Christmas Shopping

Hi everyone, sorry no cards today as today is the day that I start my Christmas shopping. I'm so tired leaving everything to the last minute, and with so many of the big stores having special offers on I've decided to hit the high street tonight.

I'm finding it harder and harder to buy the right things for the kids at Christmas time that this year I'm going to take Kelsey with me and she can pick what she wants. Granted there will be a few surprises under the Christmas tree for her, but isn't it disappointing and depressing too when all the presents are opened and someone is sitting there with a long face on them - or is that just her hormones??



Anyway, might manage to get something made tomorrow then again might not as the kids are off school for their Halloween break - do they learn anything at school??



Well, when are you doing your Christmas shopping or are you like my OH and leave it to Christmas Eve then get so stressed out that you just buy anything that your hand touches??



Righty oh, I'm away for now, see ya soon Karen xoxo

Sugarbowl Challenge

The challenge this time over at The Sugarbowl is to use lace in your card and follow a sketch. I used one of the images that Steph every so kindly sent me that was on the Papertry ink paper and look at how clear the copics work on it, so I have now ordered some. Thanks Step xoxo

I did invest in some Sugar Nellie stamps when I was over at the SECC last week with Mum, will post the pictures later of all my purchases.

Products Used:

Image: Magna Kids from Sugar Nellie

Papers: DCWV Winter stock & Christmas stock

Inks: Distress Inks & Copics

Other Materials: Perfect Pearls, Glossy Accents, Nestabilities

I had great fund making the background for this image, unfortunately you can't see the perfect pearl snowflakes in red and blue, but they are there. I also did some resist embossing before I covered the card with the distress inks, you can just see the white snowflakes showing through.

Please leave a comment and then I can visit you.

Karen xoxo

Whiff Of Joy Challenge

Morning everyone, sorry I haven't been about as day or two, the computer decided to go on strike and it's taken AOL ages to get it sorted for me. So as it's early in the morning, this is going to be a quick post as I have to get Joe ready for school and me get dressed for work.

This weeks challenge over at Whiff Of Joy was a fantastic sketch by Heather, and as I ordered Henry the Mouse a few weeks ago, I decided to let him out for this one :-)

Henry was coloured in using my faithful copics, the top of his cake was covered with glossy accents and then I sprinkled glitter over it.

The background and the frame for Henry were created using Tim Holtz distress inks, broken china, peeled paint and spiced marmalade. I am having a ball playing with these inks at the moment, I can't get over how many different backgrounds can be used using the same inks, its great fun.

This is the finished card in all its glory, I have to fly now but should be back later today with another posting. Hope you have a good Tuesday xoxo Karen

Our Daily Bread

Good afternoon everyone in Blogger land. I hope the weather where you are at is better than here, nothing but fog, fog and yes more fog. Can't see you finger infront of you so nothing else to do as all housework was finished yesterday but craft, but alas my poor body has other things on its mind, I am now loaded with a bad head cold. I have went through 3 toilet rolls this morning alone so Mr Andrex Puppy, keep the supply coming :-)

So long for me getting the housework done early :-(

Anyway, inbetween sneezes I have managed to finish of this card which follows the sketch by Caryn over at Spoonfull of Sugar challenge and also the Whiff Of Joy challenge this week was to use a die cut.

Now isn't she the sweetest little girl, holding her bread and I wondered what saying would be appropriate for this image and the Lord's Prayer came to mind. Ok I'm loaded with the cold, the weather is poor to say the least but I have a loving family, a roof over my head and plenty of crafty friends, so this is my daily bread.

This is the finished card in all its glory. I distressed the edges of the paper and used faux stitching around the sides that are stuck onto the card. Used my nestabilities for the frame, and wrote the saying myself. The little girl is sitting on a mushroom as I love mushrooms, especially with my saturday night fry up!!

Images: WOJ Girl with bread & WOJ mushroom (both from their autumn kit)

Papers: K & Company

Colours: Copic sketch & Stabilito fine pens

Please leave a comment, good or bad, so I can go and visit your blog, its always nice to know that someone has looked :-)

Pig Out This Xmas

Afternoon all, hope your having a very crafty Thursday!!

Well this is my entry for the challenge over at The Sugar Bowl. You have to follow a sketch by Tiet's and you must include Christmas somewhere in your card. Now at the moment my collection of Sugar Nellie stamps are limited (this hopefully will change after my SECC visit next Friday), so I had to use my imagination a bit here, but I think I covered all the requirements.

I used Porridge the Pig (fab name) for the card and a background stamp that I had from The Papermill. The paper used is Cosmic Cricket and the leather effect ribbon was originally green but I coloured it in using my copic pens, worked a treat and you can still see the effect.

Porridge is coloured in using my copics as is the fireplace. The hart is sakura black glaze and the stockings are glitter and flock. The pressies have been stamped out of the background paper and layered on. Punched out some snow flakes and glittered them up, the center of the flakes and the i's in the sentiment are pink gems.

Well I hope you like my card, it is exactly what I am going to do this Christmas "Pig Out" and enjoy myself, hope you all do the same xoxoxo

Karen

A Spoonfull Of Sugar & Friday Sketchers challenges

Hi everyone and isn't the weather horrible!! So that means more time for me in my craft room yeah!!! This week the theme over at A Spoonfull Of Sugar is Halloween, and I must confess I do like this time of year, all the trick or treaters, fireworks, ghosts and ghouls etc. And over at Friday Sketchers blog they have a fantastic sketch for you to follow, so I decided to combine both challenges and this is the card that I came up with.

Now if Joanna Sheen or any of her friends should be reading this, please do not take offense at the fact that I have coloured in Messy Rabbit green, she is suppose to be a witch and in my eyes all witches are green. A friendly witch I may add is Miss Messy, but still a witch.

I coloured her in using my faithful copics and then put glossy accents over her hat and cloak. She is also a flying witch with her broomstick and I put her onto acetate to give the impression that she is flying past the moon, don't think you can see this to well on the photos. You may be wondering what that thing is in the top right hand corner, well that's Freddie a spider and although he may be very cute and small, he was a right pain to get his legs to go the way I wanted. Naughty spider!!!!

This is a little close up of Freddie, all he is is a bead from a pair of old earrings, some funky foam for his legs, 2 googly eyes and a little white mouth, but he has got to be one of the nicest spiders I have came across, he definitely will not be going up the hoover like all his other annoying little friends who stay rent free in my house!!!

Well I hope you liked my card, please do leave comments as I love to hear what other people think of my interpretation of the sketch and theme.

Come back soon, Karen xoxoxo

40th Wedding Anniversary Cards

Well it was my parent's 40th Wedding anniversary a few weeks ago and I made these cards for them, I just forgot to upload them sooner sorry :-(

The first one I used a picture from their wedding album and made it into an acetate overlay card, stamped a frame using a foliage stamp that I have and placed some peel off gems onto the buds of the flowers, ruby ones of course.This is a close up of how my Mum and Dad looked 40 years ago, must say that my Mum hasn't changed that much but Dad has, he (how can I put this politely) has enjoyed my Mum's cooking over the past years and it does show. Yep that's polite ain't it??
Now this little card I really enjoyed making, it was from my children and although my Mum is now grey, my Dad doesn't have a beard but he would have a slightly receding hair line but not to the extreme as this stamp shows.
Just looking at these cards now you could say that they are before and after cards, but I wouldn't be so bold as to say that now would I ??!!!

Oh my

its 5:39am on Monday morning and I haven't had a wink of sleep yet :-(
The pain in my right leg is so strong that even the painkillers that the doctor gave me aren't working. I thought I was on the mend, but obviously I'm not. Was hoping to go back to work this week but I think that idea has truly gone out the window.
Ah well, will just have to spend another week making some more cards and scrapbook pages, for every negative there is a positive.

Hope your all sleeping well, just think of me and my wonky leg :-)

Karen

Whiff Of Joy Winter Kit

Morning everyone, well over at WOJ they are celebrating their 1st Birthday (happy birthday girls), and to celebrate this event they are having a blog hop. Start at Katharina's blog and follow the links to the other dt divas.

If that isn't enough, Katharina is also giving some lucky person the chance to win the complete new winter kit and although I have already ordered my kit, if I win I will give mine to my Mum, I know your reading this ha ha ha !!! Now to enter all you have to do is click the logo above, I hope this works. You have until the 22nd October to enter the kit giveaway.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE

Spoonfull of Sugar & Stamp with Us challenges

Spoonfull of Sugar's challenge this week is "Christmas". Guess what, I haven't even started my cards yet ..... yes I know I'm leaving it late, note to self, get a move on girl you don't want to be late again this year!!!!

Well to try and get me into the festive mood, I decided not to make a card but a candle as I love candles at Christmas time especially those Cinnamon ones you can get, anyway boy did I really enjoy myself. With all that glitter, ink, paints, etc. oh boy I got very messy and this was the end result ...........

I tried this technique one time before but it didn't turn out as brightly coloured as I had hoped. So this time around I used my copics, and boy do they stand out (picture not doing it justice here). The snowman stamp was one that I bought from The Papermill a few years ago, and I can't remember where I got the Christmas tree one from.

Anyway once they had been stamped onto Sainsbury's finest toilet roll, I then coloured them in, melted the coloured toilet roll into the candle, then the real fun and mess began. I wanted to create a shimmering background but as my twinkling H2O's wouldn't stick to the candle, I mixed it up with some diamond glaze and hey presto, a shimmering background. Glittered some snow onto the little man and ground, then I used glitter onto the trees to make 3d bobbles.

Hope that all makes sense, and yes it has got me into a more festive spirit, well for the mean time anyway. Catch up with you all soon, Karen oxoxo

A little close up of my bobble trees lol :-) Keep smiling xoxo

Found this great new site called Stamp With Us, there challenge this week is "anything but a card", so I decided to enter this candle. Well if your not in it you can't win it ....

Whiff Of Joy challenge

Well, I did tell you that I had been busy today, and this is the second card that I created. I am so happy and proud of my colouring in of this little girl, I honestly think she is the best that I have ever done. What do you think?

Over at the Whiff Of Joy blog the challenge this week is to follow a sketch, and I messed about with it a little bit, not much mind you :-)

As its my young nieces birthday soon (well December, better late than never) I decided that I would make this into her birthday card. Also WOJ are celebrating their birthday, they will be 1 this week, so a BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY to everyone over at WOJ and please keep the challenges coming, I really do enjoy them xoxo

Image: Whiff Of Joy, little girl with cookies (yummy)

Papers: Heidi Grace, Cute Cakes Collection

Colours: Copics as per pic (I remembered this time LOL)

Ink Pads: Cats eye chalks & Versafine

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY WHIFF OF JOY XOXOXO

Sugarbowl Challenge

Hiya everyone, well I have been very very busy today. Trevor took Joe to school at 9am he then proceeded to go to the golf club to have a round of golf ..... therefore I had lots of peace and quiet to catch up on some of my favourite challenges, sorry I've been MIA these past few weeks, but I do have a genuine reason.

Well anyway to try and sweeten my pain of these stitches I tried my hand at the Sugarbowl challenge which was to follow a fab sketch and the "please include" this time was paper piercing. A nice and easy challenge to get me started on my crafting day .......

Image used: Gorjuss Girls set 2

Papers: American Crafts, Tea Cup Selection

Colours: My ever faithful Copics (forgot to take pic :-( sorry!)

Just a nice simple card to get my started on my crafting day ahead of me!!!