A really pretty award...

I think a lot of my blogging buddies have already got this award so I'm going to do this in a slightly different way...

I'm going to add links to 10 absolutely amazing blogs where I have found masses of inspiration over the past year (please don't take offence if you're not on the list - I could have gone on forever if I had time).

Rica's Heaven (heavenly cards too!!)

Irene (the queen of embossing and paper piercing)

Ann ( a true stamp artist with an amazing talent for creating scenes)

Jennifer's Sweet Designs (truly sweet designs and a new range of stamps out too)

Amazing Paper Grace (take your breadth away cards)

and my new friends at the Pink Elephant who are a very talented bunch - goodness knows how they got landed with me!!?

Lori Robin Tina Trudi Carol

If you have some time to spare take a look at all these blogs and leave them a comment about their work - they really deserve tons of praise. I'm not even going to tell them about this write up - leaving that to their visitors!

If you would like the cute award please feel free to take it for your blog and maybe do a posting like mine with 10 blogs on that have given you inspiration over the last year.

Boy and girl silhouette version 2...

I must admit I had intended to use a different image on this card, but when I actually got the intended stamp out it was too big! Not to worry this image deserves to be used more than once.

On this card I used the mask directly on to my base card (brave eh?) and stippled the background again with Adirondack inks before using my black Versefine to stamp the main image.

This time to frame the scene I used a gold peel off frame. I was sure that somewhere in my box I had a sheet of frames that was bought ages ago and never used. I couldn't believe my luck when the frame was just the right size for the image - not often that happens!!

The light is terrible here at the moment - my card is much more effective in real life - honest.

After the bravery of stippling and stamping directly on to my card I was really please to find that my card fits the challenge at the One Stop Craft Challenge. Wow how wonderful to be one of the first for a change.

Boy and girl silhouette...

I really love this silhouette image of a girl and a boy on a bike - it's a tiny stamp from Jessica Lynn Originals, but one I am really fond of. I need some tiny cards to send out 'just because' and this is my first one.

To create the background I stippled Adirondack ink through a circular cut out in various shades and then removed the mask and stamped the image using black Versefine ink (my all time favourite).

The challenge at Wednesday Stamper this week is silhouettes so my card is perfect for that challenge and I'm also going to enter it for Cynthia's challenge at the Rainbow Lady Challenge Blog where the theme is 'People'.

My people may be small ones, but I'm sure Cynthia won't mind once she gets over the shock of me getting my card done so early!!

Ribbon Holder...

A little while ago I made a present for my dear friend, Irene. It was a ribbon holder. I put pictures of it on my blog, like you do and had my socks blown off when I was picked out by the team at Inspirational for the holder to be featured on their blog.

They show such amazing work on there and to be picked out is just so special.

I was also shocked because although I liked the holder and I know my friend loves it I felt, like you do when you try something like this out, that I could have done it better!

Well here is the new improved 'all singing and dancing' version and the exciting thing is that the holder is being featured at The Pink Elephant this week as our very first tutorial!!

Isn't that just fantastic? So if you would like to know how I put the ribbon holder together do pop over to The Pink Elephant and check out the tutorial.

Thursday is going to be Tutorial day twice a month and I really can't wait to see what exciting things the other members of the design team have in store for us.

Cupcakes and chocolates...

Such an easy card to make using card and paper from my Kanban trip. I just love this printed card and the matching toppers. They were just so easy to put together.


Both prints seemed ideal to use in combination with this week's sketch at the Cupcake Challenge.


The brown card and candy pink paper used in the matting and layering are also from Kanban. The only addition I've made is the gold sentiment peel off and using my square nestabilities to create the focal point.

Sunshine Days...

One of the things I love to do with character stamps is creating a scene with them so I was really pleased when the challenge at Rainbow Lady was to make a scene of some kind.

I decided to use a combination of the Messy Rabbit stamps by Joanna Sheen and a tree by Magnolia. I suppose the idea for the rabbit behind the tree was inspired by the way Messy is usually hiding somewhere on the Joanna Sheen forum heading.

Torn green paper creates a grass like effect ( I hope) and the sky is some blotchy blue card I picked up at Kanban last week and I think that although it might actually be a faulty paper it resembles sky quite well.

As my card is layered and decoupaged to give it a 3D look it is also perfect for the challenge at Stamp Something where this week the team are asking everyone to think 3D.

I used Derwent Inktense pencils for all the colouring on this card.

Something fishy going on...

Well last week I said that I was determined to join in the ABC challenge each week no matter what. I even joked that even if the theme was B for Bondage I would still be there with my card. Luckily it wasn't and it wasn't even Baby Oil as another blogging friend suggested!

The theme until tomorrow (yes I just made it) is to use Blue and Brown - not an easy one for me as it's not a colour combination I'm fond of. My daughter said she loves it though calling it very 'retro'!

As my card also has a fish motive on it also fits the challenge at Daring Cardmakers where the DT want us to have either fish or frogs on our work.

Materials used:

• Elusive Images Mandella stamp - decoupaged to give depth
• DCWV - paper from Vintage stack
• brown base card
• Derwent Inktense Pencil Crayons
• gold brad and corner peel offs from stash

It's Pink Elephant Day...

It's week 3 at The Pink Elephant Challenge and this week is rather special as we have an amazing sketch by Carol for everyone to try. This sketch was so much fun to do with it's swirls and curls. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone's interpretation. Do check out the rest of the design teams examples and then have a go too. We really would like to see what you come up with.

When making my card I tried to follow the sketch as rigidly as possible - you don't have to, but I really enjoyed the process. I haven't got a Cricut (yet) or any die to cut swirls so my friend, Irene, cut me some black shapes on her Cricut and posted them on to me. What would we do without friends?

I used just one of the swirls she sent and then stamped dotted swirls around this to mirror the dotted swirls on Carol's sketch. The swirl stamps I used are from a set by Art Warehouse Limited Edition. My main image is a stamp called Felicia Star by Stampabilities. I love the quote on this stamp - perfect for putting on cards to 18 year olds who are finishing A levels and thinking about the next steps in their life.

Other materials used:

• Cuttlebug Border embossing bar from the Frills Border Set
• Stardust Sakura Pens used as watercolour paints
• Black and grey card
• Purple gems and black sentiment peel off from stash

Sneaky peak...

Can't show you yet but guess who is hiding behind the tree? Hope postie delivers soon so that I can show the rest of this card.

And another little peak - don't forget it's the Pink Elephant Challenge again tomorrow and this week my friend Carole has organised something special for us. She has a sneaky peak of her card on her blog too so do pop over and check it out.