Where has the time gone? I havent been posting or making any cards over the past week and a half. Our friends visited us from Ascension Island after almost six years, so it was a series of shopping and really late nights. Still I was thrilled to see them and it reminded me of how much I miss having my closest of friends around me all the time. This week we went of on a short break to visit our relatives in Kent - always brilliant to see them, we also took the children to France and to London so its been busy, busy, busy! I now need to catch up on this weeks challenges and as I also bought some shrink plastic - marvellous stuff.......I now to put it to good use. In the mean time I found this site while travelling cyber space The Fruit Pixie - some of the most unusual crafting bits can be found there and the prices are brilliant.

Now I need to find the time to play catch up.................................

Tilda and Co Challenge 32* Cold as ice...

The sun is now drifting away very fast and soon it will be as cold as ice....
Using the colours Blue & white Only . Show us how cold your projects can feel this week.

I have coloured Tilda in using watercolour pencils and used some ribbon from Poppicrafts. I have left some areas on the image white - have to invest in some white glitter. The snowflakes have come from my stash - bought a huge tub a couple of years ago. The paper has come free with Papercraft Essentials Magazine.

This weeks Sarah Kay Challenge - Week 7 How Charming

This week we would like your work to include charms, pendants or dangles

Well I started colouring this image at around 10.30 p.m. last night while trying to catch up with the Olympic replays etc. The hair was supposed to have been a light brown and the trousers blue. Anyhow by not moving and making the light brighter, I managed to colour her hair in a brownish red and her trousers a shade of green - which I must admit I really like. The flower has come from Poppicrafts, the beads and charm from my stash (bought them in a Pound shop a while ago), the scroll stamp and make a wish stamp are both clear stamps from Dovecraft. The background papers have come from free with Papercraft Essentials Magazine.

Blog Candy Winner

A big thank you to those who left a message for my blog candy - I used Random.org to generate a winner

The winner is Rosette

Please contact me with your details so I get your candy in the post to you.

Its my birthday on Saturday 16th August so I'm giving away some

Blog Candy

I have a selection of flowers and ribbons from Poppicrafts

2 tubes of fine glitter - Red and Green (Christmas is coming)

7 Ribbon Slides

6 diecut fairies from Lili's Fairies

A selection of Gold and silver sentiments from Craftwork Cards

A Rachelle Anne Miller Stamp - Baby Millie

What do you have to do to be in with a random chance of winning this lot? - All you have to do is to post on your blog about my candy giveaway and leave a link to my post. Then leave me a comment on this post on my blog by Monday 18th August 12 noon BST when I will be making the draw - I'll ship internationally too!

It's my 35th Birthday today. The day has been great - been out to the hairdressers, had lunch at Nando's and then did a bit of shopping. Just a quick one for today though. My friend is christening her little boy tomorrow and I thought I would make a card with a little bag on the front for his gift. I have used a piece of Dovecraft paper trimmed to 5 x 3 1/2 inches. I have scored lines at 1/2 inch, 3/4 inch and one inch from each short side and then 1/2 inch from the bottom of the long side. I have then basically folded it to make a small pocket to stick to the front of the card (the card will act as the back for the bag) . I have used the same paper to make a handle for the bag. The scroll stamp is by Dovecraft and the background paper is from Doodlebug.

If you haven't signed up for my blog candy - there is still time so go for it - you just might win it!

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge 23
This week the theme for the challenge is
Soft Furnishings
you can use fabric, ribbon, stitching, buttons etc, anything you can find on the soft furnishings in the home ie curtains, cushions, sofas etc.

I bought two new Sugar Nellies last week. This one and the one I am giving away in my blog candy. I couldnt decide before if I liked this stamp or not, but I am so glad I bought it, because she is so full of character, and I love her. I have coloured her with watercolour pencils and used some background paper from my stash. The scroll stamp and make a wish is from Dovecraft -bought a pack of four small ones for 99p a while back in the sale. My soft furnishings - buttons !

This weeks Challenge - A Spoon Full of Sugar
A Secret Message
We would love you to hide a message somewhere in your card.

I have used this beautiful stamp from Sugar Nellie and coloured her in watercolours. The oval was made on Keepsake Majestic Board and trimmed around the inner oval so the Sugar Nellie could hang of the edge. The background papers have once again come from Papercraft Essentials Magazine and the flowers made with a small daisy punch and peel off dots. The bazzill cardstock and ribbon from my stash. The hidden message is one from Designer Digitals - Andrea Victoria, Daily Servings Girl Brushes n Stamps. I was supposed to have printed in black (but the ink is running out so has a kind of grey), but thought it still looked good to use and doesnt it describe this little Sugar Nellie to the T !

This weeks Challenge from Cute Card Thursday - is 'The two of us'
We would like you to use two of something on your card, it could be 2 people, 2 animals or 1 of each.

I have used a Sarah Kaye image for this weeks challenge. I have coloured her with water colour pencils and used a white gel pen to embellish some of the area on her clothes and hat. The orange cardstock is recycled from an old birthday card, the background paper from Papercraft Essentials, the ribbon and green flower from Poppicrafts, orange flower from my stash and the white flower made with a large daisy punch. The black dotted edging is rub on lines (didnt adhere to the paper really well). The sentiment "Friend" is a Designer Digitals download - Stamps and Brushes by Katie Pertiet.

This weeks Tilda and Co Challenge is a Sketch.

I have used some Pink Petticoat paper for the background, and layered the Tilda image onto some white and bazzill cardstock, a piece of paper from Papercraft Essentials Magazine. I have coloured the Tilda image with watercolour pencils. I had a go with some stitching as well - I remembered I had one of these mini sewing machines (bought it for £2.00 in a sale a while back) - it can only do one type of stitch - but it worked. The tree on the side of the image I cut out (free hand) from some white cardstock and water coloured it. The flowers have been made using a small daisy punch and bazzill cardstock.

Amazing Blog Candy - Katharina's Blog

Here is the deal:
The winner of her blog candy give away gets the complete Whiff of Joy Guardian Angel Collection by Elizabeth Bell ( 4 stamps ) for free
AND she (or better Whiff of Joy Stamps ) will host a blog candy give away on the winners blog. You can choose the terms and she will sponsor your blog candy with another complete set of the Guardian Angels

What do you have to do to qualify for my blog candy?
Subscribe to her newsletter or RSS feed on her blog
Post a link to her 100 000 hits blog candy on your blog
Go back to her blog and let her know that you want to enter the draw (leave a comment)
The winner will be drawn with random.org on August 16th 8pm central European time.

This weeks challenge from A Spoon Full of Sugar
Recycle
we would love to see you use something that you have recycled on your card, It could be some scraps of card from your stash or some old scraps of material anything really it's up to you, let your imagination run wild.

This is a great challenge this week as I am sure many of us have bits and pieces lying around - which we hope to use the next time.......or the next time..........or next time............

For Hamish with his tractor I have water coloured most of him using water colour pencils, but I have paper pieced his tractor and his dungarees using a scrap of paper and a piece of bazzill from my stash. The tractor wasn't fully stamped when I did it so the paper piecing covers up the missing pieces on the tractor. The red background for the card is one side of a teabag box (had the box lying around waiting for something to do with it), and the circle which has been stamped is also another part of the teabag box with the stamping done on the inner part. The stamp used for this is "Describe him" by Artifacts. The paper strip is a left over piece from Dovecraft Masculine collection. I have punched out the footballs to add as an embellishment from another strip. The sentiment stamp "birthday boy" is from the Debbie Moore collection.

Sarah Kay Challenges - Week 5 - 3 Buttons & 3 Jewels.

This weeks creations should have three Buttons and three Jewels anywhere on the project.

I have been having a brain freeze - too many days off crafting and I cant seem to get in the creative mood - loads of papers and bits hanging around but just cant seem to use them in the most creative manner at the moment. Anyway I have water coloured this Sarah Kay girl, and matted the image onto some bazzill cardstock. The background paper is from Papercraft Essentials magazine and the jewels on the corner of the image have been taken from my stash. I have used some wire to attach the flowers to each other. I have wound a length of wire around a cocktail stick and then flattened it (with a rolling pin) so it will lie flat. The flowers have been made with a medium daisy punch.

Oh its my birthday this month - I will be offering some blog candy in a day or two................

The stamps below I won last month from Papercraft Essentials Magazine. The criteria was to create a stamped card. I did my favorite little guy - Billy the cowboy (sorry no picture to show - forgot to take one :( I am hoping they will show the winning entries sometime in the magazine - then I will have to take a picture of the page and post that!