'Think Spring'.....Penny Black Saturday Challenge 42

Such fabulous samples on display by the DT again over at Penny Black Saturday Challenge...................just makes you want to join in!
I'm rather lucky to have several Penny Black stamps, some of which would be suitable for the challenge this week, but of the many things that begin to appear in our garden in the Springtime, one of the most abundant is Frogs!! however, they do have to be a bit careful not to end up as a tasty morsel for Pepsi or Splash...... gross i know,...... but thankfully it doesn't happen often!!

The image is entitled 'Jump for Joy' which provided me with the idea to use this as part of my sentiment ........printed from the computer using Segoe Script font. I've coloured it in my usual fashion with Distress & Adirondack inks and a Kuretake water brush.
The papers are Basic Grey from the 'Sugared' 6 x 6 pad and the pink cardstock is Bazzill. I've used a Fiskars 'Elegance' border punch and also a couple of sizes of Woodware circle punches. Gems are Kanban and ribbon from stash.
I have my workshop this evening, so maybe a few more cards will be made with this cute frog!.........and keep your eyes peeled in a few days time for my Birthday Blog Candy Bonanza!................. I think i might have to give away fifty things..................oops! now i've given the game away !!!!
Enjoy your day................... ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

Monday is Pink Elephant Day!!

As Monday rolls around again we have a great new challenge for you over at The Pink Elephant! This week we are asking you to create an
Easter Card...........with Easter Sunday being less than two weeks away, it's a good chance to make a start on those cards or to add to your current collection :)
My very lovely friend Heather kindly allowed me to stamp this image at my workshop last time...so not altogether sure if i'm right when i say it's 'Marshmallow' from the Daisy & Dandelion range of clear stamps............ hopefully someone out there will correct me if i'm wrong!! :)

Papers.... Basic Grey 'Eva'
Inks.... Distress & Adirondack
Self adhesive felt.... Queen & Co
Happy Easter.... Inca Stamp
Cricut.... frame around the image
Inkssentials pen for doodling

We have been so thrilled at the amount of lovely entries we have each week.......sure does make it harder for us DT girls to choose our winner......but so much fun visiting all your blogs to view the fabulous creations you keep sharing with us!.... Hope you can play along again this week.....
Thanks for popping in to see me today........ ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

Daring Cardmakers and some Sneaky Peeks!

'Bunnies & Chicks' is the requirement this week over at DCM. Jo and the other girls on the DT have some fabulous examples to inspire us! and I decided to go with a little chick for my card today................
My little chick is an Imaginisce 'Snag 'em stamp which i've paper pieced to match in with the rest of the card. My 'eggs' are ovals cut at 2.5" & 3.5" on my Cricut using George cartridge from some HOTP paper which i've had for ages.
Other papers are Basic Grey from the 'Offbeat' 6 x 6 pad and some Doodlebug paper frills, the flower is by Artoz with a sugar coated brad for the centre.................... the sentiment is Dot Happy Easter by Inca stamp, ribbon from stash

I do also have a couple of Sneaky peeks at my DT work for the coming week..............first up we have The Pink Elephant........on Monday..........and then on Thursday we have Sketches!{by Tamara}...........
It would be great if you could find some time to play along with us this week, i love to see how you all interpret the challenges and sketches!
Thanks for popping in today, and hopefully i will see you very soon ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

Sketches! {by Tamara}

Hurray it's Thursday!!........and another great sketch for you over at Sketches! today and some fabulous inspiration by the Design Team too :) It's always a great suprise to see what the other girls on the Team have done with the sketch, especially this week as it is a circular sketch and i LOVE those ones!
For my design today i began by cutting two 51/2" circles from kraft cardstock with my Cricut machine and the George cartridge. I added a scalloped circle from the Karen Russell 'Narratives' collection by Creative Imaginations.
The focal flower portion was created with scraps of Basic Grey paper and various punches, with a Making Memories dotty paper flower and button centre. The ribbon and tiny alpha's are also MM, and the black gems are Hero Arts. To get the card to stand up, you just trim a tiny portion off the bottom of the back part!

This design had me jumping out of my box a little as there is no stamping, but actually i love how it's turned out!...........maybe i should try more cards with my scrappy supplies..............at this rate i'm never going to use them for scrapbooking as i can't seem to stop making cards and take time out to complete a page!!!

Hope you can join us this week, i would love to see how you interpret the circle aspect!
Thanks for popping in today...... ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

DCM Cos i'm a woman!

Now, it may be my sense of humour or it may be that i love chooks! but the focus of the dare this week over at DCM is 'the girls' when we refer to 'the girls' in our house we mean these!!!......

you have of course met them before but not looking quite so lovely.....from left to right we
have....Speckle,Flopsy, Button & Daisy............the four ex-battery hens that we rescued on the 20th December last year....................They've come on so quickly and are lovely friendly birds.....this is what they looked like when we got them home...........
Poor old Button almost looked like she was ready for the oven!!.......that will never happen!!

But now.................her feathers are all growing back and so lovely and white too!Well, i guess you want to see the card i've made! :)

Found this stamp while i was out on Sunday afternoon and just could not resist.......i love the sentiment!...........

Image....Stamps Happen
Inks.... Distress & Archival
Cardstock/Trim....Bazzill
Nestabilities
Card Blank....Liz's Crafts
Kuretake water brush

I hope this qualifies for the dare this week, but hey if not i had fun making it and you get to see how 'the girls' have blossomed! ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

Arty Girlz.....'Good Wishes'

Of course i could not let the Arty Girlz go without sending them my 'Good Wishes' I, like many others have joined in with some of their challenges as and when time permits, however i did not want to miss their last challenge requirement of 'Stamping'................So Julie & Crissi........this one is for you ;-D ...........The girlz will not be dissapearing completely, so we will still be able to visit them at their personal blogs.............i wish you 'All the Very Best' for the future......and the elephant has his trunk upwards to catch all the good luck for you both! x
Hugs
Carol x

Papers....Basic Grey 'Marrakech'

Cuttlebug....Textile Texture embossing folder
Image.... JudiKins Travels in India cube
Paper flower.... Artoz
Punches.... Dovecraft
Sentiment.... Printworks
Gems.... Kanban
Brad.... American Crafts

Candy Winner!

The winner of my blog hop candy is...................................

DAWN
Lost in Paper Scraps

Congratulations to Dawn, if you could e-mail me with your postal address, i will get this lovely paper pad posted out to you!

Thanks very much to everyone else that joined in this time...............i am reaching a Birthday soon.........................a special one with a zero at the end!!!! so make sure you keep your eyes peeled for a Birthday Blog Candy Bonanza!.................it's just about three weeks away, so not long to wait! ;-D

I had 22 entries via e-mail for this candy and only 5 incorrect answers...........thanks again for playing along...... see you soon!

Hugs
Carol x

The Pink Elephant..........challenge 7...

Firstly a HUGE Thank You to everyone that joined in, left comments and generally supported the Easter Blog Hop, it was a great success! Do remember to pop back here this evening at 8pm to see if you are the winner of my blog candy :)

Now, onto TPE challenge number seven which is a fab sketch from Robin......

I knew i wanted to use my Cuttlebug to achieve the textured background as required for the sketch, so i used my newest embossing folder 'Argyle'. I had to do a little bit of pattern matching as my card is 5" x 7" but found that this is one folder that works very well and where the overlap occurs is hardly visible!

The image is one of my favourites by Stampendous called 'Agapanthus Cluster' inked with Archival black and coloured this time with my Twinkling H20's............i love the shimmer on them :) These are the other supplies i used........

Cardstock.... Bazzill
Gem brads.... Dovecraft
Sentiment.... HOTP acrylic
Frill.... Creative Imaginations

Looking forward to seeing all your interpretations of Robin's sketch........ ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

DT Sneaky Peeks!

Morning everyone and "Happy Mother's Day".........just thought i would pop on and show you a little peek at my DT cards for the coming week!

I'm off out today and will not be around until later........who knows i may even be able to fit in a bit of stash shopping!................well, it is Mother's Day so my wishes will be granted i think!!!

First up is of course The Pink Elephant for Monday......
Only one thing about showing these little snippets......i have my fabby camera on the Macro setting, which gives great definition to the photo, but it also tells me that i need some stronger glasses!!! .......my colouring is pretty poor when you get this close!!!!!

Then on Thursday we have Sketches {by Tamara!}
Jumped quite a long way out of my box for this one, but i love how it's turned out! Hope you can pop back on Thursday and let me know what you think of it :)

The fun is continuing today for the Easter Blog Hop over at TPE.......some more tutorials and don't forget it's not too late to play the games! you still have a chance to be in the draw for some fabby prizes!!..................and my blog candy is still open as well, for the duration of the weekend.

Sitting here in joggers and a tee shirt, hair looking like an unpruned bush!!.....must go and make myself presentable for the day............see you soon ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

Ella's Easter Egg Scramble.....

Here is my word for Ella's Easter Egg Scramble.....

kebtas

To play this game you should have arrived here from Angela's blog, if not then head back over to The Pink Elephant and start from the beginning.

Once you have all 8 words unscrambled, send an e-mail with your answers to thepinkelephantblog@gmail.com with the subject "Ella's Easter Egg Scramble" before Sunday night at Midnight EST. Be sure to check out the other games going on this weekend at TPE too! there are some great prizes to be won!

Now that you have your word from me, head over to The Tip Room to get another scrambled word.

Hugs
Carol x

Penny Black Saturday ...... Doodling!!

Hello again! Before you keel over with shock......yes i am here on the actual day of the challenge over at PBSC, i think this is a first for me as i normally get my card done much later in the week!

And......before you think, "Oh she used that same image last week"...... no i am not losing my marbles just yet! I simply wanted a matching pair of baby cards... Then i am sorted when anyone i know gives birth...............well, unless they have twins of the same sex !!!!!

The requirement this week is doodling!....... i am hopeless at doodling, so i have just done a little, a few dots here and there.......so i hope it qualifies for the challenge :)

Papers....Basic Grey 'Offbeat'
Image.... Penny Black 'In a Nutshell'
Cardstock & frills.... Bazzill
Chipboard button.... Making Memories(pretty side down!)
Inks.... Distress & Adirondack
Sentiment.... HOTP acrylic
Pens.... Zig & Inkssentials

I'm going to have a sarny now and a nice cup of tea!.....It's my turn for the tutorial at TPE at 4pm where i will be showing you Leslie's lovely baskets........why not take a look? ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

Happy Saturday!

Just wanted to say "Good Morning" to you all and to thank you for your support with The Pink Elephant blog hop!

I am new to all this and so far everything is going so well........you have all weekend to play, as there is much more to come and don't forget my blog candy is up for grabs until Sunday at 23.59 gmt.Throughout the day today there will be some fabulous tutorials for you all to have a look at! The project i have to show you at 4pm GMT (12pm EST) is gorgeous and i feel very privileged to be able to show it to you! I had permission from the very talented Leslie Miller to bring you my version of her idea....................Thanks Leslie :)

Now, off to catch up on some commenting and who knows............i may be back later with a challenge or two!

Thanks for popping in............... ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

"Find Ella!"

Let's go on a little Easter Hunt! You should have arrived here from your visit to Angela...if not, head over to The Pink Elephant and start from the beginning.

Somewhere on the first page of my blog you will find a picture of Ella's face with a letter in the corner. Find the 7 other letters on my fellow Design Team members' blogs..........put them together and e-mail the eight letter word to......... thepinkelephantblog@gmail.com with the subject line "Find Ella by Sunday midnight EST (4am GMT)

Be sure to check out the other games going on this weekend at The Pink Elephant too! There are some great prizes to be won! Once you have found Ella on my blog, be sure to head over to The Tip Room to find the Ella letter hidden there.

Easter Blog Hop! .........with Candy.

Welcome to The Pink Elephant Easter Blog Hop! You should have arrived here after your visit to Angela......if not, then you may want to go back to The Pink Elephant and start from the beginning. You won't want to miss the fun things that everyone has to share!........Some of the Design Team are offering blog candy too :)

Image.... Stamps by Judith
small flowers in grass....Penny Black
Papers.... Basic Grey 'Oh baby'
Cardstock & frills.... Bazzill
'Happy Easter'.... Inca Stamp
gems, ribbon & flower from stash!

After you have finished here at my place be sure to hop over to The Tip Room to see what we are sharing there!!
But........before you go i have some candy for you :)

I will be giving this 6 x 6 'Porcelain' paper pad away to one lucky winner! To be in the draw for this prize, i have some simple questions for you........all of the answers can be easily found....if you know how!

1) Which wedding anniversary will my hubby and i be celebrating this year?
2) How many pets do we share our home with?

And lastly, if you have been visiting me for a while, you will know the answer straight away......and if not you can scroll back over my blog to find it.......there are cute pictures too!!
(see post from may 31st 2008)

3) Which wild animal gave birth to six babies in our garden at the end of May last year!?

You will not need to rush with the answers...........you have all weekend! To give everyone an equal chance you need to email your answers to me instead of in the comment box, you are of course welcome to leave a comment, but the answers to my 3 questions must be via e-mail.

This giveaway will be open for the duration of the weekend only and will close at 11.59 pm GMT on Sunday 22nd March. Everyone that answers the questions correctly will go into a random draw for this candy, and i will reveal the winner on Monday 23rd March at 8pm GMT.

And of course the fun continues all weekend at The Pink Elephant..........hope to see you very soon ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

The Pink Elephant Easter Blog Hop

Morning everyone! looks like it will be a lovely sunny day again today.......shame i will be stuck in the office!!

We have our easter Blog Hop for you this weekend.......it all kicks off tonight at 11pm GMT, 7pm EST so make sure you are here for the launch!

We have lots of fun things for you throughout the weekend, including tutorials, games and blog candy giveaways, also everyone that enters has a chance to win. Every entry to a game will be placed into a random drawing for the prizes.............this is not a race, so don't think that you have to be first!! all entries will have an equal chance to win................there are some fabulous prizes and of course the DT will be offering some goodies for you as well :)

Saturday and Sunday will have tutorials throughout the day with some gorgeous projects to tempt you..................you will not want to miss out this weekend, so make sure you are there!!!

See you at 11pm with my first Easter card and a chance to win some Basic Grey goodies ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

Sketches! {by Tamara}

Happy Thursday to you all! The sun was shining here yesterday, a glorious day........let's hope they stay like that for a while, and i'm loving the lighter evenings too!

Whatever the weather is doing, you can always guarantee that Thursday brings another great sketch over at Sketches! This week the sketch instantly hit the right buttons with me and i knew exactly how i was going to play it........don't you love it when that happens? :)
Love this paper! It's from the Autumn Leaves 'French Twist' collection by Rhonna Farrer. I have some of this collection left in my stash luckily, but i will be sorry once it's gone! The sentiment is chipboard, from K&Co and sits so well with the colours in the paper.

I was a bit harsh with my flowers and chopped them in half!!............. think they still look pretty though :) The pink portion at the top of my card is printed acetate, also from the FT collection as is the white lined piece backing it.

I thoroughly enjoyed making this card and would love you to join us this week if you can! Be sure to check out the work from the other DT girls and don't forget to let us know if you make a card with the sketch, we can come and have a nosy at your creation!! ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

'Tag Card, Card Tag'

Usually when i return from holding my card workshop on a Tuesday night, the most i can manage is to catch up with some bloggy buddies and leave some comments ...................last night however i just wanted to make a card!!
I knew it needed to be something fairly quick as i don't return home until after 10pm!... so i used one of my Tags that i had made previously for the TYI challenge blog...............

I was also desperate to try out my new Hero Arts 'Raindrop Background' stamp! I inked up my stamp with a Colorbox chalk pad in 'Pink Pastel'and stamped onto some white cardstock. I then edged this with Ranger paint dabber in Pink Sherbet to match the tag. The centre flower portion is a Doodlebug paper frill and the butterflies are a woodware punch.
This card will probably be 'stored' until September for my daughter Chloe. :)

I have to try and make some time for some 'bloggy visits' this evening, but i have a tutorial to write for TPE for our special weekend coming up!!............. oh, and a hair appointment after i finish work at 5.............. so i hope you'll forgive me if i miss you!

Thanks for popping in today....................... ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

'Porcelain' Candy!!!

Would you like this ?........................

I will be giving this 6 x 6 'Porcelain' paper pad away to one lucky winner!...................... I will be posting something on Friday at midnight GMT to coincide with the fun weekend we have in store at The Pink Elephant...............i will have in that post some questions for you to answer about me!

This giveaway will be open for the duration of the weekend only and will close at 11.59 pm GMT on Sunday 22nd March. Everyone that answers the questions correctly will go into a random draw for this candy, and i will reveal the winner on Monday 23rd March at 8pm GMT.

GOOD LUCK!

I have just found out that the US have changed their clocks already, so now this will be at the earlier time of 11pm GMT.......sorry for the confusion!!

The Pink Elephant

Into week 6 at The Pink Elephant and this week we would like you to use BUTTONS on your project! We love to see all manner of crafts at TPE, so don't think it's limited to card makers only....it makes a refreshing change to see something a little different ;-D

Having said all that, i have a card for you today!

Buttons can be used in so many ways and have become a firm favourite with us card makers! I am lucky to have rather a lot in my stash :) and decided to use them for the stalk and centre of my chipboard flower!
All patterned paper is from my much adored Basic Grey........ i am having fun using this wonderful new 'Porcelain' collection at the moment......i know i say it every time but the colours are beautiful and such gorgeous patterns too!

Other supplies are from my mountain of stash, along with half of a Nestie die cut label and also a scalloped circle from a Marvy giga punch.

I love that so many of you are enjoying our challenges each week and it's exciting to hop around all your blogs to see what you've made..............hope you can join in this time and show me some different ways of using up my yummy buttons!
Thanks for your visit today and all being well, i'll be back tomorrow..... ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

Penny Black Saturday Challenge

Wow! nice and early this week with my card for PBSC.......week 40 and a lovely sketch from Tracie....i do love sketches :) so I got busy with my paper and stamps and here is the result.........
A card for a New Baby Girl...................now i do know a couple that are expecting their second child....they have a little boy already, so are hoping for a girl this time! This card will be kept safe for a while yet and i have plenty of time to make a boy card before the big day....so no worries on that score!I've used some lovely pale pink Bazzill cardstock on this one today, along with some older Basic Grey from the 'LilyKate' 6 x 6 pad. I used my Nesties and Cuttlebug to cut & emboss the scalloped circle and my Fiskars 'Threading Water' punch for the central horizontal strip.

The gorgeous little Hedgie in her walnut shell is appropriately called 'In a Nutshell'......and has been coloured in my normal fashion with Distress & Adirondack inks. I just love the colour of the dotty ribbon......i bought a whole 25 yd roll, but all it says on it is made in Taiwan.....no manufacturer details :( The buttons and gems are from my stash and the sentiment is HOTP......tried to bend it slightly so it curved around the circle, but it didn't work quite as well as i hoped!!

Family here as usual on a Sunday, so won't be around much until this evening.......it's a glorious sunny day here in Bedford.........hope you are having the same! Enjoy your day....see you soon...... ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

DT Sneaky Peeks!

Busy, busy, busy today, although unfortunately NOT with paper & stamps!!!................................ However i do have a couple of Sneaky Peeks of my DT work for the coming week :)

First up on Monday is of course The Pink Elephant.........we have another fun challenge for you this coming week and i love hopping around all your blogs to see what you have created! We have been amazed and overwhelmed by the response to our challenges and .......next weekend is our fabulous Easter Blog Hop!........lots of fun, games and tutorials and some fabby prizes to boot!........so i do hope you will enjoy playing along with us .........all the fun starts on Friday........make sure you are there! :)


Then on Thursday we will have another fabulous sketch to work from over at Sketches! (by tamara).........some weeks i struggle and i'm not at all sure how i'm going to interpret the sketch.......this one was instant.....as soon as i saw it i knew exactly what i was going to make!......I love it when that happens :)
There are lots of other things going on at Tamara's place and if you are a scrapper......there are sketches for those as well! Pop over and take a look.............

Thanks for popping in today.........see you tomorrow! ;-D
Hugs
Carol x

Creative Card Crew Challenge Week 1

Just discovered that some blogging buddies have started a fab new challenge blog!............... The Creative Card Crew would like you to make a card for their first challenge using the colour GREEN
I've managed to get some 'Porcelain' 6 x 6 paper pads at last!! so i've used those on my card today.........To make my background i've used a weaving technique that i first saw demonstrated on T.V. by Anna Griffin...............
I've cut two of the papers into strips 3/4" wide and weaved them together, gluing just at the edges............there is no need to glue in the centre, it just holds together! Once everything was secure i cut my square to fit my card front. The Dk Green is Bazzill and i've doodled some dots with my Inkssentials pen.
The tree image is from Great Impressions and i've given it some 'buds' with a Ranger paint dabber in Lettuce using the end of a ball tool. It was inked with a 'peeled paint' Distress pad.
Making Memories tiny alphas for the wording and ribbon and flowers from stash.Have you noticed that lots of the trees and bushes are all 'budding up' and the birds are all of a flutter! (if you know what i mean!!).....................i LOVE springtime!!
Thanks for your visit today and hey it's Friday!.................waahoooo! ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

Sketches! by Tamara #86

I'm rather pleased with how my week is going so far......................rather quickly!! It's not that i'm wishing my life away, it's just that i crave my weekends and Thursday means another day closer! :)
It also means another fab sketch over at Tamara's...................and some lovely new ladies have joined the team, why not pop over and check it all out for yourself!My card today uses some more gorgeous papers from Funky Hand These are mostly from the Funky Little Christmas download.......and if you like bright, non traditional colours for your cards, then these are for you!
The cupcakes are Hero Arts, stamped then watercoloured with Distress inks with some Rhinestone Stickles added to the frosting. The 'Mum' is AC Thickers and i've doodled some dots with my Inkssentials pen and a black Zig marker.
Mother's Day here in the U.K. is 22nd March and this card will be popped into the box going into the office for my colleagues to browse through.
I would love to see your take on the sketch this week...............just leave a note so i know where to find you ;-D
See you soon....

Hugs
Carol x

PENNY BLACK SATURDAY CHALLENGE Recipe 3,2,1...

Posting my card for the current challenge at PBSC just a little bit earlier this week! I chase my tail all week and usually end up showing it on a Friday..............however, the challenge this week is a recipe....

3 Brads, 2 Ribbons and 1 Flower

Now, at first glance you may think i've boobed and used three flowers!....... but this is one large paper bloom cut into 3 pieces. The papers are from a Christmas download at Funky Hand, called Funky Little Christmas..................i know, i know i've mentioned the 'C' word in March............how bad am I? :)

The brads are Bo Bunny and the sentiment is computer generated using Lucida Handwriting font. The ribbons are from stash, but the spotty one is Bobbin at £1 per reel. I added some doodle dots with my Inkssentials pen and a Zig marker. The gorgeous little lady is of course a Penny Black stamp called 'Evening Glow'.................................oh to have a figure like that!!!!
...................coloured in my usual fashion with Distress inks.

Thanks for your visit today, have a great Wednesday and i'll see you tomorrow! ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

DCM It's a Patchy One!

The challenge this week over at DCM is to make a card with a patchwork theme! A good chance to use up scraps or off cuts........................or, the content sheet from the front of your Basic Grey 12 x 12 collection pack!!
If you've been to see me before, you will know that i am a Basic Grey addict! I make no excuses.......i'm happy playing with whatever they have to offer me, so much so that i can't even bear to throw away the sheet that comes in the front of the collection packs showing you what's inside!
My card today has been made with some of the squares from the sheet in the 'Porcelain' pack, the most recent of my purchases(more being delivered tomorrow..hopefully!)
I've also added part of the Rose from the adhesive element sheet that also comes in the pack. The circle was cut with Nesties and then chalked with Colorbox cat's eyes to tone in with the colours, some faux stitching added with a HOTP acrylic stamp and Chestnut Roan chalk.

I couldn't bear to see all those lovely bits in the bin..............could you?
Thanks for popping in today........see you soon ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

New Blog on the Block!

Back again to tell you that another of my friends has just started her blog Wendy's Crafty Bits

Wendy comes along to my card making club on a Tuesday evening and usually has us laughing with her stories.......she is a very funny lady......i'm so glad we met :) Whatever you do though......don't ask about her Cuttlebug!!!!...............i'm DEAD if she comes next Tuesday!!!! ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

A Belated "Thank You".....

.....to Debbie for this fabulous award....

Debbie awarded me this a couple of weeks ago, so i have to apologise for not getting around to posting it sooner!!
The idea is that you choose your Top 10 Blogs from the ones that you visit........ i have to say that i am 'copping out' on this simply because it would be SO hard to just choose 10!! from all the lovely blogs that i visit :)
Therefore, if you have not yet received this lovely little ladybug please take it with my best wishes!... ;-D

Back tomorrow with my patchwork card for Daring Card Makers!

Hugs
Carol x

Pink Elephant Challenge #5

Well, the weeks are cetainly rolling around rather quickly and we are already at Challenge #5 at The Pink Elephant.........and today we have a colour combo for you!
We would like you to create something using the colours........

BROWN, GREEN & PINK

So, go ahead and create a project of your choice, using these colours........and don't forget to leave your name with Mr Linky so we can all come and visit you to see what you've made!
I have a Mother's Day card for you today as of course here in the U.K. it is the 22nd of March!
I've used a fabulous Penny Black image called 'Andante'.......i LOVE this stamp and of all the stamps i have this one gets used time & time again!! My image has been coloured with Sea Brights 'Bikini Pink' for the flower and Adirondack 'Espresso' for the stem and then lightly misted with water before placing down on the paper.

The designer papers i've used today are Basic Grey from the 'Sultry' 6 x 6 pad, along with some Bazzill cardstock in brown & green. The scalloped circle that frames the image was made with a Marvy Giga punch 3"diameter although you could get the same result with Nesties!
My green card has been run through the Swiss Dots folder with my Cuttlebug, which left me with a plain area at the bottom for my sentiment. The card base is 53/4" square.

As i look at my card now, i'm kind of wishing i had added some lovely flouncy ribbon somewhere............maybe i can add it later!
I'm looking forward to seeing your work again this week :) you are all making so many gorgeous things and i would like to thank you all for helping to make The Pink Elephant such a fun place to be a part of! ;-D

See you soon.........
Hugs
Carol x

Cute Card Thursday #50 "Wine & Dine".....

Well, not quite "Wine & Dine" but how will a Pint of Lager do? :)

The challenge this week on Cute Card Thursday is "FOOD & DRINK".........so i decided to search out my Hobby Art stamp called 'Just a Bear' not only is this bear very cute but you can get lots of little stamps of accessories to use with him :) I have three of the accessory stamps and today i chose to use the coffee mug which i've made to look like a pint of lager!!

I coloured some white card with Dove brushes and ink from an Adirondack pad 'Hazlenut' and Ranger archival in 'Sepia', i then stamped my bear in 'Espresso' and cut him out. The pint of beer was done in a similar manner, using white liquid applique for the froth!

Papers are Basic Grey 'Archaic' and the sentiment is Adornit stickers, photo turns, brads and ribbon from stash...............................i had forgotten how much i love this bear, i should use him more often :)

Thanks for your time today, i'm away now to finish up some DT stuff but hopefully i'll see you again tomorrow ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

My lovely friend Margaret.....

You will have often heard me mention 'My lovely friend Margaret'........well now you can see who i am talking about...........she has now joined us all and created her own blog!.....Yay!!!

I am chuffed that she can now share her fabulous work with everyone and i'm sure she will be joining in on some challenges very soon! Pop over to Paperchase World to say 'Hello' ....... ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

Penny Black Saturday Challenge & a little extra!

Well, it's been such a mad week here again, hence the lack of blog activity and the reason why i am so late again with my design for Penny Black Saturday Challenge!

"SOMETHING TO EAT"

I love to join in with this challenge for two reasons.............firstly, i love PB stamps and secondly my lovely mate Kath is on the Design Team...........we are also team mates for Funky Hand and we all support each others ventures! So.....................onto the card
Aside from there being a yummy cake on this card, these papers are also good enough to eat!! they are from one of the latest releases from Basic Grey called 'Porcelain' and i LOVE them :)
The other goodies on this card are the paper flowers from Making Memories, some glitter brads from Doodlebug and those little gold flower spacers! The sentiment is a rub on that my lovely and generous friend Margaret gave me........ribbon from stash!


"Tag Card...Card Tag".......... i love to join in with the challenges at TYI and this one was from a couple of weeks ago........................now converted into a card suitable for a male! and we all know how difficult they can be!!!!Thanks for popping in today................ ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

Sketches! by Tamara....

Hello again........it's Thursday and time for a new sketch over at Tamara's place! It's another fab sketch, so i hope you will all join in and have fun with it. Also we have some new DT members, so lots more inspiration for you all! Why not pop over and see :)
I've pulled out an old 'French Twist' kit for my card today. I used some smaller scraps on this card, but i still have whole 12 x 12 sheets that i haven't cut into yet :)

I cut the scraps into equal size pieces and attached them to my card front. The top portion is some die cut acetate, also from the kit..... i love these and tried to get some more, but have had no luck as yet!...... i then machine stitched a 'frame' around the edge.

The focal squares are again, all made from scraps of cardstock and i added some Swarovski crystals to the punched butterflies and a Donna Downey rub-on.

Hope you can play along with us this week......thanks for popping in today, i'll see you soon ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

** Sorry! i think i am a little early with my 'toot' for the new team members........it must be next week!!!

TAG YOU'RE IT Week 47

Because " Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend"...............the title of the challenge this week, set by my lovely friend Kath! I'm sure many of you like to see 'bling' on a project, it just seems to add that little bit extra to make it come alive.................and like Kath, i LOVE it!! :)
Yes.........i'm afraid i've used more of that old cardboard box again today! mounted onto some black cardstock. I painted it with Ranger paint dabber in Pink Sherbet and added some Glamour Dust.......something else i love!
The flowers are Prima, Bling is Kanban and i've used Making Memories tiny alphas for the Happy Birthday. The black chipboard is from a Donna Downey kit and the flower gems, ribbon and trim are from my stash!
I had fun making this tag today and i will enjoy using it as the focal point on a card........possibly for one of my daughters........not sure yet :)

Thanks for you time today, i'm off now to get all my supplies together for my class that i teach on a Tuesday evening, but hopefully i'll see you very soon ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

THE PINK ELEPHANT - Week 4

Today from Ella's Kitchen we have for you a recipe challenge! The recipe set by my lovely team mate Ann is..............

'Use Dies & Ribbon'

I had a little fun with this design today :) I took some inspiration from a very talented lady called Julia, who made her birds nest from paper shreds! I decided however to use eylash fibre, jute and some punched leaves for my nest! and here it is.......................
My little bird is a Nestability die. This particular set has only three dies, but i just had to have them as i love the shape of the bird!!! and i think she looks rather sweet sitting in her nest :) Now i just have to think of a few more ways of using them!
I've covered my base card with some Basic Grey paper from the 'Sultry' 12 x 12 collection pack and the bird is also BG although not sure which collection as it was a small piece from my scraps box!
My layers for the background are white card run through the D'Vine Swirls embossing folder, layered onto some plain black. The ribbons are from my stash and have been wound around the layers before adding a Making Memories paper flower and a jewel brad.

I do hope you will enjoy playing along with us this week....and don't forget to check out the fabulous creations from the other girls on the DT........make sure you leave us a link, so we can all come and see what you have cooked up from the recipe!

Thanks for popping in today..........have a fab Monday! ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

SKETCH CANDY WINNER!

I offered a little selection of goodies for my first challenge at The Pink Elephant.................it's taken me ages to choose a winner........so many lovely entries, however the card i have chosen is..........
Congratulations Jenni :) please let me have your snail mail address so that i can get your candy sent out to you!

Thanks to everyone that played along and there will be another sketch from me in a few weeks time over at TPE :)

DT CARDS Sneaky Peeks!

Had rather a busy weekend so not really much cardmaking going on! However, i do have some Sneaky Peeks of my DT cards for the upcoming week :) I know this frustrates a few of you.......but some of you love to see them .......so here they are............

And....not too long to wait to see the reveal of the first one, as it is my design for the new challenge at The Pink Elephant, which of course will be available to view at 12 midnight EST or 5am GMT ....... i made a mistake in my previous post because of course EST is five hours behind GMT not 5 hours in front!!!..........

This is for Sketches!(by Tamara) so a little bit longer to wait for this one as the sketch challenge goes live on a Thursday..........well worth the wait as Tamara never dissapoints and as usual has provided us all with another fabulous sketch! And.............we have some new DT members too, so something else to look forward to seeing all their gorgeous creations :)

Just before i sign off...... i will be choosing my favourite from the entries for my sketch challenge #3 at TPE later this evening to win my little goody pack......... i will leave it as late as i can to allow those that sneak in at the last minute.............so pop back for that................you may be the lucky one! ;-D

Bye for now...
Carol x