A bit of sunshine!

Hi there everybody

Today I'd like to share a little bit of sunshine by showing you a card that I made for someone that needed a bit of cheering up!  I thought about adding a sentiment, but none that I had quite worked so I just let the paper do the talking, and put my own words inside the card :o)  There's nothing nicer than receiving a hand made card in the post, is there?  I got two from my friend the other day, and it just always brings a smile to my face to think that someone has taken the time and trouble to sit and create something for me.

I made this card using the sketch #43 over at Unscripted Sketches.  I've been playing along with new challenge sites and as I'm sure you've noticed I just LOVE sketches.  It's such good fun looking at other people's challenge entries to see how completely different their take on the sketch can be to yours. This one sparked the idea for this simple card.  I could think of lots of other ideas for this sketch too.  It would even look nice rotated either way, don't you think?

Edited.. ps. the challenge was a colour combo too, but I couldn't quite work that in with this paper so just went with the sketch instead lol

1. Double mat the patterned paper onto some terracotts Bazzill cardstock
2. Cut out some long strips using the polka dot reverse of the floral paper
3. Join two strips together and pleat the paper strips
4. Adhere strips to the card horizontally and vertically
4. Cut out a circle and two different flowers in shades of orange
5. Cut brown die cut leaves and adhere behind flower 
6. Draw on some little white gel pen dots all around the edge of the circle
7. Highlight the centre of the flower
8. Adhere with pop dots to add dimension

I was quite pleased how it all turned out, it cheered me up just making it.  I love oranges and terracottas so it was going to be a hit anyway!

I will be back soon to share the supply details of all of the cards I've posted this week.  I need my knuckles wrapped I know, but I just haven't had chance to look up a few of the items that I have no details for!  I have done this one for you though :o)

Dies: Sizzix 'Circles #2', 'Flowers & Vines w/stem', flower from Cuttlebug 2 x 2 'Garden Creatures',
Paper: Bo Bunny Kitchen Spice Sesame (used both sides)
Accessories: Inkessentials opaque white pen

Oh yes, did I tell you that I am trying to learn to crochet?  I have been playing around with little crochet flowers.  I seem to do ok with the beginning bit but something is going a little awry on the second petal.  Never mind, patience is a virtue so they say.   If any of you know of any useful sites to look at let me know.  In the meantime I must practice, practice, practice!!

Ciao for now!

Evil Pom Poms!!!

Ok, ok, so they may look cute but....

I send a lot of congratulations cards to do with my job and needed a really quick one to get out in the post today.  I decided it was about time I used my little pom poms. 

Oh boy, they are something else to try and get stuck down!!  Every time I walked away from the card the pom poms fell off!!  Grrr!!  In the end I had to use my heat gun to warm the glue again and then they finally set.  What was supposed to be a quick and easy card turned into a right fiasco!!

Top 5 - Get Sketchy, Card of the Week & More Challenges!

Hi there everyone

I am SO excited! I made the Top 5 over at Get Sketchy on Saturday! I only found out last night by accident! I had noticed some traffic from there coming to my blog and wondered why, then saw my card listed as one of the Top 5. Woohoo!!!! That's the first challenge I've ever achieved anything in. Then when I was looking through Card of the Week and Best of the Blogosphere(13 -20 Feb) I came across another one of my cards, this one here that I made for the Clean and Simple Challenge.   It must be my week! Wow! I had made a New Year's resolution to keep trying challenges with the hope that I would achieve something in one of them this year! Yay!!!!!! I'm SUCH a happy girl, can you tell?!!!

Ok, so enough of that, here are a few more cards that I'd like to share with you. I've been in the mood for making cards this past couple of weeks, as you can probably tell :o)

This first card is for Card Patterns Sketch #52. Unbelievably I am early with this challenge. I know, can you believe it?!! I can't! As soon as I saw this sketch I knew I just had to dig out my Early Bird papers again. Ooh, they are SO yummy! This sketch was fun.   Sorry about the photo, I took it quite late at night, but have posted it now to a friend so didn't get chance to rephotograph it in better lighting.  Despite trying to brighten it in PSE it's not coming up any better.

The funny thing with this sketch was that I rounded the corners of the little squares so that each one was different to the next, only to then remember that my two panels would cover them anyway, so you wouldn't see them lol.

I made this card for the Clean and Simple Challenge FTL#79 this week.    I have fallen in love with this site, it's fab!  The card is self explanatory, all Early Bird papers and accessories by Cosmo Cricket.  All I did was ink all edges with Tim Holtz distress ink.

I also made this card using the same sketch, although I'm not that sure about it. It doesn't quite work for me somehow, but I can't put my finger on what's wrong with it or whether it's just everything lol. The paper is just so cute though, it had to be used!

After I did these though I realised that neither of them have actually been stamped.  Oh well, I have been having fun doing them :o)  Does using distress ink count as being stamped lol?!! 

I have more to share with you later this week. 

Oh yes... Did I tell you I made the Top 5?!!!! ;o)

Silly cards :o)

Hi there

I thought I would share a couple of fun cards that Natasha and I made for our friends. I came across these digi downloads from Doodle Dragon Studios via Dahlhouse Designs.

My friend is mad about owls so when I saw the owl on Lisa's blog I just knew I had to have a go. I must like this particular friend a lot because although I do have rather a lot of copics they don't get used at the moment for fear of the colouring not being good enough!! Naughty, I know, but I just need to learn more about how to use them. I can't quite get the effect I'm looking for.

Anyway, I had bought some owl paper many months ago that was crying out to be used in one form or another, and thought that a twig would go really well on the card. We were out last Sunday walking the dog so I had a look around for a nice twig while we were out. I found exactly what I was looking for after a little bit of hunting, so was very pleased. On the way home we needed some stationery items so I popped into a shop to pick some up. While I was looking around I bumped into someone I knew. She looked at my hand and then I realised I was still clutching onto my little twig! I smiled and said she probably wondered why I had a twig, and explained that I make hand made cards so needed one for that. I was telling Ian the story afterwards and he said she must have thought I was very odd making cards with twigs, and can only begin to imagine what outdated style of cards she would think I had been making!!!! It seemed really funny when you looked at it like that lol. I guess there's a bit of a mad crafting person inside all of us cardmakers, isn't there? Isn't there?!!!!

Natasha's friend loves dragons, so she fell in love with this little image and set to work on making up a card. She wanted to do a circle scallop card, and this was the result.

I think she did a really good job, don't you?

I have a few cards to show you this week, so pop back soon :o)

It's the weekend, yay!!

Happy Friday everyone!  The weekend is here, fab!!

Here is a card I made for the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge, but I never entered it because it all went a bit pear shaped!  When I see sketches I like I print them out onto little index cards, then I leave them out on the side so that lots of ideas come to mind (hopefully lots do anyway!)  I really had fun with this sketch, it's nice doing lots of layering, don't you think?

I printed the sketch out but for some reason it didn't print properly so my sketch looked like two rectangles instead of four squares :o( Now, I don't know about you, but I like to look at lots of different sketches before deciding which challenges to enter, and it also depends on what cards I need/want to make as to which I choose. After lots of searching I had completely forgotten what the Sweet Sunday sketch looked like and went with the picture, only to find out now that it's completely wrong!!! Oh well,it made me try out another sketch, so it was still worth it I guess!

For this card I distressed the edges to give it a slightly aged look.  I was quite pleased with how it turned out.   It's nice and cheery :o)

Dies: None
Papers: Basic Grey Urban Prairie 6 x 6 paper pad
Accessories: Basic Grey Urban Prairie Chipboard Stickets, Craftwork Cards sentiment tag, Tim Holtz distress ink 'Peeled Paint'

Have a good weekend.  I will pop by at some point to share some cards :o)

Clean and Simple

Happy Nearly Weekend Day!

Wow, nearly Friday already. I am sooo ready for the weekend, I've had a busy week with work and my back is not in the best of shape, so I am looking forward to a nice rest. Ian just looked out of the window and it was snowing a little bit, so who knows what we might wake up to tomorrow. It is very pretty when it snows.

I made this card for the Clean and Simple Stamping challenge, FTL #78.  I often need a quick feminine card for thank you's, thinking of you, get well cards etc, so think I will use this sketch again and again.  When I saw the flower I knew I had to get my Amy Butler papers out again.  I hope you're not bored with them yet, I LOVE them, but I'm sure you have guessed that already lol.  I'm not sure any of my cards actually fit into the 'stamping' category but I have been stamping my sentiments, so hope that counts lol.  I don't think I've ever had my stamps out as much as I have done recently.  It's been fun playing with them again.  I think I need to just update my style with them, and then I may fall in love with them all over again, that's the theory anyway lol.  You should go and check out some of the entries for this challenge, there are some great ones :o)

Dies: Sizzix Circles, Nesties
Paper: Amy Butler - Faded China, black, white and green Bazzill
Stamp: Santa Rose - 'With Love'
Accessories: Amy Butler Chipboard Flower

Tomorrow it's 'Finish it Friday' again over at over at Simplify 101.   It's great joining in with this challenge blog, it helps you get lots of bits sorted.  Pretty much every week some form of housework is on the list of things to do.  Mostly it's me delegating, but at least everything is getting done lol.  Maybe I was a princess in a former life :o)

I came across these housework pictures while I was blog hopping a while ago, can't remember where the first one is  from now, but I thought they were great.  The second one was from Rae Barthel's blog.. I LOVE her cards, they are fab :o)

 I sent this second one to Ian at work (the one on the right is the one I love!) 

Doing housework totally ruins your nails darling.  Does it look like this girl does housework? Lol.  I love all of these vintage images that are around at the moment.  Natasha bought me an Anne Taintor shopper today with this phrase on, isn't it fun?!

Seeing her lying there reminds me of my bed calling me.  I'm going to sign off now, after such a late night last night I'm falling asleep over my computer!

Just Dotty

Hi there

This is just a quick posting because it's nearly 1.00am here and I realised I haven't posted a card I made for Lucy's Cards Blog Challenge #5 to use polka dot and Get Sketchy #25.

Lucy's challenge ends tonight so I'm hoping to get it in just in time, wheelspinning to the deadline in my usual style lol.  Her picture for the challenge inspired me to order lots of wooden dolly pegs to store my ribbons on.

I spent a couple of hours on Saturday afternoon with Natasha winding on ribbons around my new pegs.  We had a really good giggle doing it.  I hadn't realised how many ribbons I have, or that you could have so many ribbons and still not have the colour/width you need lol.

My Mum bought me this gorgeous 'trug' which I am going to store my little ribbons in.  Then once Ian has made the bobbin holder and bobbins I will have the best ribbon storage a girl could ever need, yay!!

I was trying to explain to someone what it was that I wanted to get, and had no idea that they were called trugs so couldn't find a single image.  When I went to buy it they told me it was called a trug and I was able to find this picture of it.  Sweet, huh?!

I haven't been the best blogger when it comes to leaving comments, but I will be blurfing over the weekend so will leave you some lovin' when I next pop by.  I haven't forgotten you all, honest!!

Ok, so I will leave you with the ingredients list, and wish you very sweet dreams, whatever time it is that you get to bed :o)

Dies: Quickutz word 'Celebrate'
Paper: K & Co Cara Marie Adhesive Paper Pad (ooh, I LOVE this paper!!!!),  dark brown, red, white Bazzill
Accessories: East of India polka dot ribbon, Craftwork Cards die cut sentiment

Thinking of You

Hi there everyone

I've been busy over the weekend making a few more cards for challenges, so will share some with you over the next few days.

I made the above card for the Fall to Layout Challenge #77. I'm not quite sure how the challenges work on this blog, whether you have to submit by a certain date or not. If it's a week I've missed it but anyway I'm really enjoying trying a few more 'white space' cards. As you all know I love colour and lots of things on my cards, but this challenge blog forces me to ease off a bit lol.  My card is actually straight along the top in real life lol.  Here's the sketch... As you can see I played with it a bit on the left, but it's nearly there ;o)  It's such a lovely sketch.

I think the card make up is pretty much self explanatory.  I used a rub on for the bird, a stamp for the sentiment, a Martha Stewart punch for the border and some little pearls for the flowers.

Dies: None!
Stamps: K & Co Elegance Rub Ons and Gems, K & Co Amy Butler stamps
Paper: Amy Butler Faded China,  black Bazzill
Accessories: Paper Mania Adhesive pearls, Martha Stewart punch

Have a good evening :o)

And the Blog Candy Winner Is....

Hi everyone

Just a very quick posting tonight.  I wanted to announce the winner of this blog candy ..

It was all done very technically, everyone's names were written on scraps of paper, folded up and put into a hat, no expense spared lol.

The winner is Cindy over at Just Crafting.

Well done Cindy.  Your candy will be winging its way in the post to you over the next couple of days :o)

I've made a few cards so will share them with you over the next couple of days.  Hope you have an extra special start to your week this week, lots of fun and laughter :o)

Blog Candy for 100 posts

Happy Sunday!

This blog post will stay at the top until the closing date has passed.  Please scroll down for other posts

I just hit my 100 posts since I first started blogging, wow! Where does the time go? I initially started blogging to motivate me to make more cards. I didn't realise when I started that I would 'meet' so many lovely people along the way.  Blogging has helped challenge me to think outside of my normal card making style, and I have learnt so much about card making. To celebrate this and to thank the people who follow my blog and leave such lovely comments I would like to offer up some blog candy.

Here is what is included;

1.  Basic Grey glazed brads
2.  DCWV Rockstar adhesive ribbon
3.  Smirk shaker stickers
4.  Mei Flower stick ons
5.  Pearl stickers
6.  Making Memories funky fibers
7.  6 x 6 assorted papers
8.  E-Z rub on metallic foil transfers
 9. Penny Black Stickeroos
10. Card Art materials
11. Mei Flower rubber brads
12. Smirk rubber stamps x 2
13. Heidi Slattenberg angel stamp
14. 3 x traditional stamps
15. Judikins bikini stamp


You have three chances to win the candy.  You just need to do the following;

1. Leave a comment and an e-mail address. If you can link into your blog that would be great

2. If you already follow my blog or become a follower leave me a second comment telling me it's for being/becoming a follower

3. For a third chance to win share the details of my blog candy on your blog, either in your sidebar or in a post, leaving a third comment and a link to your blog

If my blog readership hits 100 I will add some more candy and so on if I reach any more milestones on followers and/or visitors.

Please enter only once....duplicate entries will be deleted. I will open this blog candy to international paper crafters as well. The blog candy will run until midnight (UK time) on February 13th.  I will draw a random winner on February 14th.

Love is in the air!

For Embellish Challenge card please scroll down :o) 

Hi everyone, I hope you've all had a good week so far.  It's nearly the weekend!  Yay!  It's been absolutely freeeeeezing here.  We had a few wintry showers yesterday, but the snow didn't settle.  It's just bitterly cold.  I have had a lovely day today.  While Natasha was at school I went over to my friend's house for lunch.  It's so nice being cooked for on a 'school' day!  I love it!  Tonight I've been making a few cards.  Back to work for the morning tomorrow and then the weekend off with my family, hooray.

I have a couple of cards to share with you today. The first one is for the CPS Challenge #153.  I love the simplicity of this sketch. It just sparks so much creativity, don't you think?

This is one of those sketches that you can use again and again. Here is my take on it...

But, more importantly...What do you think of my new 'frog'?   The frog is the spikey display stand I am using to display the card.   I had no idea what a frog was until Dawn McVey talked about her one here.  As soon as I saw the way she displayed her cards I knew I wanted one for my cards too! :o)  I had been looking for ages for one, and eventually found one over in the US.  It arrived in the post yesterday.  You would have thought all my Christmases had come at once!!  Isn't it exciting when you get something you have wanted for a while?!  Even more so when it's to do with cardmaking, don't you agree?!!

Ok, I digress.  Onto my second card.  I made this card for the Embellish Magazine Color Challenge - to use turquoise, brown and pink, with ribbon.   To be honest I found the colours a bit of a challenge to work with.  Pink isn't my favourite colour at all. I like brighter colours, as I'm sure you've probably noticed by now!  I don't mind bright pink but not pastel.  I'm just not a pastel kinda girl, I'm full on technicolour lol.  Anyway, I finally put this together, after walking away from the table about a dozen times!  (Do any of you do that if you can't quite get an idea to work?  I find it helps to put it down, leave it out somewhere that I can see it and then keep popping back to tweak it over a few hours/days).   I am fairly pleased with how it came out, but I'd still like to change the colours!!

This was the inspiration piccie...  As you can see I ended up using the turquoise of the socks rather than the darker turquoise.  As I posted this I just read the 'with ribbon' bit and thought I had not done what the challenge asked, but phew I have used ribbon lol.  I had completely forgotten about that bit.  There are some fab entries for this challenge, you should go and have a look at them :o)

I will post details of the cards when I get a minute, but in the meantime have a fab day/evening and I will be back over the next few days to share some more :o)

It's Finish it Friday again tomorrow so I will be putting together my list of things to do over the weekend.  Why don't you play along too? It's amazing what gets done when you take little steps :o)

Be Mine

Hi again

I thought I would share a valentine's card with you that I made for the 2S4U challenge this week (my interpretation of it anyway!) As usual I am wheel spinning in at the last minute to meet the deadline, but to be honest that's how I work best.  However, I am on time, it could even be said pretty early for the Crazy for Card Challenges #23 - 'Be My Valentine'.  I opted to put the circle onto a square card, purely because I've already made a couple of circular cards over the past week, so fancied a change.  I do like my circles but I'm sure you will all get very bored if I keep doing the same old thing over and over again!

I still have a few valentine cards to make so I may well enter a couple more cards for the Crazy for Card Challenges valentine themed challenge :o)

Here is the sketch...

The inspiration for this card was the polka dot ribbon.  We popped into town today and Ian bought it for me.  It's by a range called 'East of India' which you can see more of here.  They do loads of lovely wooden bits and pieces, but more importantly ribbon :o)  Isn't it gorgeous?!  I was in the shop 'oohing' and 'aahing'.  Yummy!!  I'm sure Ian thinks I'm a bit weird getting so excited about a bit of dotty ribbon, but I bet most of you 'get it' when it comes to getting excited about card making supplies!  My card is actually straight, but in the usual Ruby photography style it look a tad wonky, but I'm sure you get the idea lol.  Maybe that's why people call me quirky because I'm a bit wonky too lol

Anyway, back to my ribbons.... I also LOVE their wooden bobbins that they put some of their ribbon on, see picture below.   Ian says he can make me some.  How fab is that?!!  He will regret saying that me thinks!!  He will be making loads of them if they come out well!!  Look at these.... oh my goodness, I so want one... now!!! lol.  How gorgeous would that look in my studio??!   Aren't they just the scrummiest?!!

Mmmm.  Lovely!! :o)

Here are the deets for the card.

Edited to add in card details and I had missed off supplies that I'd used..

1. Cut scallop in black, a red circle and a white circle.
2. Adhere black scallop, wrap ribbon around red circle and tie in knot at side
3. Stamp and paper pierce white circle before attaching to red circle using pop dots
4. Cut out black/red heart, attach using pop dots
5. Round each corner, paper pierce to finish

Dies: Sizzix 'Circle #1' and 'Scallop', 'Hearts, Tandem', nesties circle
Stamps: Dovecraft Clear Stamps - be mine words
Paper: Card - Bazzill - red, black and white
Accessories: Scrummy East of India polka dot ribbon, SU! paper piercing tool, corner rounder

Ciao for now!

Got butterflies?!

Good afternoon!   My goal of blogging a few times a week didn't quite happen, but I'm here now!

So, here is my card for today.  I saw the Fall to Layout sketch #76 over at Clean and Simple Stamping and had every intention of entering in the week, but you know how it is, life takes over!   I think I've actually missed the closing date/time, and can probably only just scrape through with the amount of stamping that's on it, but anyway here it is...

I love the Amy Butler papers that I've used, and isn't that little die cut butterfly oh so cute!  I was really pleased how this card turned out.  I have to say it does look better in real life though, my photography doesn't really do it much justice lol.

I have been playing around a little with my camera.  When it comes to photography I am a complete novice.  I am one of those people that wants a nice photo but I don't want to spend loads of time trying to get it!!  I'm too impatient.  I want to make cards, not have to think about what light I need for this, or what angle for that, etc. etc.  I really wish I could muster up more interest for it, because I see how other bloggers take amazing photos, but it just doesn't do anything for me!  What I'd like is for someone to set up my camera for me so that I can point and shoot.

I think my photos are a tiny (and I mean tiny) bit better now, but I still have a long way to go.  I've just got the Photoshop for Dummies book to see if I can get the hang of it all :o)   As you will see from my picture today I have shadows, this is the next area that I need to work on.  A bit like me, it's all a work in progress lol

My title came about because I seem to have some kind of butterfly bug thing going on.  As you've probably noticed I don't generally make many cards with butterflies but I just felt the need this week!  Here is my second card, I didn't make it for any challenges, it's just one I made up for a friend that's poorly.  I thought it might brighten her day.   I found this sheet of blue and brown paper at my local craft shop and wanted to make something up with it.  More importantly do you like the ribbon detail, shown below?  I bought a little ribbon hole punch, oh about a year or so ago, and came across it the other day, realising I had not used it once, so thought I would play!  I was really pleased at how neat it made the ribbon look.  Yay, another 'shop in my studio' moment, don't you just love them?!!

How has your week been?  I've had to be Florence Nightingale again, my little princess has had a terrible cough so we ended up at the surgery, and it seems she has asthma, so two inhalers later and no cough!   If only we'd known!

We are planning to watch a film tonight, and then I am going to make Ian endure Casualty later this evening.  I do love my hospital dramas lol.  Then tomorrow it's 24 and Desperate Housewives.  With that and card making, what more could a girl want?!

I will edit this post later with the deets on the card, until then have fun and I'll be back soon with some more bits to share.  Valentine's day cards are the next things on the list :o)