An ole dragon

(ETA: I got top 3 at an Oldie but a Goodie challenge with this card)

So here we are, Sunday evening again!  Though it was a lovely bright day today .... feels like Spring might just be round the corner.  The birdies were giving it what for at dawn this morning and all my daffodil bulbs are starting to peek through too.  And its so nice to see the days starting to stretch .... I HATE going to work and home again in the dark!

I think this was one of the first High Hopes stamps I ever bought (now its one of the many!)  Coloured with a mixture of copics and promarkers and added LOADS of blue, frosted and orange stickes.  Popped the central red star up on dimensionals for a wee bit of extra depth.  Its a good job I've just tidied my table ... or I could be stuck in this blue/green/red combo for a while, I love those colours together!

Aaarrrrggghhh .... I've got 'Puff the Magic Dragon' stuck in my head and I'll be humming it all night now!

• High Hopes #101 - glitter / sparkle
• Oldie but a Goodie #11 - Fairies, mermaids, dragons, or any other magical beings
• ABC - M is for Magical
• Stamp Scrap and Doodle Saturdays - get punchy (I used my Martha Stewart grass punch)

Hoppy Valentine!

This is gonna be Greg's Valentine card .... I don't do 'mushy' so this cute little Meljen's Design digi froggy was perfect!
Coloured with copics and stickles added to red hearts.  The big heart is popped up a bit ... the bit closest to the froggy is stuck down and then the far side popped up on dimensionals.

• Sketch from Midnight Madness #88
• A Spoonfull of Sugar #136 - Valentine
• My Time to Craft #125 - Emboss, emboss, emboss
• Fab'n'Funky #57 - use a digi
• Charisma #4 - Valentine / Love
• Meljens Designs #43 - create something with hearts on it
• Marks Finest Papers #40 - Valentine
• Paper Sundaes #54 - Valentine
• Paper Issues - Valentine

Simon Says ... Animal Antics

(Click HERE for my Sweet Stampin GDT post)

I haven't used this little Whiff of Joy mousey for a while, but thought he'd be perfect for this week's challenge at Simon Says Stamp ... Animal Antics.  Coloured with copics and clear gloss and sparkle added to the icing.  The little scrap of DP has been knocking round my scrap box for ages, no idea where it came from!

Hope you're having a good weekend, we're just about to sit down to watch 'Inception' and crack open a beer!

• Simon Says ... Animal Antics
• Sketch from Stamp TV STVSKSP10

• CES Challenge #21 - Bold and Bright
• Polka Doodles #4 - party time
• Crafty Creations CCCW103- Let's heat it up - use a warm image or warm colours
• Cupcake Craft #126 - food or drink

Sweet Stampin GDT ... Saturday sketch

Oh dear, I'm a very bad guest at the party .... I completely forgot about this week's challenge over at Sweet Stampin!!  But sure, its better late than never! LOL!  Its my last week as GDT, so thanks very much for having me Sweet Stampers!

This week's challenge is to use Jo's sketch ... play along and you could win some fab digis from Simply Betty stamps

• Sketch from Sweet Stampin
• Creative Card Crew - the colours of your country (mine's red, white and blue)
• Lili of the Valley #82 - anything but square (my card is A6)
• Allsorts #88 - recycle something - my red ribbon was recycled from some Christmas packaging
• Alphabet Challenge - M=Men
• Totally Papercrafts #51 - one for the kiddies

Marlene's Birthday Card

Just a quickie post and no blog hopping from me tonight ... I'm knackered and ready for bed! I spent all morning in work at a huge meeting taking minutes and then all afternoon typing them up ... BORING!  So glad its only once a month or so that I have to do it! 
Anyway this wee card is for a friend of my Mum's - I didn't have enough silver peel off letters to spell her name (hard to believe if you seen my peel off stash!!) so I just wrote it on the little ticket on the flowers.  This little LOTV bear didn't quite make it off my table, so he managed to get another inking.  Coloured with copics and stickles added.

• Creative Inspirations #96 - buttons and bows
• Top Tip Tuesday #19 - fabulous flowers
• The Pink Elephant #92 - pink, red, brown

• Sketch (sort of) from Mojo Monday #175 - though I thought I had some wider brown ribbon and its mysteriously vanished
• Paper Cutz #75 - free choice

Yvonne's birthday card

I thought I'd give this little LOTV guy an inking seeing as he hasn't been out for a while!  Coloured with copics, stickles added in the flower centres and butterflies, and silver peel off letters/numbers added.   Now, can someone tell me why this card took nearly 2 hours to make ... personally, I've no idea LOL!  (Couldn't get the colours to photograph right ... the butterflies are actually purple and not blue)

Hope you've had a good day - mine was much better (and warmer) than yesterday when our heating in work broke and we sat with our coats on all day and tried to type with frozen fingers.  Not much fun!  But at least it worked for most of the day today!

• Sketch from Lili of the Valley #81
• Colour combo from SPCC#84 (though I didn't have any wild wasabi so I used the nearest I had)
•  Crafty Cardmakers #38 - floral
• The Crafty Pad #105 - something girly
• Charisma #03 - add some numbers
• Sarah Hurley #26 - birthday girl

Hooting Hello!

I think I saw a halloween layout like this a while ago, but I thought I'd use it with my little Meljen's Designs digi Fuzzy owl - just coloured him with copics, clear gloss on his eyes, orange stickles on his beak and then popped up on dimensionals.  The little moon was embossed with an old embossing folder. 

• Die Cut Dreams #81 - use a digi and a rubber stamp (my sentiment is from an old Simon Says set)
• Top Tip Tuesday #18 - add a sentiment (My top tip this week is to keep the ribbons from inside your new clothes that hold it on the hanger ... you'll be amazed at the selection of different colours you'll amass and you'll have something that matches your project 9 times out of 10!)
• Fab'n'Funky #56 - animal magic
• Stamp Something - Cute
• Wee Memories #40 - anything goes
• Copic Creations #42 - what's new (I've used my new digi and new DP from Papermania)

Simon Says ... Bingo!

(Click HERE for my Sweet Stampin GDT post)

Ohhhh I can't wait for Spring!  Its been another dampish, dullish, coldish day, and I just would love a wee bit of heat!  At least it was a much better day than yesterday ... Greg made a gorgeous Sunday dinner, then a wee afternoon's crafting and now just sitting watching telly!  And yes, the smell of nailpolish eventuallly did go away LOL!

• Sketch from Card Patterns #99
• Stampin for the weekend #2- Getting warmed up (use a warm image or warm colours)
• Our Creative Corner - Three Musketeers Colour challenge - I used yellow, pale orange and dark orange
•  Simon Says .... Bingo - I used Punch/Die cuts, embossing and ribbon (I'm assuming that twine can be classed as ribbon?!)

Love Ewe!

(Click HERE for my Sweet Stampin GDT card - Clear as Mud)

ETA: I was in the Fab 4 from Wee Memories with this card!

Hope you've had a good Saturday!  Mine was a bit hit and miss .... first off our car wouldn't start this morning (had to go and buy a new battery), then the water pipes to my washing machine were frozen till late this afternoon (so its still going as we speak), and then someone (not me!) dropped a bottle of nail polish onto the kitchen floor and it took over an hour to clean up!  ... the house still stinks!

This is the only other card worth sharing with you today ... my mojo's a bit hit and miss too!  The little sheepy image is from Meljen's Designs - didn't need much colouring and I just popped up the little hearts and his head on dimensionals.  My new Tim Holtz swirly embossing folder was just perfect to match the little sheep.

• Sketch from Stamp TV STVSKSP9
• Bunny Zoe's January challenge - Love is in the air
• Kaboodle Doodles #50 - Black, white + 1 other
• Tuesday Throwdown #32 - Valentine
• Totally Papercrafts #50 - add a heart
• Craft Your Days Away #12 - Love
• Wee Memories #40 - anything goes
• Sugar Creek Hollow - Black, white + 1 other

Sweet Stampin GDT: Clear as Mud!

I've been racking my brains trying to think of what to make for Greg's birthday card that wasn't too girly or mushy and then I was lucky enough to win some Meljen Designs images from a recent scavenger hunt over at Sketch and Stash and I thought this image would be perfect! 

• Now, I love it when a plan comes together - this week's challenge at Sweet Stampin is a colour one - Clear as Mud ... use brown plus one other ... perfect for my little owl!
• Then I found this sketch at The Pixie Cottage #53 with the added theme of Who do you love?
• Paper Playtime #34 is to use the word LOVE on your card.
• Fab'n funky #56 is to use an animal on your project
• Paper Sundaes are having their birthday celebration this week and it's a free choice of challenge, so I went back to the Sundae Toppings Bar from #44 - choose at least 2 from punches, ribbon, embossing and the colour blue.
• Stamping Vacation - Animal Applause challenge - use an animal that appears to have eyebrows
• Fuzzywuzzy January challenge - an animal + anything goes
• Creatalicious January challenge #18 - Love theme + use a ribbon
• Cards for Men #2 - Lets Party

Any hoooooooo, hope you're having a great Saturday and that you get some time to play along with us over at Sweet Stampin .... I'm looking forward to seeing your Brown+1 creations!
(Click HERE to add your project)

Peek-a-boo Mousey

Click HERE for my Sweet Stampin GDT post (use a photo)

And finally for the evening here's another High Hopes cutie which hadn't yet seen ink!  I'd been saving it for Thank You Teacher cards later in the year, but when I saw THIS card in the Splitcoaststampers Featured Stamper (Whoistracey)  I thought I would just keep the book theme.
Coloured with copics and the second layer of the books and apple popped up on dimensionals.  Used a script stamp for the background white paper.

• High Hopes #100 - Anything goes (there's a fab hop on at the minute with amazing prizes, but it ends tomorrow, so you'd need to be quick!)
• Make it colourful #2 - colour with red (I used R27 and R29)
• Tuesday throwdown #31 - Background stamping
• Craft Your Days away #11 - Anything goes
• Crafty Cardmakers #37 - use red and a die cut (I used a Tim Holtz border die)
• Paper Sundaes free choice of challenge for their birthday ... I used #49 - cut it out

Birthday card for Mavis

Click HERE for my Sweet Stampin GDT post (use a photo)

I'm having a lovely time going through 'old' and unused stash and getting some ink on it!  I got this pretty stamp as a freebie from High Hopes, and the little corner stamp too - coloured with copics and some clear gloss and glitter to the flower centres.  Added flower soft added for grass.

• Sketch from Sketch Saturday #138
• The Crafty Pad #104 - Something New - I used my new stamps
• Stampavie and More #124 - Glitter
• Totally Papercrafts #49 - Birthday
• Craft Your Days away #11 - anything goes
• wee Memories WMC39 - ribbon
• Paper Sundaes first birthday celebation .. free choice of challenge, so I've used #29 stitching (real or faux)

Pretty in pink

Click HERE for my Sweet Stampin GDT (use a photo) post

I've been trying to make better use of my stash, so here's a wee Heather Ellis digi that rarerly gets to see the light of day!  Coloured with copics and then the purple highlights covered with clear gloss and glitter. The little irridescent butterflies were stuck first on pink card to match her wee outfit and then cut out.

• Colour combo from SPCC #82 (which I've just noticed I'm too late for ... don't you hate it when that happens!)
• A Spoonfull of Sugar #134 - Thank you
• Top Tip #17 - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz #65 - thank you
• Crazy for Challenges c4c70 - thank you
• Wee Memories WMC39 - ribbon

• Sketch from Stamp TV STVSKSP8

Simple Get Well card

(Click HERE for my Sweet Stampin GDT: use a photo post)

I found this digi in my stash and was soooo tempted to write Get Whale Soon on my card, but unfortunatley I didn't have enough E's in my peeloff stash!  I think this image is a freebie from Stretch'n bubbles but honestly can't remember.  Used my fabby new swirly Tim Holtz embossing folder and a wee bit of stickles for the water.

• Sketch from Clean and Simple #123
• Kaboodle Doodles #49 - Do it with Digis
• I kinda muddled up my colours from Just Us Girls #67 and should have used a different shade of blue

Sweet Stampin GDT: Use a photo

This week's Sweet Stampin challenge is to use a photo, so I thought I'd have an attempt at a scrapbook page which I've never done before.  I won a wee scrapbook album aaaaages ago, but have always been really intimidated by it - I always just lifted it out of the cupboard, looked at it, hummed and haaaed a bit, and then put it back .... but not today! 
This little cutie is my niece doing the laundry, so on the background of my page I used the washing line and flowers from a Practising Creativity set.

Get your photos out that you've been meaning to do something with and play along HERE .... there's a fabby prize from Tiddly Inks up for grabs!

• Sweet Stampin - use a photo
• Paper Sundaes #51 - Circles
• Cupcake Craft #124 - Something new (my new scrapboook)
• Stamp Something - anything goes
• CES Challenge #19 - no designer papers
• Craft Your Days Away #11 - anything goes

Poor tired mojo!

This wee card took aaaaggggeeesss to make!  Think my poor mojo is tired (its been one of those days!) oh well, here it is anyway, hot off the press (the glue hasn't even dried)  Coloured with copic markers, some Smooch Illuminate added to her wee tutu and my Martha Stewart edge and butterfly punches. 

Sorry, no chat in me tonight, just off to get my PJs on and watch Shameless!

• Sketch from The Pixie Cottage #51
• The Crafty Pad - birthday
• Colour combo from The Pink Elephant #91 - pink, orange and aqua
• Flutter by Wednesday #136 - use a butterfly, fairy or angel

Simon Says ... New Beginnings

(Click HERE for my Sweet Stampin GDT post - try something new)

Oh, can you believe its Sunday evening already!  Apologies for the usual Sunday blogger overload, but its just a quickie post as Larkrise to Candleford is on telly (a period drama type thing that's just perfect Sunday evening viewing!)
I seem to be stuck in a High Hopes mood, but I hate having new stamps that haven't been inked.  And I fell foul again to my habit of finding lovely DP and then covering it all up!
Oh well, I love how it turned out! 
Coloured with copics and a few of the elements popped up on dimensionals. I managed to use one of my little wooden ladybugs and my little arrow punch too.

• Simon Says Stamp - new beginnings

• Sketch from CPS Card Sketches #200
• Creative Card Crew - new beginnings
• Tuesday Taggers #1 - new beginnings
• Sarah Hurley #24 - new beginnings
• Wee Memories #38 - use twine on your project

Mojo Hedgehog

(Click HERE for my Sweet Stampin GDT post - Try something new)

Heres a wee quickie card - coloured with copic markers and central panel popped up on dimensionals.

(Stamp from Penny Black)

• Sketch from Mojo Monday challenge #172. 
• Colour combo from iCopic lover #11 - red, brown and cream
• CES Challenge #18 - all creatures great and small
• Marks Finest Papers #37 - embossing
• Paper Sundaes #51 - circles

Birthday Fishes!

Click HERE for my Sweet Stampin GDT post - Try something New

This is another of my new High Hopes stamps ... isn't he just fabulous!  And I'd found this lovely swirly paper in my stash that looked like water ... then I proceeded to cover it all up Doh!  Coloured him with copics and popped up his hat, hands and fish on dimensionals.  The little arrow might look a bit odd but I was down in the craft shop (for the last time ... boo hooo) and bought it so was determined to use it!  I managed to get stocked up with loads of coloured papers, so I should be OK for a while! 

The ribbon is old stuff from my stash and I gave it a ripple by stapling the ribbon - to do this put a strip of DST along your DP, stick the first part of the ribbon down, flip the ribbon back on itself, then staple, then fold the ribbon back for the ripple ... does that make sense?  I saw it done on a tutorial somewhere but can't remember where!

• Sketch from Inspirational Card Sketches #96
• Really Reasonable Ribbon #15 - something new (my stamp and arrow punch) + ribbon
• Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
• Stampin for the Weekend #1 - New and Blue
• Make it Colourful  #1- warm or cool colours (I used the cool blue range)

Sweet Stampin GDT: Try something new!

ETA: I got Top 3 at Monday Lunchtime Challenge with this card!

Sweet Stampin's challenge this week is to Try Something Different.  I've fancied making a pocket card that incorporates a bookmark for ages but hadn't got round to it .... so this was the perfect excuse to try one!  It was sooooo easy that I'll definately be trying it again!

I used a little mousely stamp from High Hopes for my bookmark - coloured with copics and clear gloss and glitter added to the balloon.  I've also added some of this DP to the back of the bookmark to make it a bit sturdier.

So what new technique have you been meaning to try? Get your thinking caps on as we'd like to see you try a new technique, a different colour combo than you would normally play with, whatever you like .... then upload your new creation to Sweet Stampin and check out the DT's fabulous creations while you're there!

• High Hopes #99 - Party Animal
• Sketch from Monday Lunchtime #155
•  My Time to Craft #122 - up in the air
• Charisma Cardz #1 - Birthday / celebrations
• Cute Card Thursday #146 - out with the old (my DP is old stuff from my stash)

What's on Your Workdesk

I haven't shown you my messy table for a while, but I got some new goodies from High Hopes today and thought I'd share them with What's on your workdesk Wednesday! Here's a wee close up ... I was lucky enough to win 3 of these stamps in a recent weekly challenge and I think the others are from their new release.

So of course I couldn't wait to get some ink on these! And first up was the little Xray dude .... coloured with copics and popped up his head and the little mousey.  (The little hanging silver star was a recycled embellie from one of my Mum's Christmas cards)

• Sketch from Splitcoaststampers SC314
• Top Tip Tuesday #16 - add some metal
• Tuesday throwdown #30 - embossing
• Fab'n'Funky #54 - anything goes
• Colour combo from Color Throwdown #123

Super CAS doggy card

Sigh, here we are, the last day of my Christmas hols, back to the grindstone tomorrow.  Oh well, at least its a nice short week. 
Oh and some awful news today from my local craft shop ... THE PAPER MILL IS CLOSING! Felt so sorry for the girls who've worked in the shop for years. I always used them for all my basic white and coloured card stock and wee bits and bobs, so now I'm a bit stuck.  If you're a Northern Irish / UK crafter I'd love to know where you get your card from!

Not much to say about my wee card .... they don't come much more clean and simple than this!  No idea where the DP is from, I've been trying to use these scraps up.  Stamp - Penny Black

• Sketch from Clean and Simple FTL121
• Kaboodle Doodles #48 - anything goes
• Cupcake Craft #123 - mainly white card

Sizzling hot....!

Its such a cold day today (and its sleeting at the moment yeuch!) so I thought I'd make a card that made me feel a wee bit warmer!

I think my Martha Stewart butterfly punch was the best investment of 2010 (I could almost use it on EVERY card I make LOL) and these nestabilities were definately the worst ... I don't know what it is about this shape that I find so hard to use!

Image is a Gorjuss girl from Sugar Nellie.  I've no idea what make this paper is, its sooo old that the cover has long since fallen off! 

• Daring Cardmakers - At The Beach or use Sunny colours
• Craft Your Days Away #10 - Punch it out
• Marks Finest Papers #36 - Use something new (I've been very good recently so my baker's twine from a few weeks ago is probably my newest purchase)
• Crazy4Challenges C4C68 - celebrate something
• Sketch from The Sugar Bowl #50, with the added challenge of embossing