Forever Friends Anniversary Card

Hiya!

Hope you are all well. We're all back to normal now since returning from our holiday and then the riots in Birmingham. They didn't affect us much other than being locked in our local travel agents for a while because trouble was supposed to be heading our way. It didn't materialise in the end but better to be safe than sorry! At least we managed to get our honeymoon booked!!!! :-) We don't tend to go abroad but for this we've made an exception - Lara Beach in Turkey. If you've been yourself and have got fabulous stories, please tell me so I can look forward to it even more :-)

Anyway, back to my card. I love this fab FF image for anniversaries and as it isn't too gender specific I find it also works well for same sex couples which is just what I needed in this instance! I stamped directly onto Kraft cardstock and coloured with my promarkers.

A close up of the image - you can see the sparkle I added to the rose....

I've added a close up of the border punch because you can't see it very clearly in the top picture. I think it's an Xcut one....

I decorated the inside so that the border punch showed up a bit more. The papers are also FF. I used a stamp I got from ebay and nesties for the shape....

I'm entering this into Little Claire's Wedding/Anniversary challenge and I'm also posting a link to Sarpreet's Forever Friends Sunday. Please pop over and take a look!

Right, I've got a nasty headache so I'm off to raid the paracetamol and make myself a cuppa!

Love 'n' hugs,

Dream Valley Challenge 13 - Distressing

Hiya!

Back again..... I've been on my hols and had a lovely time but now I'm trying to sort out piles of washing and post that built up while I was away - it's endless! And to top it off my internet connection is playing silly wotsits - not a happy bunny!

I did manage to find some time to craft though - and I loved making this one. This is my DT card for Dream Valley. Our challenge this week is distressing - I had a lot of fun duffing up my papers for this one. I was just in the mood for it :-) We are sponsored by the fabulous One Stop Card Crafts and Digi Doodle Shop. Digi Doodles gave us some gorgeous images to play with. Mine isn't one of them (it's one of my fave LOTV images) but if you pop over to Dream Valley you can see what the other DT members have created with them - beautiful!

This is an anniversary card for my pal, Nic and her husband Dave who got married last year......

I love this image.....

I added one of my flowers made from layering scrunched up scalloped circles cut with my nesties, held together with a brad.....

I used:

Image and sentiment - LOTV

Promarkers, glitter glue

Papers - Summer bloom, papermania

Nesties

Mini butterfly punch

Ribbon and brad from stash

Challenges:

CRAFT challenges - Anniversary

Creative inspirations - Summertime

Ladybug Crafts Ink - Favourite stamp

Sarah Hurley - Punch it

Right, I've got loads to do today so I'm off. I hope to be able to pop by all your blogs very soon and see what you've been doing while I've been away :-)

Don't forget to check out all the other DT's creations at Dream Valley. They're gorgeous!

Love 'n' hugs,

Dream Valley Challenge 12 - Surprise!

Hiya!

It's time for another challenge over at Dream Valley and this time we'd like you to SURPRISE us! The DT really had to put their thinking caps on for this one :-) You could have a hidden flap or gift, a pop-up surprise or think of something completely different!

We are sponsored by Digi's with Attitude and I've used their gift giving tween digi - such fun to colour! 

Inside I included a matching tag and bookmark as a surprise gift for the recipient.....

I've used Milton & Co papers, punched out the flowers and butterflies and added ribbon and pearls from my stash.....

Now I'm not going to be around much for the next week or so cos I'll be on my hols but I do hope to schedule a few posts before I go. Please forgive me for not commenting on your blogs as much as I would like!

I'm so looking forward to seeing all the Dream Valley entries when I get back. If you get a chance, please pop over and have a look at the other DT samples - there are some really fab ideas :-)

Love 'n' hugs,

Awwww.... Cute little bunny!

Hiya!

Just wanted to share with you a card I made for my pal's daughter who turned 2 last week....

The image is actually cut from a sheet of paper from the Daisy and Dandelion picnic patch set.

I was lucky enough to have two sheets so I cut out some of the pieces again to layer them up.....

The tag and papers are from the same set and of course I've used my Kraft cardstock which I just can't seem to put away at the mo! The sentiment is from the Me to You range, the border punch is a new one I've just bought from papermania (love it!!!), an xcut butterfly and then gems and ribbon from my stash.

I need to go and have a nosey round for some challenges for this one.....

See you on Sunday for the latest Dream Valley challenge - this one will get you thinking!

Love 'n' hugs,

A new baby....

Hiya!

I'm really not getting the hang of blogging my cards at the mo. I think the phrase "bitten off more than I can chew" was made for me! I'm up to my eyeballs with cards and wedding preparations, allotment veg and my new secretary role while still trying to do all my usual Mom, girlfriend and "me" stuff...... As a result, I'm awake at.... oh dear, 2:20am, writing this post cos I can't sleep with all the things buzzing round my head.

Anyway, I made these cards last week and it's about time I showed you :-) They're just some quick simple ones following a sketch from Meljen's challenge (missed the deadline aaaages ago!) I thought as I was cutting my paper into triangles, I may aswell make 2 cards and keep one for my box. This is actually intended for a good pal of mine, Becky, who had little baby Lewis a couple of days ago. Congratulations, Becky!

The image, papers and sticky letters are all from the Me to You range....

Then I just added a few pearls, a star cut using a quickutz die and embossed with a crafts too embossing folder.....

A close-up of the image coloured with my promarkers.....

And the sentiment.....

Challenges:

Sarah Hurley - Colouring

Totally Gorjuss - All about boys

Right, I'm going to put the kettle on. Maybe ovaltine will help me sleep! Night, night!

Love 'n' hugs,

Dream Valley Challenge 11 - Summer! And some news......

Hiya!

Phew! What a couple of weeks I've been having.... so much going on! Where do I start? Well firstly, I'm an auntie again! My gorgeous step-sister Julia has had a scrumptious baby girl called Katie Lauren :-) I've only seen photos as yet but she's absolutely adorable!  Just as that news was sinking in, I heard that a friend of mine had also had her baby! Again, joyful news but this was a little different.... During the labour the poor little lad was starved of oxygen and had to be hooked up to all those tubes and wires and things to keep him going. Sadly, 5 days later he passed away.  I am so broken hearted for my friend.  I lost a baby during pregnancy a few years ago, not quite the same, I know, but I think I can understand some of what she must be feeling.  Thinking of you, Michelle xx

That being said, I have to say I feel a little guilty at sharing with you some very happy news of my own.....

I'M GETTING MARRIED!!!!!

How exciting! In fact this is a scheduled post because I'm actually somewhere in Brum trying on dresses for the big day :-) I get to pick up my sparkley little something on Tuesday so I will share a piccie with you then.  I've got all these ideas for invitations buzzing round in my head so you'll need to be prepared to give me some honest advice when I put some samples on here for you to look at :-)

Anyway, enough of all that. I know what you're here to see - my DT card for the latest Dream Valley challenge! All the entries we had for our ribbon challenge were fantastic. I love the opportunity to go through all the entries. I get so much inspiration!  This challenge has a SUMMER theme and is sponsored by our regular sponsor, One Stop Card Crafts.

It's my brother-in-law's birthday pretty soon and as he's always in charge of my sister's annual barbecue this image just had to be his! It's from Lili of the Valley and of course coloured with promarkers.

The sentiment is from Sentiments 4 You, the papers are Clare Curd's It's a Man's World, some nesties and a sizzix decorative swirl and then pearls from my stash... 

Challenges:

Bows and Berries - Kraft

Ladybug Crafts Ink - Summer birthdays

Lili of the Valley - Fab sketch

Forever Friends - Stripes

Wags 'n' Whiskers - Birthday

For those of you interested in my allotment, I've been collecting potatoes and peas from my patch so if you want a nosey, please pop over! And don't forget to visit Dream Valley to see all the other summer creations from the rest of the DT.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Love 'n' hugs,

Another of George's creations....

Hiya!

You might remember a few months ago my son George (he's only 5) made me a birthday card - you can see it here..... I entered his card into the challenge over at Messy's Mini Missions and he was lucky enough to win a stamp set from Crafty Emma!  The image and sentiment on this card come from the set he won.

I let him use a few of my promarkers (carefully!) in return for some hints and tips on winning challenges and stamping techniques :-) I also showed him how to ink the edges of his card - I think he's done a really good job! He added some glitter glue for sparkle - you can see her lovely glittery hair here:

He used papers from the Tatty Teddy collection and added some pearls and a ribbon flower.

He's just about got time to enter this into the latest challenge at Messy's Mini Missions which is Sparkle and Shine!

Good luck, George!

Love 'n' hugs,