THE PINK ELEPHANT CHALLENGE

One day left to create your card based on my sketch this week! over at The Pink Elephant. The challenge closes on Sunday at 12 Midnight EST (7pm GMT)........and i will be choosing my own favourite creation to win this little pile of goodies.........

The Design Team will be voting for their favourite once the challenge closes.......and the winner will be receiving their prize from Terri at Bella Bun & Co. ........hurry now don't miss out!! ;-D

For those of you that love to be kept in suspense.........later today i will be showing you some sneaky peeks of my DT cards for the coming week, so if you love those then don't forget to pop back for a little look, and of course there will be a brand new challenge at TPE on Monday!

Hugs
Carol x

SKETCHES! by Tamara...

Yay!!! It's Thursday and time to share my card for Sketches! this week :) Tamara has provided us with yet another wonderful sketch and i just couldn't wait to use some of the new Basic Grey 'Porcelain' papers on this design!
My card base is 5 x 7 and onto this i've added a piece of 'Silver Birch' for my background. I then cut two 1.75" strips of 'Bellamy' which i scored and pleated and ran these through my sewing machine before sticking to my card......... my stitching is getting straighter everytime! i think i could get to enjoy this, and i do love the effect it gives :)

Onto the flower!.......the gorgeous large green one is from a Prima Minnie Can 'Odyssey'.... i've had these for ages, i still have lots left in all different colours.....i like to use them sparingly!! :)
I punched another from the 'Silver Birch' paper using a Paper Shapers Daisy whale of a punch, i topped this with a Papermania fabric flower.......now the gold thing in the centre was given to me by my eldest daughter Chloe....mmmm not sure what it is!! i think it may have been part of a necklace that fell to pieces! she knew that i would use it somehow :) The tiniest flower is a HOTP metal pinwheel with a brad through the centre and the wording is Adornit etched natural stickers.

Why not join in the fun this week? i would love to see your take on this fab sketch........ thanks for popping in today.....see you soon ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

SECRET CRAFTER

The challenge this week at Secret Crafter is a fabulous sketch by Jill ..........and we all know how much i love sketches, so i just had to have a play!

Haven't decided on a sentiment yet so i've left it bare for the time being!
The Basic Grey papers i've used on my design today are from the 'Eva' 6 x 6 paper pad, i've not used this collection for a while so i thought i would give it an airing!

The centre mats were cut with my Nesties using the scalloped and the plain squares, and then embossed. The cupcake is from my well used acrylic set by Hero Arts, stamped with black Archival ink onto watercolour paper. The candle was done in the same manner and then popped in to a little slot at the top of the cupcake :) All coloured with Distress and Adirondack inks with some Stickles added for sprinkles! The little Impex crystal flowers are from my stash.

If you are watching out for more designs using the new 'Porcelain' collection, you may want to pop over to see me tomorrow........my DT card for Sketches this week was made with the new papers! Also if like me, you love sketches, then you may want to try my sketch over at The Pink Elephant this week..........i'm giving some goodies away to my favourite entry!! :)

Thanks for your visit today.......see you tomorrow ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

TAG YOU'RE IT Week 46

I do love to join in at Tag You're It whenever i can, although i have to be honest and say that sometimes the challenge has me completely stumped!! however............ this week was o.k. as i can do Circles & Swirls, which is the challenge set by the very lovely Dawn.

This tag uses some more of the yummy new 'Porcelain' papers from Basic Grey.....love 'em :) and everytime i get a new collection i use them as much as possible for the first couple of weeks!! I am well and truly a Basic Grey addict :)
I used two acrylic stamps for the circle.......the edge is Pink Paislee and the sentiment in the centre is HOTP and my chipboard swirl is Maya Road.I've used some matching Bazzill to back it all and the ribbon is American Crafts yummy velvet :)

This tag will become the focal point on a card for a man.....so watch out for that in the next few days!
Thanks for popping in today...........see you soon ;-D

Oooh, my husband has just put a wolf programme on T.V. so off to watch that now! I LOVE WOLVES :)

Hugs
Carol x

AND THE WINNER IS......

The winner of the Cuttlebug folder and ribbons is....

*******YVETTE*******

Congratulations Yvette, please let me have your postal address so that i can get your goodies posted out to you :) My e-mail address is in the side bar, if i hear nothing by Wednesday i will draw another from the list.

A big 'Thank You' to everyone that joined in this time, maybe you would like to try the TPE sketch this week.................you may be lucky for that!

Hugs
Carol x

MY SKETCH CANDY

As mentioned in my earlier post it's my turn for the challenge this week at TPE which is a sketch for you all :)

I will be choosing my favourite from the entries to receive this little pile of goodies as my way of saying 'Thank You' for playing along!
Can't wait to see your interpretations of my sketch and i look forward to visisting you all to see what you do with it!................ Have Fun :)

Hugs
Carol x

THE PINK ELEPHANT Challenge 3.....

Morning everyone........just a bit excited today as we bring you Challenge #3 at The Pink Elephant...........and the reason for my excitement....it's my turn!!!! I have a sketch for you :) and here it is...........
This fabulous seahorse image that i've used on my design today is from Clarity Stamp which i've inked with Ranger Archival Jet Black.
I've utilised both my Cuttlebug and Cricut(sounds like a double act!) again today.........although i don't use my Cricut nearly enough, i would not want to be without it now! and my flowery swirl was cut from the Home Accents cartridge at 2.5"
My green background has been embossed with Swiss Dots, one of my most used folders........they're made of tough stuff which is a good job the amount of times they get cranked through those rollers!!
The cardstock is Bazzill and Core'dinations..........can you believe i ran out of black Bazzill and had to use the core'dinations for the swirl and the background mat! Some crystals and a HOTP sentiment complete my design......the card base is 5 x 7.

We have been pleased to see so many of you entering our challenges for the first two weeks and i personally would be thrilled to bits if you joined in this week......we have some fun challenges coming up over the weeks ahead and some fabby prizes too..........oh, and some more of my sketches! :) I have scheduled this to post at the same time as the team girls in the U.S..................................check back later though to see a picture of the prize i will be offering to my favourite from the entries this week ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

PENNY BLACK SATURDAY Week 37!

A little bit later than expected posting this, but i had to watch my favourite programme on T.V. at the moment..........Wild at Heart.......i love it....and an hour of it is not long enough!!!

In case you think you are going mad.................you're not, it's me!!....... My PBSC card for last week only got posted on Friday and so i was determined to be a little earlier with my card for this week :)
The challenge this week is 'Get Well Soon' and although i don't enjoy sending a Get Well card it's always handy to have one in your stock box and hey if it brightens someones day when they are feeling down then all the better!
I'm showing this side view first so you can see how i cut my card blank using one of my new Nesties. I cut another in the same size from the patterned paper and glued it to the front!

Onto the image.........the flower, the bee and the ladybirds are all Penny Black from an acrylic set that i picked up at Stamperama for half price :) called 'Fresh New Day' perfect for spring and easter coming up too! I still prefer to use a wood mounted stamp, but the acrylic sets allow for easy positioning and you can create a little scene on your acrylic block, which is exactly how i did mine :) The sentiment is HOTP, also acrylic and i've coloured it all in my usual fashion with Distress Inks.
I used some smaller nesties from the set to cut & emboss the mats before layering onto the card front and some ribbon and embellies from my stash to complete my design. All papers are basic Grey 'Urban Prairie'

Hope to see you tomorrow to reveal my design for The Pink Elephant, a special week for me so i do hope you can join me then ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

A QUICK HELLO! and SNEAKY PEEKS.....

A really quick post this morning, as usual on a Sunday i will have a houseful later :) so i just wanted to show you some little snippets of my DT stuff for next week! Also to remind you that you have a couple more days left to enter my blog candy draw...........link for that is at the top!

My first little peek is my design for The Pink Elephant..........it's a special week for me *wink* so i hope lots of you will join in with us........it's only our third week! and lots of you are enjoying us so far, so i hope we can inspire you to come back every week :) As it is a 'special' week for me, i may well have to find a little something to give away to my favourite from the entries.....watch this space!!!

I also design for Tamara over at her Sketches site, beautiful sketches week after week and if you're into scrapping there are sketches to help you out with that too! maybe you could join us on Thursday's for the card sketch.........Hope i've tempted you a little!........... I will be back this evening after my 'gang' have gone home with a card to share, in the meantime...................have a fabulous Sunday! ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

PENNY BLACK SATURDAY CHALLENGE

Phew!!!! i made it! but only just in time this week :) There is a fab Sketch by Nat over at PBSC, so being the sketch freak that i am, i just had to have a go! As usual time seems to fly by when i'm crafting...........so sneaking in at the last minute here :)

As mentioned in yesterday's post, i have just received these gorgeous 'Porcelain' papers from Basic Grey and i will be using them a lot for my designs over the coming days........i do hope you won't get tired of them..................i certainly won't tire of using them ;-D
The image is one i was lucky enough to find in the bargain box at Stamperama the other week and is called 'Lofty'. I have used Adirondack inks to colour my image and spritzed with a mist of water before placing down onto the BG paper. The fancy border strip is from the element sheet in the collection and the glazed brads are also 'Porcelain' All plain cardstock used here is Bazzill, from a pack to match the papers.

I love these Brush Stroke Flowers from Penny Black, they have such a realistic look to them :)
Thanks for popping in to see me today.................see you again soon ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

edited to add.......since giving the links for Craft Obsessions i'm afraid they seem to have now sold out! Sorry!! You could try for them here if you're quick!

BASIC GREY Challenge 22 - Hearts

Well here i go again with my very first card using the new 'Porcelain' papers from Basic Grey. Not sure yet!........ but i think this collection is my favourite from the new releases, and i've decided to enter this design for the hearts challenge over at Basic Grey Challenges.

I've used 'Chantilly' paper as my background and added some borders from the element stickers that also come in the 12 x 12 collection pack.
The heart is some copy paper packaging from the office! cut with my Cricut machine and i have inked this with a Chestnut Roan cats eye, then added some Cinnamon Stickles over the entire surface with a paintbrush.
The flowers are some Prima's that i've had for ages, along with a tiny ribbon bow and a 'Porcelain' glazed brad. The sentiment is Hero Arts. Card base is 5.5" x 4.25" aka A2!

I hope you enjoy my first design and as usual............................... there will be lots more to follow!! ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

SKETCHES by Tamara #83

Happy Thursday to you all!........i do love saying that! not only does it mean it's time for a great new sketch to work from, but.........it's getting close to the weekend......my favourite time :)

For Tamara's sketch this week i've gone unusually pastel.......those of you that visit often will know that i love bright vibrant colour, but i thought i would be a bit different today :)
Not a great picture :( it was almost dark so the flash kicked in! and has caused some glare.........

My design uses an image from Hero Arts called 'Dandelion' which i've stamped using black Stazon onto a Maya Road journaling sheer. I used one of my new Nestie sets to cut the background mat and ran this through the Cuttlebug using Swiss Dots, then edged it with an Ice Blue Colorbox cats eye. I painted the chipboard heart with Pink Sherbet paint dabber and glittered with some Glamour Dust.
The flowers have been cut in several sizes with my Cricut machine using George & Basic Shapes from some 7 Gypsies paper, with some yummy frosted brads for the centres. The sentiment is from a Printworks acrylic set and the ribbon is from stash! The background paper is of course my beloved Basic Grey from the Euphoria 12 x 12 collection pack, the card base is 5 x 7.

If you would like to play along with us this week, you will find all the details over at Sketches!
Thanks for popping in.........Enjoy your day ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

NEW ARRIVAL!

Not a Baby.............but my first(!) delivery of one of the new collections from Basic Grey 'Porcelain'.......................yummy goodness as usual........off to play now............back soon with a card :)
Maybe tomorrow.....i may get engrossed ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

CANDY TIME!

Hi everyone, back again with a little candy giveaway for you all :)

As you can see from the photo there is a Cuttlebug embossing folder 'Flower Circle' along with 6mtrs of 1/4" variegated satin ribbon, 2mtrs 1/2" variegated gold edged organza and 2mtrs 5/8" black satin/white dot ribbon.

To be in the drawing for this candy, just leave a comment at this post and link back here from your own blog, you do need to have an active blog to be included in this drawing and you must do both to qualify! That's it :).................................Good Luck!

I will randomly select a winner on Monday 23rd February at 8pm GMT

Hugs
Carol x

THE PINK ELEPHANT Challenge 2

~All That Glitters~

Tina has set the challenge for us all this week and she wants us to 'Sparkle & Shine'.....so whatever you can add to your card or project to Bling it Up..........then we want to see all your fabulous creations!Believe it or not, the idea for my design today came about at the office as i was opening a new box of copy paper! The packaging had unusually narrow corrugations so..... i brought some home with me!! and this is the outcome :)

My card base is 123mm square which i've covered with some yummy pink Bazzill cardstock. I've then added a piece of white embossed through my Cuttlebug with 'Swiss Dots'. The heart was cut with my Cricut machine with George/Basic Shapes at 3.5 inches, i first had to peel back the top layer to expose the ridges on the cardboard before cutting.

I've used some Ranger 'snow cap' paint dabber onto the cardboard heart and sprinkled on some Glamour Dust, the gems are Kanban and the lovely Hydrangeas are Prima. The little fronds on the flowers were made with a tiny strip of the pink cardstock and then curled with my scissors.............. and some Making Memories rub-ons for the sentiment. I added a thin line of Glamour Dust around the entire edge of the card.

We had a hard time choosing our favourite last week from all your wonderful entries, i'm sure this week will be even harder! We hope you will enjoy the challenge and can't wait to see all your 'sparkling' creations............and don't forget it doesn't have to be a card! we love to see other projects too :)

I will be offering some more Candy for you this evening..........so check back at 8pm GMT to be in with a chance............. Happy Monday! ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

A LITTLE QUIET.......

......around here for the last couple of days! My lovely husband, who never seems to get ill has had an awful tummy bug for the last few days........we had plans for Friday evening and had planned a day out yesterday for Valentine's, but it has all had to be postponed!!
He does loads to help me usually, and he loves to cook as well.......but i've been looking after him, so hence the lack of activity on here!!

I do have a couple of sneaky peeks at my DT work for the coming week......and i would like to thank you all for joining in with our first challenge at The Pink Elephant......unfortunately i did not get round to all of your blogs to leave a comment, but i was chuffed that so many of you found the time to take part and don't forget the new challenge will be up tomorrow! In the meantime, here is a little snippet of my creation for the coming week :)

Another apology coming up......... i have to confess that i have not visited anyone that joined in with Tamara's sketch last week!!.......what a bad blogger i am ! so thank you so much if you played along, we all appreciate your time :)
A little look at what i've done for this coming Thursday.......very unusually for me it's very pastel! I tend to go for the bold colours and the striking patterns, so this was a change for me :)


And for those of you that like the Aaaahh factor.......this is Pepsi looking slightly confused with all the snow!!Hope you are having a great weekend.......and keep your eyes peeled on Monday for another BLOG CANDY GIVEAWAY!
Bye for now......

Hugs
Carol x

SKETCHES by Tamara

Happy Thursday!............time for my design using the latest fabulous sketch from Tamara.

I've used loads of lovely papers and elements from the 'Bittersweet' collection by Basic Grey.....i love this collection and just had to buy some more supplies to make sure i don't run out too quickly!!..........although the new ranges are just as gorgeous, they never fail to please me :)

The buttons are from one of my jars, i think they are Woodware and the tiny stickers on the circle are Adornit, everything else is from the collection.

My favourite from the new collections is 'Porcelain' and i will be in paper heaven when my order arrives........watch this space!! In the mean time if you are a sketch freak like me, then maybe you could join us this week, i love to see all the interpretations :)

Hugs
Carol x

DARING CARDMAKERS

The title of the dare this week is 'Oriental Splendour'......Sue would like us to make a card with an Oriental influence, but the twist is no Red & Black!!

It's been an age since i made this type of card, but i had just bought a new set of acrylic stamps from Craftwork Cards a couple of weeks ago at the Stevenage show, so it gave me the opportunity to use those :)
I believe there are four new sets of stamps available.....this little cutie is called Choka....as well as these fab little ladies there are some grasses and flowers too that all work together.......i was quite reserved and only got one set, but they were all lovely :)

For this card i have used some 7 Gypsies papers, which i thought went rather well for the theme although they don't scream Oriental, the patterns do remind me of the Far East with the bold bright colours. I've coloured her with Distress inks and she was stamped with Archival black onto watercolour card. The butterfly and the narrow floral strips are also from the set, the sentiment circle is HOTP.

Thanks for your time today, take care ;-D

Carol x

TAG YOU'RE IT Week 44

The challenge this week over at Tag You're It is a sketch drawn by my lovely friend Kath :) You must all know Kath by now, she makes the most fantastic cards and is a very funny and warm lady.................. one day i hope to meet her in person rather than just in cyberspace!!!

I am a sketch freak as well, so i just had to give this a go :)

I dug out some older stamps for this tag today..........i sometimes forget what i have until i start to have a bit of a rummage!
The wording on this card is a fabulous stamp from Paper Inspirations...gorgeous flourishy focal word with a beautiful verse as well. The tiny butterflies are from one of my favourite stamp companies Hero Arts, small enough to make backgrounds but large enough to have impact too.

The background was created with Dove brushes and Adirondack 'lettuce' ink and the pink dots from a new find 'Stamps by Judith' , so simple but love the effect!

A Making Memories clip, a tiny scrap of AC ribbon and a piece of lime green card from my bits box complete my tag.
Thanks for your visit today.........see you soon ;-D

Hugs
Carol x

THE PINK ELEPHANT Challenge 1

Hi Everyone!........ Well it seems Lori got a little too excited and posted the challenge for today instead of tomorrow! So..........Challenge 1 is a colour combo Pink ,Black & White in honour of the blog colours and our cute little mascot Ella :)

My first design for The Pink Elephant utilises the Cuttlebug and Cricut for my die cut and embossed elements.

My card base is 148mm square and i have covered that with some black paper from American Crafts 'Elegant' collection. That is topped with a piece of Creative Imaginations die cut paper....just love all the holes in this paper it gives such a fun look!
The focal is created by cutting a heart from George & Basic Shapes at 3 inches and then embossed with my Cuttlebug and the Heart Blocks folder. The Love sentiment was cut at 1.5 inches with Home Accents and the letter U at 1inch with Base camp.
I've also used some Papermania gems and some dotty organza from Offray.....sorry to say i don't know the manufacturer of the kiss hug grosgrain ribbon.

So that means for those of you that love to join in with a challenge, you will have a head start just for this week only!! I hope you have fun playing along with us and will come back each week and show us what you can do!! There is a prize this week from Debbie's die Cuts, so well worth a try, you may be the lucky one :)

Thanks for popping in today.......see you very soon ;-D

Hugs
Carol x