Totally Gorjuss 91 Christmas in July.

Good morning everyone. I hope you're all interested in making a start on your Christmas cards if you haven't done so already. I've made a few already (only a few) and I quite like the idea of making some more so I don't have to make most of them in December - again! So I'm quite pleased that the challenge at Totally Gorjuss this week is Christmas in July. This week we are sponsored by Meljen Designs and Melissa has very kindly given each of the DT one of her lovely digi designs. I love this cute snowbunny, hope you like what I've done with it.

I used :-

Image :- Digi from Meljen Designs.

Sentiment and card candi :- Craftwork Cards.

Colouring :- Promarkers.

Martha Stewart punch, Cuttlebug embossing folders, Nesties, and Glamour Dust.

I'm entering the following challenges with this card :-

Papertake Weekly :- Sketch.
Pollycraft :- Christmas in July.
Crafty Creations :- Christmas in July.
Fussy and Fancy Friday :- Christmas in July.
Charisma Cardz :- Christmas in July.
Allsorts :- Free and Easy.

I'm not very good with digi images but I've managed to print this one four times so hopefully you'll see him again between now and December. Hope you like what I've done with him. My talented teamies have made some gorgeous Christmas cards with their images so remember to pop over to Totally Gorjuss for some more inspiration. Hope you can join us this week. You certainly enjoyed our challenge last week, we were blown away by how many of you joined us for our punch or die challenge.

Thanks for looking and I'll try to catch up later. Enjoy your weekend.

Penny Black 161 Starburst.

Hi everyone, just a quick post with yet another Christmas card. Before I forget there's still time to enter the challenge and blog hop over at House Mouse and Friends. I have candy and you can find my post with my GDT card and details of it here.

I used :-

Image :- Penny Black.

Sentiment and card candi :- Craftwork Cards.

DP :- Basic Grey - Jovial.

Martha Stewart punches, small star punch, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder, nesties, gems and Glamour Dust.

I'm entering the following challenges with this card :-

Penny Black :- Starburst.
Basic Grey :- Sketch and DP.
Passion for Promarkers :- Animal Antics.


I think that's all for now. I took my car for it's MOT this morning and haven't done anything useful yet! We have an excellent small garage about 2 miles away and my husband phoned the other day and was told just to bring it in at 9am and they would do it while I waited. ok for him but a wasted hour or so for me and since it was raining when I came back I haven't hung out my washing and I need to go to work in a couple of hours! Best try to do some housework though.

Catch up with you all later, I hope. At the moment I don't seem to get much done except keeping up with my DT and GDT visits.

Thanks for looking.


House Mouse Blog Hop.

Hi everyone, are you remembering the House Mouse and Friends 100th challenge and blog hop? You can find my GDT card here.

I've been babysitting and visiting family this weekend so I'm really out of touch with everything. Catch up with you all later.

Totally Gorjuss 90 - Punch or Die.

Good morning everyone, at least I hope you're able to read this on Saturday morning. I always schedule my Saturday post because I'm usually at work. The difference is that this week I'm away from home babysitting for my daughter. I will be able to check though if I get a few minutes to myself!!

This week at Totally Gorjuss our challenge is Punch or Die. We'd like to see some punching or die cutting on your cards. We're sponsored by The Hobby House. My favourite place to buy pearls and jewels cos their prices are great. They also sell lots of other goodies so you'll be spoiled for choice if you win.

Here's mine. I seem to have sneaked back into Christmas mode again lol!

I used :-

Image :- Penny Black.

Sentiment :- LOTV>
DP :- Dovecraft -"Let it Snow."

Colouring :- Promarkers, Distress Inks (edging).

Ribbon and Lace :- Ribbon Girl.

Candi :- Craftwork Cards.

Jewels :- The Hobby House.

Martha Stewart punch, Nesties  and Glamour Dust.

I'm entering the following challenges with this card:-

Ribbon Girl :- Aqua shades.
Oldie but a Goodie :- Lace and Ribbons.
Sketch and Stash :- Sketch and I'm using up some Christmas DP from last year.
Papertake Weekly :- Getting Cute.
Creative Card Crew :- Animal Antics.
ABC Christmas :- O is for Older, something more than a year old - stamp, punch.
Crafty Creations :- Seeing Double.
Stampin' for the Weekend :- Christmas in July.

I think that's me then. I'm going to be having a craft-free weekend since I'm babysitting but I should be able to catch up with you all later. I might manage to get some crochet done and have a look at some magazines!

Thanks for looking and enjoy your weekend.

House Mouse & Friends 100th Challenge & Blog Hop.

Hi everyone,I'm really excited to be taking part in the House Mouse Challenge 100 and Blog Hop as GDT for July. I've really enjoyed my spell as GDT and thanks very much to the team for asking me. There are so many lovely prizes though that I wish I could join in the hop lol!

100th CHALLENGE SPONSORS

We are very lucky to have these FABULOUS SPONSORS who have GENEROUSLY donated amazing prizes.

We highly value your SPONSORSHIPS and are happy to have you on board!! :)

TAKE a good look at this WONDERFUL line-up and their AMAZING PRIZES...

Sponsor #1

The official House-Mouse Designs site;

Sponsor # 2

Joanna Sheen

Offering 10 packs of House-Mouse Decoupage to ONE winner!!!

Sponsor # 3

Di's Digi Downloads

Will have 2 winners for 3 Digi Downloads Each

Di's Digi Downloads is a great little company offering lots of super adorable digi stamps. Di will again be offering

3 free Dig's to TWO LUCKY winners - for this challenge. So make sure to play along for your chance to win!!!!

Sponsor # 4

K n' K Designs

knkdesigns.blogspot.com

Offering 4 Free Digi sets to a single Winner (Excludes the set called "Hope" since it is a charity set)

A small digital stamp store called K ‘n K Designs that was started to help pay for my Schnoodle’s vet bills and general care while I am working on my college course. Most of the sets feature animals, and my Schnauzer/poodle mix, Kolar, is the star of quite a number of them. There are sets for many different occasions, and even a great freebie for you to enjoy! I hope to see you there

Sponsor # 5

Pizzazz Aplenty

A $10 embellishment gift package

including: Flat back pearls and rhinestones; Victorian

Cameos; flowers, dream string, lustre twine and a gel picker

Pizzazz Aplenty began with only a bit of bling and some ribbon, but in the last few months,

we've added so much more... from cardstock to cello bags, as well as charms, stick pins,

brads, buttons, cords, twines, laces, and over 20 colours in flat back pearls and rhinestones.

The newest additions are teardrop pearls, button stick pins, leaf pins, heart pins, resin cameos and flowers!

Please stop by for a look at our store: Pizzazz Aplenty

Sponsor # 6

R K Stamps

RK STAMPS carries a huge inventory of great Rubber Stamps that include;

House-Mouse Designs; Great Impressions; Northwoods; Lockhart; Stampendous



RK is offering one winner these two NEWLY Released House-Mouse Stamps!

How adorable are these???

Sponsor # 7

Crafty Emma's Store

Supplying A Fab Range of  Papercraft Items & Wedding Stationery.

Offering a £10.00 voucher to Crafty Emma's Store, excluding P&P

Sponsor # 8

In business since 2002, Simon Says Stamp is striving to offer you the best selection of Rubber Stamps,

Altered Art, Scrapbooking, Artist Trading Cards & Paper Crafting Supplies in the world.

They stock over 100,000+ items, offer you quick service & 1 stop shopping at a great price

Offering a $25 Gift Card PRIZE to the Simon Says Stamp store!

Sponsor # 9

Bearly Mine Designs

Bearly Mine sells a variety of Digi papers in kits, especially designed for cardmaking. If you haven't visited the shop, why not pop have a look. Great selection and prices

Offering a £10 gift voucher

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

WOW!!! Super INCREDIBLE PRIZES PRIZES, right???
BUT wait!! THAT'S NOT ALL.....

The DT also has generously put together additional exciting Prizes to give away!! This means more prizes, so more chances for you win!! Some of these are hidden prizes and some arent. The prizes will be given away on the DT's Individual BLOGS along this CELEBRATION HOP....
Here's just a sampling of some of the awesome prizes that await you along the way...

Here is the list of DTs but if you get lost just go back to the House Mouse blog to check where to go next.

America Kuhn

Christine Craig

Gill McCall - (July Guest Designer)

Heather Gilfoy Bond

Kat, (Lilac Kat) - (July Guest Designer)

Lisa Cook

Lori Barnett

Lorraine Aquilina

Mary Giemza

Natascha Banning

Stacy – Twinshappy

Sue Cooper "Scoopy"

Sue Drees

Sue Kment

If you've come from Heather's lovely blog you're going in the right direction, if not why not pop over to America's to start from the beginning.

Here's my card  featuring BOWS, BUTTONS AND BLING :-

I used :-

Image :- Fancy Pants.

DP :- DCWV :- Nana's Nursery.

Pearls & Gems :- Hobby House.

Seam Binding :- Ribbon Girl.

Buttons and handbag charm from stash.

Colouring :- Promarkers.

Nesties and Glamour Dust.

Don't you just love this little Hopper? Who amongst us hasn't tried on our Mum's shoes and jewellery and used her lipstick when we were little? I love her lipstick!

For a chance to win the  DT prizes you'll need to enter the challenge and hop round them all too. Remember to enter by 8pm EST on the 30th July.

I'm giving away some flowers and bling to someone and all you need to do is leave me a comment.

The next stop on the hop is the very talented Lisa so pop over to her blog and see what gorgeous creation she has made to you.

Now as if this post wasn't long enough I'd like to enter the following challenges :-

Allsorts :- Free & Easy.
ABC :- Y is for yesterday - a previous challenge - January 2011 - die cuts.
Die Cut Dreams :- Animal Antics.
Totally Papercrafts :- Girly girls.
Simon Says Stamp :- Anything Goes.

Thanks for looking and I'm looking forward to seeing your entries for our amazing blog hop and challenge.

Less is More 24 - Circles.

Good evening everyone, I'm a bit late now as my younger daughter has been on the phone for a natter!

I have a card for the Less is More challenge which is circles this week. But first of all I'd like to say thanks to everyone who left lovely comments after my little accident involving my naughty black doggies the other day. My foot/ankle is a lot better now but still a bit swollen. But I'll live lol!

So here's my "circles" card. Very simple and I quite like it.

I took another photo to show that I've 3d'd it. You can't see it but I've popped up the white circle on top of the pink one as well as the butterfly.

I used :-

Image and sentiment :- Hero Arts.

Pearls :- Hobby House.

DP :-MME.

Colouring :- Promarker.

Hope you like. I'm quite pleased with it! I thought about card candi but I don't think it needs it.

My card also fits the challenge over at St Luke's Charity Card Challenge which is black & white and one other colour. And the Simon Says Stamp Challenge which is Anything Goes.

Now I'm off to try to finish a scheduled post for the House Mouse Blog Hop. I've very excited about this as I've never taken part in one before except as an entrant. It'll be fun to take part as a GDT though I'm almost in two minds about this as there are some amazing prizes! I hope you can join us tomorrow morning for a great challenge.

Thanks for looking and hope to see some of you tomorrow for the blog hop.

Totally Gorjuss - 89 - One for the Boys.

Good morning everyone and welcome to the weekend. This week at Totally Gorjuss our theme is "One for the boys." We'd like you to make a male card. Yes I know everyone's least favourite kind of card to make.

I had to work yesterday afternoon to let my colleague take her Mum to a hospital appointment. Not a problem she would do Friday afternoon for me. But....and there's always a but isn't there! Someone coming along our back road this morning decided to stop her car when she saw me with the dogs. Big mistake!!! I was dragged across the road and then when she moved off again somehow I ended up on the ground and the dogs were off. I should explain that the dogs are 2 very large 10 month old Labrador dogs - they weigh near enough 40kg each. If she hadn't been stupid enough to stop the dogs would have just watched the car go past, ok they would have pulled a bit but I would have been able to hold onto them. I've never lost hold of their leads before and it wasn't nice. So now I've got a round bit of skin off one pinkie, a grazed arm and a very sore foot and ankle. I managed to hang out my washing, hoover, dust and clean bathrooms as usual but when I went to take them out at lunchtime I could hardly walk. I'm a lot better now but still a bit sore. Hope I can drive tomorrow to work and then to a crop.

But enough about my problems. The theme this week is ideal for me as I needed a card for my 16 year old nephew. One of the problems is trying to remember what card you made last year! And Lachlan is the youngest of my niece's 3 boys. I decided to use one of the Mikey digi images from Charmed Cards and Crafts. I couldn't concentrate very well so I decided to use a coloured image.

I used :-

Image :- Mikey digi image from Charmed Cards & Crafts.

DP :- Basic Grey Oliver.

Card Candi & Sentiment :- Craftwork Cards.
Ribbon from stash.

I'm also entering the following challenges :-

Simon Says Stamp :- Anything Goes.
Crafty Creations :- Boys to Men.
Cute Card Thursday :- Going Round in Circles.
Creative Inspirations Wednesday Challenge :- No Flowers Allowed.
Pink Gem :- Let's Hear it for the Boys.

I think that's me for now. Oops nearly forgot to tell you that we're sponsored by Simon Says Stamp so I hope you can join us especially when you can win something from their lovely store. There are so many goodies in stock that you'll really be spoiled for choice. And don't forget to pop over to Totally Gorjuss to see what my talented teamies have made to inspire you this week.

Thanks for looking and I'll catch up with you all later. I think I'll put the harnesses on the boys this morning and not just their leads lol!!

LOTV 104

Hi everyone, gorgeous day here so I'm just off out to walk the dogs again. Just a quick post to show an ultra quick card I made this afternoon.

I used :-

Image :- LOTV cute square.

DP :- Tilda.

Roses :- Wild Orchid Crafts.

Pearls :- Hobby House.

Sakura clear glitter gel pen, Promarkers and Distress Inks.

This is for the following challenges :-

Lili of the Valley :- Sketch.
A Spoon Full of Sugar :- Pink and Brown.
One Stitch at a Time :- Anything Goes.
Simon Says Stamp :- Anything Goes.

Do you want to know something? When I finished it I wasn't too keen on it! I love the image and the DP but somehow I didn't like the card very much. I think it's growing on me a wee bit now!

I'm off to walk the boys now. Catch up with you all later.

Totally Gorjuss - 88 - Summer!

Good morning everyone. Doesn't Saturday come around really quickly just now? Or is it just me? Time for another easy challenge over at Totally Gorjuss. Time to look out your lovely summery images or DP or flowers, whatever says summer to you. This week we're sponsored by Crafters' Companion and with all the lovely new goodies they have instore who wouldn't like to win?

This cute Penny Black image says Summer to me! I love poppies and butterflies.

I used :-

Image :- Penny Black Poppy Fields.
Colouring :- Promarkers.

Card Candi :- Craftwork Cards.

Cuttlebug embossing folders and ribbon.

I'm entering the following challenges with this card :-

Truly Scrumptious :- Things with Wings.
Stamp Something :- Something with bugs or butterflies.
Stampin' for the Weekend :- Wings and Things.
Charisma :- All about Flowers.
By the Cute and Girly :- Things with Wings.
Penny Black at Allsorts :- Flower Power.

Hope you like! I'll try to get round some of my favourite blogs in the afternoon after work. I'm going to a wedding reception this evening so if I don't see you today I'll see you tomorrow.

Thanks for looking and enjoy your weekend. 

Less is More 22 - Shades of Blue.

Good morning everyone. Friday at last and I can't believe this is my 4th post in 5 days! I really wanted to make a card for the Less is More challenge which is shades of blue this week.

I can say that this is a simple card but I won't pretend it was quick lol! First of all I had to find the right shade of blue and it was not the Stazon one. Without much hope I tried a Vivid ink pad called Inky Blue and it was perfect. Unfortunately I can't say the same for my stamping. I used this image for a couple of cards last year and I find it quite tricky to get a nice clear image. Probably it's just me but I would get it all ok except maybe one or two of the little corner stars or maybe some of the little lines round the outside. One time the head of the first camel was a bit iffy. Eventually I managed to get a couple of decent images. I can see this one is not perfect but there's a limit to the number of times you can mess up without wanting to bin a stamp lol!

I used :-

Image :- Hero Arts - Peace on Earth.

Card Candy :- Craftwork Cards.



Mmmm not a lot to it is there? My second simple Christmas card this week. I love this stamp, just wish I was better at using it. I don't think it fits any other challenges...unless you know otherwise!

Thanks for looking and I hope you like it.

A Simple Christmas Card.

Well after being quite productive yesterday I've managed to achieve absolutely nothing today so far!

This is the second of the cards I made yesterday when my friend came over to craft. It's very simple and I was inspired by Nancy Kappelen who is a designer for Karen's Doodles who are one of the sponsors at the ABC Christmas challenge. It's not as striking as Nancy's card but I'm quite happy with it. Thanks for the inspiration Nancy.

I used:-

Image :- Penny Black.

Sentiment :- Could be from a Crafter's Companion set but I'm really not sure!
Colouring :- Promarkers.

Card Candy :- Craftwork Cards.

Martha Stewart snowflake punch, Glamour Dust.

That's it, really simple and quick to make. I think I should make more cards like this. After all a lot of people who get handmade Christmas cards don't really appreciate them, do they?

I'd like to enter the ABC Christmas Challenge :- N is for No Nonsense.

Best try and finish my card for Less is More and my DT card for Totally Gorjuss. Might also have a think about what to make for a 16 year old nephew!!

It's really lovely here just now, we haven't had any rain since before lunch-time so the dogs are enjoying being in the garden. Well actually I'm enjoying them being in the garden lol!

Thanks for looking.

My Desert Island Penny Black!

Hi everyone, I'm glad to have had a half day today and my day off tomorrow to craft! I'm so pleased to have my colleague back at work again after her holiday.

I've been a busy girl this afternoon. My friend came over and I made 2 cards. Now that is an achievement for me! I'm also well on the way to making another one. 3 cards in one day - almost unheard of lol!!

This is the first one using my favourite Penny Black snowman.

I used :-

Image :- Penny Black.

DP :- Bo Bunny.

Colouring :- Promarkers.

Sentiment and card candy :- Craftwork Cards.

Martha Stewart snowflake punches, Glamour Dust and gems.

I had a bit of an oops moment there when I went to type sentiment and realised I hadn't added one!

I'm entering the following challenges with this card :-

Penny Black :- Desert Island Stamps - favourite Penny Black stamp.
Sketch Saturday :- Sketch.

I think I'll go and do some DT work before I make any more daft mistakes. I've got another card to show you but I think I'll do that tomorrow. I've already photographed it twice because I managed to cut a little bit off the top and of course I didn't notice till I downloaded it!

GDT card for House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge.

Hi everyone, surprised to see me? Well not as surprised as I was when I got an email from Christine asking me to be a GDT at House Mouse. I was pretty excited and I didn't even hesitate before saying yes please. The challenge this week is "Make a Splash." We'd like to see water somewhere on your card.

I had a good look through my House Mouse stamps and this is what I came up with using my favourite colour.

I used :-

Image :- House Mouse - Relaxing Bubbles.

Colouring :- Promarkers.

DP :- DCWV.

Card Candy :- Craftwork Cards.

Flower :- Wild Orchid Crafts.

Sentiment :- Penny Black.

Nesties, Tag punch, jewels, ribbon and Glamour Dust.

I think this card fits the following challenges :-

Pile it On :- Time to Relax.
Oldie but a Goodie :- Anything Goes.
Simon Says Stamp challenge :- Lemon and Lavender. (Thanks Lols.)

If you haven't been over to the House Mouse challenge blog do try to pop over to see the wonderful cards the DT have made to inspire you. They're all really talented and you won't be disappointed.

I've been quite naughty since I got Christine's invitation to join them this month as GDT! I went to Windrush Cards and Crafts and bought some new House Mouse stamps that I've been wanting for a while. Well I have worked full time for 2 weeks so I deserve a treat lol!

Thanks for looking and I hope you have a minute to tell me what you think.

Congratulations!

I'm a bit late at night with this but I wanted to blog it so that I can post it tomorrow. My friend's middle son is getting married next Saturday. They come from Central Scotland like me but he met his future wife when he was studying agriculture at Aberdeen University. She comes from Aberdeenshire and the wedding is nice and near for us.

I managed to make this card tonight and I'll send it to the hotel so they can get it at the reception. I can't wait to see my friend and her husband and family and of course the rest of their families. There will also be lots of people there who were in the same Young Farmers club as me too. Should be lots of fun!

So here's their card. Hope they like it and hope you like it too. I'm quite pleased with it which is unusual for me lol!

I used :-

Image :-  LOTV cute square.

Sentiment :- Craftwork Cards.

Ribbon and Flower :- The Ribbon Girl.

DP :- Tilda.

Nesties, jewels, Glamour Dust and leaf punch.

I'm entering the following challenges :-

Mojo Monday :- Sketch.
Lili of the Valley :- Celebrate.
Totally Papercrafts :- Bingo - Punches/die cuts, Flowers, Gems.
Dream Valley :- Ribbons.

Well I think that's me for now. As usual on a Sunday evening I still have some ironing to do.

Thanks for looking and I'll catch up with you tomorrow.

Totally Gorjuss 87 -Sketch.

Good morning everyone, hope you're all looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend. It's the first Saturday in July so it's time for a sketch challenge at Totally Gorjuss. As usual on the first Saturday we are sponsored by the lovely and ever generous Joanna Sheen. I love Joanna's online store, there's so much to choose from and no p&p.

Here's my take on Net's great sketch.

I used :-

Image :- Penny Black.

Sentiment and card candy :- Craftwork Cards.

Colouring :- Promarkers.

Martha Stewart snowflake punch, Cuttlebug embossing folders, Glamour Dust & pearls.

Quite a simple card but I hope you like it. I've been really short of time this week for crafting! I've managed to keep up with my DT work and I've done some other cards but that's it. I'm afraid I've been neglecting my favourite blogs. After 2 weeks of full time work my house is a tip. Especially with two big black Labradors. They might look nice and smooth but believe me they can cast. As well as chew things they shouldn't lol! At lunchtime yesterday I opened the back door and found Blue coming out of the garage. I thought that was a bit funny as I left the 2 of them shut up in their cage. The garage is where their food and biscuits etc are kept. And to save time I'd left the biscuits they get when I go back to work on top of the chest freezer. They hadn't touched the biscuits or my boots or socks or leads and collars or anything else and believe me there is loads of stuff they could have chewed. But.........they'd almost destroyed hubby's slippers lol! Out of sight of them I had to laugh, I couldn't help it!!!

Not sure if this card fits any challenges but I'll have a look later when I have time.

I found some challenges that I think this card fits:-
ABC Christmas :- M is for monochrome.
Stampin for the Weekend :- Favourite Things - PB snowman, embossing folders, MS snowflake punch, Glamour Dust, pearls and card candy.
Allsorts :- Free and easy.
Sir Stampalot :- Anything Goes. 

Thanks for looking and I'll catch up with you all later................I hope!