DCM Supersize Me!!

Back again as promised.........I've been itching to join in with the dare over at DCM this week.....it's been set by the super talented Lythan my team mate on Funky Hand!

SUPERSIZE ME!

Lythan wants to see super size embellies on our cards this week, and extra points for using large blooms!..................these were the largest i have!................

I've had these large Prima flowers for ages and although i do use them ocasionally, they are so big that they sort of 'take over' the card! However this dare was perfect because that is the general idea :)

The gorgeous paper panel at the bottom of my design is from the Bo Bunny 'Love Shack' collection which was obtained! with a recent purchase from what i think must be my favourite online store 'Craft Obsessions' I just cannot help myself when confronted with such yummy papers i have to have them :) although by now i have enough 12 x 12's to start my own shop!!!

The 'stem' is some American Crafts ric-rac, and i've used a jumbo brad and rub-on from HOTP for the centre of my flower and a couple of little punched butterflies and some doodling to finish!

I would really like to take part in one or two more challenges this week..............have to see how it goes, thanks for popping in again today......see you soon ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

So pleased it's Thursday!......

......because i get to show my DT card for Sketches!{by tamara}....and .....it's almost the weekend again and a Bank Holiday on Monday too!..... I love Bank Holidays :)

But, before i do that i have to apologise to Tamara!.......... after e-mailing an image of my card last Saturday i decided to 'add' some things.......i just thought it was very bland, although the papers are gorge it just didn't 'do it' for me so i have added some birds.......... they're only tiny but they seem to make all the difference :)The gorgeous papers are My Mind's Eye...Dreamy2 collection (found them at the papercraft show last Saturday!).....I am a sucker for anything dotty!!
The birds are from Hero Arts sparkle clear 'Hello Birdie', such a dinky little set of stamps and perfect for lots of occasions!

I would REALLY love to see what you can do with this weeks sketch....hope you can find time to play along with us ;-D

Back later with my challenge card for DCM.......more yummy papers!

Hugs
Carol x

SOLD OUT!!

Yes peeps, if you were watching the Funky Hand show on Ideal World yesterday evening you will be aware that the latest CD FUNKY WORD BOOKS did in fact sell out!

Don't despair though, as you will be able to purchase direct from the website on 11th May :) ........in the meantime, here are the DT samples i made that Anice showed on t.v. last night!

'Love & Stuff'

And also a cupcake card made with another of the collections 'Coffee Anyone?
As usual i left it very late to make my samples and then when i did make a start my MoJo was missing!! Don't you just hate it when that happens?

Off out tonight to my class, should have another new lady starting tonight, so best get my bum in gear :) ............Catch up with you all tomorrow...... ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

My Sketch at the Pink Elephant!!

Yes! i'm very excited to bring you another sketch this week over at The Pink Elephant.....i hope you'll enjoy working with it and i'm looking forward to visiting you all to see how you play it :)


I flipped my sketch this week, which of course you can do if you wish...........

I am so into these chandeliers at the moment! so my apologies if you are seeing rather a lot of them :) I've also used these yummy papers which i bought at the papercraft show on Saturday.... i was quite controlled and only got four 12 x 12's, but wish i had got more now cause i absolutely love them!............ there's always next time :)

Image.... Inkadinkado 98975
Papers.... Black Market Paper Society
Cuttlebug...Textile Texture
Rub-on.... Donna Downey
Doodlebug paper frills, gems, ribbon and stickles from stash

I hope you will have fun playing with my sketch this week, be sure to check out the rest of the DT girls and i will be over to see you very soon ;-]

Hugs
Carol x

I also used my sketch for the card i posted yesterday....... :)

Anything goes.......

.....for this week over at Penny Black Saturday Challenge. I wanted to be so creative this week and have a cute project in mind, rather than always making a card! but i have developed conjunctivitis!!............... My eyes felt a bit sore yesterday morning, but as i had planned to go to the papercraft show i just kind of ignored it! I have some Brolene drops now, so hopefully they will improve rather quickly, but my special project will have to wait a bit longer :)

So.......................another card!
Always love the PB hedgies, but i think this maybe the best i've ever coloured them!! This little scene however would never happen in reality...........Hedgehogs are not very lovey-dovey! and their romantic liasons consist of a rather noisy very quick mating and that's it!!..........Glad i'm not a Hedgehog aren't you?

Image.... PB 'You're a Treasure'
Inks.... Versafine to stamp, Adirondack & Distress to colour
Papers.... Basic Grey 'Porcelain' 6 x 6
Punch.... Fiskars 'Threading Water'
Flowers.... Artoz
Gems.... Papermania
Cuttlebug....swiss dots
cardstock and velvet paper from stash
sentiment is a rub-on from The Scrapbook House.com

For those of you that loved the story of our 'real' Hedgehogs last year...............you will be very pleased to know as we are, that 'Little Hoppy' is back!!!!!!
She has been visiting every night now for about two weeks and polishes off her plate of cat food in no time at all!
We are chuffed to bits that she has survived the winter and the events of last year's delivery of her babies in our Tortoise house!!

It's lovely and sunny here in Bedford, i hope the sun is shining on you today......see you tomorrow ;-]

Hugs
Carol x

update.....my eyes are so much better already! that Brolene stuff is very good it stings a little bit but has made a tremendous difference to how they feel...........thank you so much for all your well wishes......and Wendy i didn't see any dolls at the show!! Ha good job really......

Papertake Weekly

After my miserable Friday at the office i knew the best way to cheer myself up......... make a card! This one is for the current challenge over at Papertake Weekly which is a lovely sketch by the fabulous Dawny P.

Got to work and stamped my image and coloured it in...........only to discover that it was too big for the layout of the sketch and my card base! However, all was resolved by chopping off one of the Hedgehogs!!!

Image.... PB 'Catching the star'
Sentiment.... Printworks
Papers.... Basic Grey 'Wisteria'
Inks.... Versafine & ColorBox
watercolour pencils
Bazzill cardstock
Ribbon.... free! it came tied
around my new bedspread from M&S!!

Hopefully by the time you read this i should be well on my way to Harston to the Craft Wholesale event.... and who knows, maybe they'll have a small fabric doll and some very large pins!! :0] See you soon...........

Hugs
Carol x

TGIF!!!!!!!!

You hear people all the time saying this phrase......Thank God It's Friday!!............well i've said it today and really meant it!

The day started off with an escapee chicken.!!............our garden is very secure, but we have one small hole to allow the Cats and Hedgehogs safe passage through to Rocco's next door(single, Italian mmmm! who dosen't mind animals popping through the fence!!)......................well Daisy, one of our rescued ex-bats decided to squeeze through said hole!......Luckily, our opposite door neighbour saw her walking down his driveway and she was quickly returned to the safety of our back garden!

However, this little incident caused me to be late leaving the house for work.......i work one mile away from home and in the car it only takes five minutes if the traffic lights(two sets) are green......yep you've guessed it! today they were both RED grrr, which saw me arriving at work at 4 mins past nine........i pull into the car park and Rosie is also just getting out of her car so i thought, oh good i'm not the only one late so it's not so bad......wrong!!!! we walk into an empty office? where are the others? Well the boss had decided to hold a meeting at 9 to discuss some isssues and when the others returned to the room we were told we were needed in the board room!

Now sometimes i have this problem where i can't seem to keep my mouth shut and before i know it i'm saying something i shouldn't!! " sounds ominous" i said.................well what followed made me realise that i really do need to retire.

The meeting consisted of the boss ranting on about several things that had been going on in the office the first of these being time keeping!! he then went on to say that there was too much chatting and we are not to talk whilst working, the cigarette breaks have got out of hand, the profit has slipped considerably and i quote.............................. "yesterday we only made £903, well that won't pay my wages will it? everyone needs to buckle down otherwise there will be no profit share coming your way next March, the phones aren't ringing, so we need to be making promotional calls during the quiet times, if the phone only rings twice an hour that's not good enough is it?" He then went on to say that he doesn't single anyone out which is why he called the group meeting(funny then how he was staring at me the whole time!! i ended up looking out of the window to avoid his glare) he ended by saying "does anyone have any questions?".............................. no chance mate!!!!

I am the Admin lady...... so i have nothing whatsoever to do with the phones, or promotional calls and i usually have plenty of paperwork to keep me busy so i don't really have time to talk either! I do nip out for a ciggie, but usually only one in the morning and one in the afternoon! It takes me four minutes to smoke a cigarette......some people spend longer that that in the loo! Adrian on the sales desk is outside every hour......maybe he meant him when he was staring at me!!!!! who knows........needless to say the office has been like a morgue today with all of us only speaking when really neccessary....well sorry mate i am Human not a robot! It's like being back at school!! Rosie was so peed off she took half day holiday!! He also mentioned that they did not want to make anyone redundant in these hard times............this is where i had to bite my tongue otherwise i would have said "o.k. i'll go now, that'll save you fifteen grand a year"

So yes....Thank God it's Friday!!!!

Rant over...back with a card tomorrow! ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

and the Winners are..............

A few minutes later than expected....sorry about that!

After some sifting and sorting, the 3 winners of my Birthday Blog Candy Bonanza are................

First out of the hat and winner of candy number 1 is.......................

JUNE

Second out of the hat and winner of candy number 2 is...................

NICOLA

and the third lucky winner of candy number 3 is..............................

TRACEY

Congratulations to you all! please e-mail me carol@casamiacrafts.co.uk to claim your goodies and to supply me with your postal address so that i can get your parcels out to you :) If i have not heard from you by Saturday at midday, i will have to choose another winner.

thanks to all the lovely ladies that played along this time and keep your eyes peeled for the next one!!

Hugs
Carol x

Closing the door..............

......on my Birthday Blog Candy Bonanza it's 8pm and this candy is now closed........check back at 9pm for the reveal of the three winners!

Thanks so much to everyone that has entered this time, throughout this giveaway i have received some lovely new followers and some wonderful comments about my work....which makes me a very happy blogger!! and................don't be too dissapointed if you don't win this time, i'm off to a papercraft show on Saturday to choose some goodies for the next one!............Watch this space ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

Sketches! [by tamara]

Hi everyone!............ Thursday begins with another 'blast from the past' sketch by Tamara and for my design today i've used some of the fabulous new papers from the Basic Grey 'Wisteria' collection.

At first glance of the papers they look very flowery and feminine and although i am rather early with this Father's Day card, i thought it would be a perfect chance to show how the papers can be used to make cards for the men in our lives as well!

Papers.... BG 'Wisteria'
Cardstock for base.... Bazzill
Image.... Hobby Art 'Boxed Cuddles'
Sentiment.... Hero Arts LL760
Punch.... Woodware
(for stamped squares)
Inks.... Versafine & ColorBox
Watercolour pencils

I would love to see your take on the sketch this week.............maybe you could use some of your favourite designer paper too! .............Thanks for popping in today and if you have entered my blog candy giveaway don't forget to check back at 9pm to see if you have been lucky ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

A Reminder and a **TOOT**

You have one more day to enter my Birthday Blog Candy Bonanza!..... just click the picture on the right side bar to be taken to the original post, all the details are there for you :) The draw will close tomorrow at 8pm GMT and then i will need some time to randomly pick the three winners. I will post the names of the three lucky people at 9pm GMT...... Good Luck!

Now for the **TOOT**

Funky Hand on Ideal World Monday 27th April @6pm GMT
Anice will be launching her brand new CD 'Funky Word Books' live on the show where she will be showing samples made by myself and the other girls on the DT. I can't show you the things i've made as that would spoil the suprise, but here are some little snippets to whet your appetite!

I hope you can pop back in the morning to see the reveal of my design for Sketches! and don't forget the candy giveaway!

Hugs
Carol x

STAMPTACULAR SUNDAY CHALLENGE #3

Challenge #3 at Stamptacular Sunday is "Black & White + One"...........your entire project must only be Black, White and one other colour.................so i went for Pink!

I love bright pink with B&W and this pink was the brightest i could find in my supplies!!
My circle was cut with my Cricut at 51/2 inches using George cartridge, other supplies used......

Image.... Inkadinkado

Swirls.... Technique Tuesday
Punches.... Woodware & Paper Shaper
Inks.... Versafine & ColorBox
Gems.... Hero Arts & Kanban
Watercolour pencil and Inkssentials pen

I'm not so sure that there is enough pink on this card for my liking, but it does meet the challenge i hope!
Thanks for your visit today.......see you soon ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

Creative Card Crew...... Monochrome Madness!

This card was made for the current challenge over at CCC but........it's also for my lovely friend Sue who is 60 today! .....I made it middle of last week but have had to keep it under wraps until now :)...... she lives quite close to me so my hubby popped it through her door last night......

I am loving these new chandelier stamps at the moment! You may be seeing a bit more of them over the next few weeks!!

Papers.... American Crafts
Chandelier image.... Inkadinkado
Inks.... Versafine 'onyx black'
Rub-on.... Making Memories
Ranger Stickles.... silver
Prima flower, brad, ribbon and gems from my stash

I did the inside again too.....didn't want to put the numerals on the outside.........
Hope she likes it!
Thanks for popping in today.........see you soon ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

The Pink Elephant challenge #11

We are asking you this week to Recycle or Re-use something! .............also there may be an option this week, but pop over to TPE to check that out!

My brain has not worked well this past week and the best i could think of was to use some more cardboard from an empty copy paper box again!!........... i know, i bet you are thinking........not again!! but this time i have made a mini book........it's not quite finished though, i will probably add some photo's to the alternating pages........................i will try and remember to show it again once completed :)
The flowers are from an Anna Griffin decoupage set that i bought an absoloute age ago! and although they aren't recycled i did think it was about time they were used for something :) they are very pretty, but i don't 'do' decoupage so this was a good way to use them up!
These are pictures of the inner pages............a work in progress......
The additional items i used were some Prima 'Say it in Crystals' Ranger paint dabber 'Ice cap' and some fibres and trim from my stash. I hope i have inspired you to use up some of that old cardboard!! but be sure to pop over to TPE to see the fab creations from the other girls on the DT...................i'm really looking forward to seeing all the entries this week, so go have a rummage and see what you can create! ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

PENNY BLACK SATURDAY

I had an early wake up call this morning from the ever gorgeous Danielle......Mummy was starting work at 6.30! so she arrived very early with Daddy, hence me not getting around to posting until now :)

There is a lovely sketch by Nat this week over at PBSC, so i decided to play along and to use some of my new Basic Grey 'Wisteria' papers, along with a stamp that hasn't seen ink for a while........

Image.... PB 'Brush Lily'
Papers.... Basic Grey 'Wisteria'
Cardstock.... Bazzill
Inks.... Adirondack - Ranger Industries
Sentiment.... Adornit tiny etched natural alpha's
button and twine from my stash

We are having Spaghetti Bolognaise for lunch today, so i will be getting that ready soon and.................the sun has decided to come out so we may go out for a walk later......... I hope to be back this evening to catch up with some of you and to share another card................have to see how it goes!

Bye for now...................

Hugs

Carol x

BIRTHDAY PICTURES

Birthday pics as promised......hope you are nosy like me! cos' there are lots............................ :)

Gorgeous flower display in the hotel room

Me & the ever tolerant Andy!.......he has to be to put up with me!!!!

Friday was absolutely glorious, so after brekky we walked along the cliff tops

.............and back along the beachfront

After returning late Sunday morning, it was a quick freshen up and then off to the restaurant for my Birthday dinner

The HUGE chocolate cake that arrived at the table, with dimmed lights and everyone singing!!.....Danielle's face lit up when she saw it :)

The 'real' gorjuss girls........left to right......Chloe, Rhianna, and DIL Justine

such a crazy lot!!

my beautiful cards.......thank you so much.....i will treasure them all :)

my cute mice ornament from Danielle

and...... this one says it all! or at least i hope so :)

And..................... last but by no means least.............it's starting to fill up!!!
I had an absolutely wonderful Birthday and feel so lucky to have such a gorgeous husband........... and family and friends that make everything so special............hope you've enjoyed this little montage of piccies................see you again soon ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

Cupcake Craft Challenge 35

The current challenge over at Cupcake Craft is to make a one layer card!

"What that means: You may have one layer of cardstock other than your image and base. You could even just stamp on your base card. Its up to you. But you may use as many embellishments as you want eg. flowers,ribbon, buttons etc."

You all know how much i love my designer papers, but of course for this challenge it has to be kept very simple to meet the requirements, so.................here's what i made.......I have used a pre folded 5 x 7 card and inked the edges with a Colorbox cats eye then added some dotty doodling with my Zig pen. Onto this is my one layer of card which has all the stamping and embellishments added.

Dove brushes to create the background
Main image.... Penny Black 'Andante'
Dragonfly and texture stamps.... Laxmi Designs
Sentiment unknown(sorry!)
Inks.... Adirondack, Versafine & ColorBox
Stickles.... Rhinestone
Gems.... Papermania
ribbon from stash

It's been absolutely ages since i last made this type of card.......i do think we get a bit 'stuck in our ways' sometimes and forget about all the other lovely stuff that we all collect :) I really enjoyed making this card and playing along with the challenge!
Thanks for popping in today..... my BG 'Wisteria' should be arriving today! WoooHooo!!! enjoy your Friday! ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

Sketches! {by tamara}

A four day week means we are already around to Thursday! don't you just love Bank Holidays?.......shame we can't have one every week!!!..............onto the fabulous sketch by Tamara..................and some lovely new stamps too ;-)

I knew the instant i saw Tamara's sketch that i would be using one of the gorgeous chandelier stamps from an Inkadinkado set (98975) which i had purchased on a recent trip to the Colemans craft warehouse in Rushden. I've loved all the ones i've seen around blogland and just couldn't wait to get my hands on some.................i also acquired the Cricut cartridge 'Home Decor', there is a fabby one on there too!

Papers.... Anna Griffin
Cardstock.... K&Co remake
Ink.... Versafine onyx black
Gems.... Mark Richards
Ranger Stickles.... silver
Sentiment.... Edwardian Script ITC from computer

And..............unusually for me, i decorated the inside too!
I hope you can play along with the sketch this week, i'm sure you'll love it as much as i do!
Looking forward to seeing your take on it :)

Hugs
Carol x

Stamptacular Sunday!

I am so glad to have stumbled upon the fabulous new challenge blog Stamptacular Sunday! especially as the challenge this week is called 'this is for the birds'
You may already know that we have 10 birds as pets, so this challenge was perfect for me to play along with............
I think this bird is so cute!......it's another image from my new Inkadinkado set as mentioned in yesterday's post(butterfly card).....fabulous value for money too at £8.99 for eight stamps! and i will be using more from the set over the next few days. The owl is adorable too, so watch out for him :)

papers.... Basic Grey 'Marrakech'
green cardstock.... K&Co 'remake'
bird image.... Inkadinkado 99120
branch.... Hero Arts H4946
sentiment.... HOTP
Watercolour pencils (for bird)
Dovecraft punches for leaves and scalloped edge
Nestabilities/Cuttlebug
Cricut for small oval
Dove blender brushes
inks.... Adirondack, Versafine
Prima flower, brad , swirly clip, gems and ribbon from stash

Thanks for your time today.......see you tomorrow with my DT card for Sketches! ;-D
Hugs
Carol x

FRIDAY SKETCHERS 47

Firstly, i would like to start by saying a big Thank You to everyone that left me Birthday wishes and to those lovely ladies that sent beautiful cards...............this all helped to make my 50th Birthday very special :)

now.......onto the fabulous sketch over at Friday Sketchers......
Playing along with this great sketch was a perfect excuse to use my brand new Inkadinkado set of acrylic stamps called 'Patterned birds & bugs'.....................a lovely set with lots of butterflies, birds and dragonflies.

Image.... Inkadinkado
Swirls.... HOTP
Papers.... BG 'Ambrosia'
Cricut.... Ovals cut at 3" & 3.5"
Rub-on.... Pebbles Inc
Twinkling H2O's to colour
Ink.... Versafine black
Gem flowers, ribbon & gems from stash

I will be out this evening at my workshop so i'll catch up with you all tomorrow, thanks for your visit today...........see you soon ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

The Pink Elephant Challenge 10

It's Monday and time for another challenge over at The Pink Elephant! This week we have for you a colour challenge.....................

LIGHT GREEN, PINK & PALE YELLOW

The fabulous news about this weeks challenge is, that we are sponsored by THE GREETING FARM..............the home of Anya & Ian! The DT members were all given two digi downloads to play with and for my card this week i chose the gorgeous Unicorn.....................

Isn't she cute?
I printed my download onto watercolour paper and coloured in using Royal & Langnickel watercolour pencils.

Papers.... Basic Grey 'Whisper' from the Sultry collection
Cardstock.... DCWV & K&Co Remake
Nestabilities.... Lg scalloped square
Cuttlebug.... Swiss Dots
Punches.... Dovecraft
Ribbon and Thicker.... American Crafts
Rub-on.... Pebbles Inc
button from stash

There is a fabulous set of stamps for the winner of this challenge so don't delay, make a card using the colours as stated and link up over at TPE to be in with a chance! Also, make sure you check out the gorgeous creations from the rest of the girls on the DT...............
Thanks for popping in to see me today and my apologies for not commenting on all your lovely cards for last week.................i had a very special trip away for my Birthday............ ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

Birthday Blog Candy Bonanza!

To celebrate my Birthday and to thank you all for visiting me here and leaving me such lovely comments, i'm having a Birthday Blog Candy Bonanza!..................So, here goes........... it's a little different as there are 3 bundles on offer...............

Number 1

1 K&Co 'Madeline' 8.5 x 8.5 paper pad, 36 double sided sheets
1 K&Co 'Madeline' Die cut cardstock pack 126 pieces
1 pack of Kaiser hot pink gems
1 metre 2.75" web mesh
2 metres dotty organza ribbon
5 felt flowers

Number 2

16 8 x 8 DCWV papers
1 Heidi Swapp acrylic SMILE stamp
2 packs of Card Candy
1 pack of paper roses

Number 3

1 set of Tim Holtz A-Z Grungeboard Harlequin Alphas
1 wood mounted Antique Alphabet stamp
3 Mini Albums
3 large paper blooms
2 metres narrow striped ribbon
1 metre b&w small check ribbon

To enter this Bonanza, just leave me a comment at this post and put a link to my candy on your blog. This offer is open to all entries that have active blogs. The first entry chosen will win Number 1, second out wins Number 2, and the third name drawn will win Number 3. The winners will be drawn at random on Thursday 23rd April at 8pm GMT............... Good Luck!

LOOK!!!!!!! what i've been keeping a secret!!

WoooHooo!!! I know!! i'm very naughty and have been keeping this a secret until today! For those of you that are unaware, today is my 50th Birthday.............this fantastic craft desk and hutch was given to me last Thursday!!
My wonderful husband arranged for me to have it a week early as i have been on Holiday from work and also, we are going away today until Sunday...........so all my recent creations have been made right here!

I am so totally over the moon with this gift, which is why i couldn't believe my eyes when i saw the case and spade the other morning! There is SO much room in this desk.....i have all my stamps in it already and three of the 1" drawers are still empty..........i suppose you could say that it's rather like a chef in the kitchen..............if all your equipment is close to hand then it makes creating a whole lot easier and quicker too!!

Now, i must post my Birthday Blog Candy Bonanza...............see you soon!

Hugs
Carol x