake image from Hampton Art using the same ink and then coloured in with 'Bikini Pink' from Ranger. I like the look that the ticket corner punch gives, but i don't have one of those either! so i used a circle punch instead, and it's worked o.k. Papers are Basic Grey from the 'Sultry' 6 x 6 pad, chipboard buttons are Making Memories and i also used some 'Platinum' stickles for a bit of sparkle. Ribbon and brads from stash.
This card is my entry for Arty Girlz chocolate challenge, and also for Theme Thursday(my first for them!) Pink and Brown.
I have a busy day today with family coming later on, thanks for popping in today and i'll see you soon :)

BLOG CANDY SKETCH

THE WINNER IS.........

Randomly picked by my lovely daughter Chloe :) Well Done Sylvia!! Please e-mail with your full address so that i can send your goodies out to you. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone that entered, i'm hoping to do this about once a month so keep an eye out for the next challenge!!

AN AWARD.....

Just been given this very impressive looking award from a talented young lady called Lauren

The idea is that i now pass this on to five other people, the rules of which are :-1) You must pick five blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material and that contributes to the blogging community no matter what their language.2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.3) Each award winner has to show the image of the award and put the name and blog link of the person that has given you the award.4) Award winner and the person that has given the award have to show the link of Arte Y Pico blog for everyone to know the origin of this award5) Last but not least show these rules.
I visit loads of blogs on a daily basis, so it's very, very hard to choose just five!! but here goes
1) Jilli http://jillispaiges.blogspot.com/
2) Karen http://kazzysmumblings.blogspot.com/
3) Sandy http://stempelchaotin.wordpress.com/
4) Sylvia http://sylviastamps.blogspot.com/
5) Rhi http://itsnotwhereyourefrom.blogspot.com
Enjoy the weekend!!!

SCRUMMY STASH CAFE Get the Edge!!!

This is the card i designed for the latest challenge over at the Scrummy Stash Cafe, Get the Edge!
Having recently purchased this spiral notebook from the Making Memories(note)worthy collection, i thought it would be a good choice for this challenge! The booklet has loads of pages, all with a fancy edge, and enough spare room for you to stamp on :) or for journaling if you are a scrapper!

The two flower images from Penny Black and Hobby Art have been stamped with Ranger Archival black and Colorbox fluid chalk cats eye in Aquamarine. The sentiment is from a HOTP acrylic set. Pink and black papers are from Basic Grey and the transparency strip is from Rhonna Farrer's French Twist collection.

Without wishing to 'Blow my own Trumpet' This card really 'does' it for me :) and i'm so pleased with the end result! I should also give a 'toot' to the extremely talented Julia Stainton where i first saw this type of 'overstamping' with flower stamps. You should check her out she rocks!!!

BLOG CANDY PHOTO!!

These are the goodies i have decided to offer you a chance of winning! All you have to do is create a card using my sketch shown below, switch it around if you wish but please keep as near as possible to the original! This sketch challenge will be open until 29th March, when a winner will be drawn at random from all the entries.
Create your masterpiece, upload to your blog with a link to this post... i'm sure you know the procedure by now :)Here is my sketch from which to base your card design. Also, i know this will annoy some people but no Tilda's or Sugar Nellies please,......i have seen lots and lots and lots of these recently... ;-)
The offer is open to anyone that would like to take part and i will post worldwide. Enjoy!!!!!

BLOG CANDY SKETCH ENTRIES SO FAR....

This fab entry in from Looby today! Love the big flower..... I have not used any of these on my cards for ages mmm! Anyway pop over to Looby's site and have a look at all her stuff!! She is very quick off the mark with her cardmaking :) Some good inspiration for newbie bloggers!

This gorgeous Hippo card is from Lauren, who again is a newbie blogger, but.....Lauren is only 12 years old!!!!! Watch out ladies :) :)

Ooh!! another fabulous entry just in via e-mail from Sue. A riot of yummy colours on here :)
Sue has used papers from the new Basic Grey 'Sultry' collection and i love the sentiment!

This bright cheery entry from Jen reminds me of Summer! Ooh i can hardly wait :)

Another entry just in from Liz over in Jersey! I think Liz is a bit like me and always does family cards at the last minute almost :) Really pretty colours and good use of your Cricut machine! You have some excellent scrapbook pages on your site, i really must try to do more scrappin' :)

An e-mailed entry here from Margaret, using 'Two Scoops' papers and her oval cut on the Cricut. Very pretty Margaret, and also your first ever sketch challenge!!
This colourful entry is from Karen, who is a newbie blogger and also this is her first ever entry for a sketch challenge! Fab card with the acetate front, well done!! :)
This is the e-mailed entry from Lynne, using Basic Grey 'Blush' papers and a Hobby Art stamp. Very pretty!I love the bird on this card from Sylvia :)
This is the card from Kath, who describes herself as the New kid on the Block. Excellent card Kath for your very first try at a sketch !!

NEWBIE BLOGGER!!

A friend of mine has just started her own blog! She makes some fab cards and i think she is now well and truly hooked :) (Nothing to do with me...honest!*!*!) You can find her at http://lynnescraft.blogspot.com/ why not pop over and say hello, she would be so chuffed!!

DI HICKMAN March #3 & CUTE CARD THURSDAY!

I've not created a card using one of Di's sketches for ages, so this week i decided i would! There are some lovely cards from the design team to inspire you into action!
I decided to cut away half of my card front for this design. I have used lots of my new goodies on this one :)
All of the papers are from Basic Grey 'Sugared' 6 x 6 pad, the little glazed brads are from the 'Sultry' collection, and the gorgeous images are Autumn Leaves 'Mindy's Zoo'. I used my Marvy giga punch for the scalloped circle, and i stamped my images onto this with Adirondack 'Espresso' which is fast becoming my favourite inkpad! I took colour with my water brush from several other Adirondack pads, to 'paint' my images. I also used a Colorbox cat's eye in 'Chesnut Roan' to smudge on all the edges.
This design will also be my entry for challenge#2 over at Cute Card Thursday, which is All Creatures Great and Small!

ARTY GIRLZ 'DOODLING' Challenge #26

The challenge this week....Doodling....OMG, i'm no good at this but i've had a go anyway!!
I took a plain white 148mm square card and just started to 'squiggle' (technical term!!) on it with my brown zig pen. I had the idea that i wanted to create some sort of frame (?) and actually that's what i ended up with :)
I used half a cotton wool ball and chalked all around the edges with pink, and then added some yummy papers from another of my new Basic Grey 6 x 6 pads 'Sultry'. I stamped the Hero Arts branch with Adirondack 'Espresso' directly onto the DP, and my little Stamps Away owl was stamped once onto the same DP and again onto some plain pink. This allowed me to do a little bit of paper piecing to get the effect i wanted!

The sentiment is HOTP, cut out with circle punch and placed on top of my Prima hydrangea, and my little owl is raised on foam pads, to perch on her branch!! Don't look too closely... i think i cut off one of her toes!!!! Thanks for popping in today... Enjoy Bank Holiday Monday :)

WEDNESDAY STAMPER

This is my very first try at a challenge from the Wednesday Stamper! I designed this card for 'First Letter First Name' which is their current challenge.
I have been wanting to use this new Chameleon stamp since i bought it at Stamperama. Bit of a strange choice you may think but my hubby runs his own business called Chameleon Entertainments, so i just had to have it!!

The Chameleon is from Clarity Stamp' a u.k. company and i've stamped him onto a piece of card that i made using Alcohol Inks. I used Ranger archival black to stamp the image onto the pre-prepared glossy card. I tend to make a bunch of backgrounds when i use my inks and then i have them ready to use when i need them! The papers of course :) are from Basic Grey 'Archaic', one of their five new collections! The letter is some of my new Grungeboard, which has been inked with 'Brushed Corduroy' and Adirondack 'Terra Cotta' A little bit of doodling and some srew top brads to complete my design! Thanks for popping in today, we have had a real mixture of weather here today, keep safe and warm where you are and i'll see you soon :) Carol x

EASTER BASKETS FOR DANIELLE...

Just had to make these adorable little baskets from a fab tutorial over at Leslie's place. This lady is soooo clever, you must go and visit, loads of gorgeous stuff to feast your eyes on!!!
These baskets are so quick to make and perfect for Danielle to hold in her little hands :) made entirely from Basic Grey papers and some small pieces of DCWV adhesive ribbon. Filled with shredded tissue and some little Lindt treats popped inside.... i can't wait to see her face when she sees them :) Have a great Easter everyone, keep warm and safe and have fun!!!

BLOG CANDY SKETCH CHALLENGE... First entry...

The first entry is in for my blog candy sketch challenge! Kath describes herself as the new kid on the block :) You can see her lovely card here http://kath-allthatglitter.blogspot.com/2008/03/my-first-blog-sketch-challenge.html
Thank you Kath for choosing me for your first go at a sketch :) you'll be hooked now you know!!!

ARTY GIRLZ #25 Stars

The challenge set this week over at Arty Girlz is 'Stars'. I usually try to do as many of the challenges as i can, but sometimes time runs out on me! I wanted this one to be different to my normal type of card,so i designed an acetate card!
I used a HOTP Template called 'Spring Things' to draw my star shapes,then cut them out with a craft knife. I wanted the card to look good from all angles, so i needed to cut six stars in total. The papers are Basic Grey and K&Co, i love the look of the bright pink with the black and grey tones of the 'Black Tie' collection. I am hoping to get some more of this paper as i don't have very much left, and it is one of my all time favourites!
I have also used some Doodlebug rub-ons and some Papermania adhesive stones to complete my design. Below is a picture of the inside of my cardIf anyone has any tips on how to stop the acetate from being so static, they would be much appreciated!! Everything seems to stick to this stuff!!! I kept on trying to wipe the dust off and it just got worse! grrr!! I think i would like to try some more of these, i'm quite pleased with how this looks :) Thanks for popping in today, enjoy the rest of your weekend :)

BLOG CANDY.....

I am in the throes of deciding what goodies to offer you all, and also i need to take a photo too! I will make this first offering a good one, as i have been meaning to sort it out for ages!! Please check back later today to see what's on offer and to see what you do to be in with a chance! :)

CUTE CARD THURSDAY Challenge # 1....

I am sure you are all aware by now, there is a fab new challenge blog called Cute Card Thursday, right up my street as i love anything cute! I have almost been bursting for the weekend to arrive so that i could design a card for their first challenge 'New Beginnings' And here it is....
I used some Rubbadubbadoo stamps here from a set called Just Arrived. I just love that little bub in the flower pot! I stamped the images using Brushed Corduroy distress ink directly onto some paper from the Basic Grey 'Two Scoops' range. I covered a Maya Road chipboard scallop frame with another of the papers and used the plain turquoise to accent. The background paper is from SEI Aunt Gerti's Garden. Some glitter brads and ribbon complete my design.
I am so looking forward to next Thursday to see what the new challenge is!

JEN'S SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY....

I have often printed out the sketches that Jen posts on her fab site, but i never seem to get around to actually designing a card using one of them! However, this week i managed to have a go :)
The layout of the sketch seems to entice you into making a DL size card, but i chose to use a 5 x 7 and i think it's worked out o.k.
I was so tempted to use another of my new stamps, but then decided to pull out an old favourite JudiKins cube. I recently purchased some new toys as well in the form of a Cuttlebug and some Nestabilities, which i am still experimenting with and managed to cut my lovely scalloped circle on which to stamp my image. Ranger archival black was used for the outline and then i coloured using ink straight from Adirondacks in Lettuce and Cranberry. Basic Grey Black Tie papers, Dovecraft buttons and ribbon and ric-rac from my stash! The sentiment i've used is so worn, that i can no longer see who made it!! Thanks for popping in today, hope to see you back soon :)

MY PAPER WORLD SKETCH #6

Finally, i have actually got round to making some new cards! I, like many others have been suffering for several days with this virus thingy that seems to be doing the rounds! I feel a bit better now, so i had the inkling to design a couple of cards based on sketch #6 over at My Paper World.
I 'treated' myself to several new stamps recently, this gorgeous frog by Penny Black called 'Too Many Candles' is one of my new ones. I can't believe the amount of hours i spend at this PC and i have only just found 'My Paper World'!! It's a fab site with cards made every day following the current sketch.
I have used Basic Grey papers from a 'grab bag' over at Sarah's Cards, good value as all the papers are very usable, but are from older ranges! Also some Doodlebug paper frills(i have loads of these, so need to use them a bit more often!!) My lovely frog is stamped with Adirondack 'Espresso' and then watercoloured with Lyra's and a water brush. The greeting is an acrylic from HOTP and i also chose to add a MM chipboard button to finish. I think this frog stamp would be good for a male Birthday as well, what do you think?
Second card based on the same sketch, but this one is a bit smaller(A6) again, another new stamp! but this one was from the bargain bucket, and at only £4.50, who could resist :)
Penny Black cuties here called 'You're A Treasure' from the Margaret Sherry collection, so adorable!
Image stamped using the same inks and watercoloured as described in froggy card, Basic Grey papers, but these are from 'Stella Ruby' 6 x6 pad. Gingham ribbon from Ribbonbox, sentiment is Hero Arts and brads from Dovecraft. Thanks for popping in today, and i hope you all keep well!!

DCM 'I am Woman'

A really simple quick card for the challenge this week over at DCM. I dug out my old stash of vintage slide images. About three years ago i had a little obsession with making brooches with these and also altering slide mailers, and i have rather a lot left over!!
Quite a small card for me as it's only A6, but as the image is only 1" x 3" it would look lost on one of my normal size!
I have used Basic Grey 'Two Scoops' to cover the front of my card, with a small pink piece of DCWV onto which i've placed my lovely lady :-) A Bazzill 'bitty blossom' a Dovecraft button some of my new glittery brads from Doodlebug and organza ribbon from stash to complete my design.
My lovely hubby and kids gave me some money to treat myself at 'Stamperama' on Sunday and i decided to get a Cuttlebug, some embossing folders and two sets of Nestabilities (yay!!!) so i can't wait for the weekend to arrive so that i can have a play with them!! I arrived home with all my goodies to find four beautiful bouquets of my favourite lilies......aren't i a lucky mummy!

BUTTON IT!! SSC Challenge

The current challenge at Scrummy Stash Cafe is to use buttons on your project. I am becoming quite addicted to buttons lately, and i bought some more today at 'Stamperama' along with several other goodies!! which no doubt you will be seeing over the next few weeks :-)
For this card i decided to punch at the fold with my 'Bind it All', this poor machine has had no use in the last six months, and i thought it was about time i started to use it! I have scored the card about 3/4" in from the fold and then glued it down to allow the card to still open properly. I used my giga scallop punch to cut the oval and then cats eye around the edge, the sentiment is a Papermania rub-on. Buttons, papers and ribbon are from my French Twist kit and the orange ribbon is American Crafts, i added a little Prima flower and some faux stitching with a HOTP stamp. I think i might try some more of this type of card as i do like the way it looks, and at least my poor Bind it All will get some use at last!!
Thanks for popping in today, have a great week!