75 wrapped chocolate buttons.....

So.... who would sit and individually wrap 75 chocolate buttons in little squares of foil??? I would! Last year, before I first visited blogland, I made this advent calendar for my children. I was fed up of the nasty chocolate you get in the advent calendars in the shops, and begrudge paying an arm and a leg for the decent ones when you get less chocolate than in a packet of smarties! I can fill this one with enough chocolate for my three little darlings from just over two packets of chocolate buttons (which only cost about 10p a packet if your fella works at Cadbury's..... I've told you girls, he's ALL mine!)

I cut the tree from a rice krispie packet and covered it with felt I bought from hobbycraft. I cut out 50 felt hearts and stitched them together to make 25 little pockets. I numbered them using the Bang! Zoom! alphabet in my Bigshot. A few bells for baubles, some ribbon around the top of the bucket and on the back to hang it up and some hand-stitching around the star to finish.

It took me weeks to make, but I'll definitely be using it every year!

Love 'n' hugs,

Mel xx

Feeling blue....

Blue with cold, maybe! Brrrr! We've got snow - finally! Days after the rest of the country and only a couple of flakes, but definitely snow! The boys love it :-) This card is for my middle son, George, and I LOVED making it.

The image is one of my current faves from Lili of the Valley, coloured with promarkers (including a couple of my new ones), glitter gel pen and a little glitter glue. I've followed a fab sketch from Sketch and Stash. I've used some silver mirror card I've had for aaaages and some yummy new papers I won from Jude - they are from Daisy and Dandelion's Percy and Penelope collection. I used my new xcut holly punch I bought at the NEC and the papermania mini polka dot embossing folder which I love! The "Son" stamp is from papermania.

The challenges I'm entering this into are:

Pollycraft Monday Challenge - Feeling blue

Sketch and Stash - Fab sketch

The Creative Cottage - Untraditional Christmas

The ABC Challenge - I is for Ice and Snow

Cards for Men - Christmas cards

Have a fab weekend!

Love 'n' hugs,

Mel xx

White + one other colour... green!

Hiya! Just a quick post today because I've got to make a start on tonight's shepherd's pie - yum! It took me aaages to get this card to work. I re-arranged it umtpeen time before I was happy with it.

The image is of course our favourite girl, Tilda, sent to me by the the fabulous Mandy (thankyou!). I coloured her with my promarkers as usual. The papers are Milton & co from Wild Rose Studio. I used the papermania victorian fleur embossing folder, decorative swirl #3 from sizzix, pearls from ebay and a white gel pen for the stitching.

I'm entering this into the challenge at Just Magnolia which is to use white and just one other colour.

Gotta go - I'm a busy girl! Still looking for my woolly hat that's gone awol. Don't want to go on the school run without it!

Love 'n' hugs,

Mel xx

A Christmas Card and an Award.....

Hiya! Things are steadily becoming a little more under control.... first Christmas pressies and cards have been delivered but there's still a way to go yet! This is the first christmas card I've actually sent out this year and it's for my dear old (less of the "old", Melanie!) Dad. I've used a LOTV image sent to me by Debs (thankyou!) and coloured using a mix of promarkers, glitter gel pens and glitter glue. I've managed to use Jenny's "out-of-the-box" technique to cut it out using my nesties without removing the top of the lamp-post (very chuffed with myself!). I won the the papermania ribbon from Suzanne (thankyou!) and I embossed the white card using the Sizzix polka daisies texturz which I think look more like snowflakes than daisies! I got the gold mirror card at the NEC aswell as the gold embossing powder I used to emboss the "Dad" sentiment - another one of papermania's clear stamps.

Phew! How did I ever manage to make cards without all my blogging pals, eh? I'm entering it into the following challenges:
Creative Inspirations - Anything Christmassy/Winter
Sarah Hurley - Embossing
LOTV - Glitter and Glitz
Whoopsi Daisy - Holiday
Cards for Men - Christmas Cards

And, before I go I'd just like to thank Suzanne for thinking of me and sending me the above award for my blog! Thankyou so much!!!! And now I must pass it on to 5 of my pals:
Clare
Melly
Debs
Jenny
Lisa

Going to go and put the kettle on..... Have a fab evening!

Love 'n' hugs,
Mel xx

Sooooo sorry......

.....that I've not been a very good blogger just lately. I've got caught up in Christmas shopping and various other bits and pieces.... I've hardly had any time to craft or go on the computer so I haven't visited many of your blogs for days. Once I've finished this post, I promise I'll pop round and visit as many of you as possible!

This little cutie is the stamp that I'd been after from LOTV for ages and finally managed to get at the NEC craft show - yeah! Love, love, love him! I've coloured him with promarkers, as usual. The papers are also some I got from the NEC, by Crafts-Too. I've embossed a strip of card using a papermania embossing folder and cut the "3" using the Bang! Zoom! alphabet sizzlets as it's for my nephew's third birthday (Happy birthday, Richard!). The blue trim was some my Mom bought me for my birthday - thanks, Mom! I followed a fab sketch from Friday Sketchers but haven't had time to look for any other challenges for this one!

Right, I'm off to visit some of your lovely blogs!!!

Happy crafting!

Love 'n' hugs,

Mel xx

Catching up.....

At the NEC last week, I bought myself a couple of cute little Christmas stamps that need very little colouring on purpose so that I could do lots of them quickly and catch up a bit with my Christmas cards. I've made six snowmen and six tree ones so far in traditional colours but I'm going to do a few more in non-traditional colours too..... I'd made a quick easel card at the workshop I went to last weekend (see bottom piccie for my makes...) so I took inspiration from that for these ones.

They have been coloured with promarkers with glitter glue added for sparkle (although you can't see it very well). I cut them and layered them onto coloured card using my nesties. The papers are Deck the Halls by Papermania, then there's a bit of ribbon and die-cut sentiments from Daisy and Dandelion. Quick and simple, and hopefully a better attempt at clean and simple than my last one!

Challenges:

Whoopsi Daisy - It's Christmas

ABC Challenge - H for Holidays

LOTV - Anything goes (any image, 1 challenge only!)

Sarah Hurley - Easel card

Have a fab weekend!

Love 'n' hugs,

Mel xx

Not my usual style....

And I'm not really sure if I like it. I was playing around with some of my new stuff I got from the NEC. I got this stamp because I've never got anything suitable for anniversary cards. I embossed it using my new silver embossing powder and the heat tool I had to blow the dust off! I was aiming for clean and simple - but did it just come out boring??? I won the lace from Suzanne (thankyou!), the pearls are from ebay and the lilac card was some I've had for ages.

I'm sorry about the hideous picture. I think all of my photos are going to be hideous now until Spring!

All feedback gratefully received!

Love 'n' hugs,

Mel xx

An award....

I recently received this award from Debs - thankyou!!! You're sooo kind! I need to tell you three things about myself and then pass this on to 5 of my pals to qualify for a $5.00 gift certicate from Digi's with Attitude! I've also got to put the Blog Award Badge on my sidebar (please see sidebar!) and link it back to the Digi's with Attitude Challenge blog.

So here goes.... Three things about myself:

1. I have three gorgeous children: Marc, 15, George, 4 and Charlie 19 months. We should have had another who would have been 2 later this month, but sadly it was not to be :-(
2. I love cooking and gardening almost as much as my crafting but don't spend anywhere near as much time doing them!
3. I never only sneeze once - it's like 20 times in a row! It's hell if I'm driving!

And the five people I'm going to pass it on to are:

1. Lisa
2. Jenny
3. Mags
4. Liz
5. Mandy

I would have passed it on to Clare and Melly but Debs already gave it to them :-)

Love 'n' hugs,

Mel xx

My NEC goodies.....

Just though I'd share some piccies of my goodies from the NEC with you. (Although they're not the best piccies I've ever taken - so fed up of the dark!!! I had to put the light on at 1pm today just to make a sandwich!!!)

I'm hoping this little lot will at least see me through till Christmas! I'm planning on using the Christmas tree and snowman stamps to make a batch of identical cards quickly as I'm well behind for Christmas. They're nice and easy to colour so they should be quite quick to do. I did manage to get a few Christmas cards made at my workshop at the weekend though that I'll be posting on here soon.

Have a fab day!

Love 'n' hugs,

Mel xx

OMG! What a day!

Ok, ok, ok.... I know you all really want to know about my trip to the NEC craft show but first my card (cos I've already missed one challenge deadline!) I love this image... I won it in a challenge a while back but this is the first time I've used it. She's coloured with promarkers (what else???) and the papers are Henbury Lane. I got the silver trim at a car boot (bargain!) and I won the flowers and charm from Debs (thankyou!) and added some sparkle. Then I added some faux stitching with a brush marker. I used a sketch from Friday Sketchers but I missed the deadline because of my little excursion... :-)

I think I've managed to meet the deadline for these though:

Creative Inspirations - Glitter, Glamour, Girlie

Crafty Cardmakers - Stitching

Whoopsi Daisy Challenge - Sparkle

A Spoon Full of Sugar - Relish to Embellish

Anyway..... My little trip :-)!!! You don't want to know how early I got there - silly early! And there were still 9 people in front of me in the queue! Gutted! :-) I snapped up my essentials - some new stamps: My first (and second!) Tilda (although the Magnolia stand was missing!!! What's all that about????), one from Lili of the Valley (the new one's are gorgeous but I got an older one I'd been after), some christmas cuties and a lovely champagne glass. Then I got papers, and more scissors, and sticky stuff, and sparkley stuff, and flowers, and punches and some embossing powders because I've decided I really ought to give it another go....

I had so much fun! My legs are still aching! Spent a LOT of pennies. I just want to take this opportunity to thank my wonderful OH, Paul for making it all possible. Looking after the kids all day, cooking and cleaning, not to mention financing the expedition! I've got a good'un, Girls! And, no, you can't have him :-)

I hope those of you going over the next few days have as good a day as I did!

Love 'n' hugs,

Mel xx

The Secret Crafter.....

I cannot tell you what a fab week I'm having!!!! I've got my trip to the craft show at the NEC coming up on Thursday.... A craft workshop at my local craft shop on Saturday.... And I've just discovered that I've got another craft shop right on my doorstep!!!! The Secret Crafter!!!! I just happened to stumble across a website I'd not been to before only to find they have a shop 5 minutes from where I live. HOW did I not know this place existed??? So I went along for a "quick" nosey... I should have left my purse behind! It's a good thing I took little Charlie with me to persuade me to leave or I would still be there now....

They have the cutest little Jake and Mollie stamps, promarkers at a bargain price and a huge selection of nesties!!! And best of all they have an online shop for those of you too far away to travel!!!

Anyway, I just thought I'd spread the news that they have an open weekend coming up:

Saturday 20th November - 9am till 5pm

Sunday 21st November - 10am till 4pm

There will be demonstrations, free refreshments, exclusive offers, a raffle and a free goodie bag with every order over £25. You can find them at Unit 3, 101 Stourbridge Road, Halesowen, B63 3UA. Visit the Secret Crafter website for more information...

See you there!

Love 'n' hugs,

Mel xx

For my Dad....

Back again :-) I've still not warmed up so I'm going to make this a quick post then I'll go and put the heating on (I'm allowed now, it's November!)

This card is for my lovely Dad whose birthday is this weekend. Happy birthday, Dad!

The gooooorgeous LOTV image is from a recent win from Suzanne and I've coloured it with my promarkers. The papers I won from Debs so I'm afraid I don't know who makes them. The "Dad" stamp is from papermania and I've cut it out with my nesties. The swirl is my latest buy - soooo pleased with this! It's a sizzix swirl and they've been out of stock every time I've tried to get it before so I was really chuffed when it was in (I just had to buy it even though I'm supposed to be saving my pennies for the craft show at the NEC on Thursday - yeah!!!). It's one of three in the pack so the others will get an outing soon :-) Then I've used my lace heart border punch and my pearls from ebay. Oh, and a spot of glitter glue on the swirl.

Challenges:

Cards for Men - Anything goes

A Spoon Full of Sugar - Let's Get Punchy

Creative Inspirations - Brown, sage and cream

Lili of the Valley - Fab sketch

Brrrr.... Going to put the kettle on. Anyone want one???

Love 'n' hugs,

Mel xx

Happy Birthday, Josh

Hiya! It's absolutely freezing today! I'll have to type fast to warm up my fingers :-)

This card is for my friend's son who had his birthday yesterday. I got the image in a RAK and as usual he is coloured with my promarkers. The papers are papermania and the sentiment is one of Clare Curd's. The letters have been cut using the Bang! Zoom! alphabet on my Bigshot, the pearls were from ebay and the ribbon is from my stash.

Three challenges today:

Cards for Men - Anything goes

Passion for Promarkers - Best Friends

Moving Along with the Times - Card for a Child

Back with another post in a mo.....

Love 'n' hugs,

Mel xx