Gorjuss double challenge!

Good morning all. I hope you are all keeping well. I am half way through my week off work and am thoroughly enjoying my time off! Lot's of time to craft! :-)

Today's card meets with two of this weeks challenges. I have used the sketch from SCSC and over at Stamp Something the challenge is paper piecing.

I absolutley love paper piecing and don't do it often enough, so this was the perfect opportunity for me! I thought this floral paper was perfect for her dress, just the right size flowers. I also adapted the gorjuss girl image slightly and left out the cat. I love how you can get many different images out of just one stamp.

Materials:

Image: Purrfect Friend from Gorjuss Girl set 1, also available to buy singularly from funky kits, coloured with koh-i-noors and sansodor

Papers: Basic Grey, Eva

Sentiment: Studio G

Tools: distress inks, sponge, nesties

Misc: Adhesive half pearls from stash

Well I think this will be the last post from me until I return from my relaxing break on sunday, so forgive me if I am MIA for a few days. I will catch up with you all on my return home!
I am off to the hairdressers this morning, another treat for me on my week off! I call it a treat as I haven't been for 8 months! I know, it's a long time, but I have very long hair so I can get away without visiting the hairdressers as often. 8 months is pushing it a bit though! Lol!

Have a great day everyone and enjoy the rest of your week!

TTFN

Hugs, Vicky ~x~

A spoon full of winter wonderland!

If you haven't already guessed today's card has been made for 2 of this weeks challenges. I have followed the 'winter wonderland' theme this week over at Winter Wonderland {I haven't used their optional sketch though} and I have followed this weeks sketch over at A Spoon Full of Sugar {and I have rotated their sketch anti clockwise}.


I just adore this image. I bought him last year and can see me getting many years use out of this one! I know we're only in August and I'm already showing you christmas cards, but I left them until the last minute last year and so I wanted to get a head start on them this year. I also have lots of general birthday / thank you cards in my box that I still have to use / sell but still want to enter into the weekly challenges, so though making christmas cards was the perfect opportunity. Most of my christmas stash is up in the loft though, so I am having to make do and mend with what I can find in my craft room. Must send my OH up there soon to get it down! Lol!
I don't know if you can pick it up if you click on the picture but I have added glossy accents to the reindeers nose and snowtex to the ground to give that textured snow effect. I love adding this to my christmas cards!

Materials:

Image: Reindeer and star from Elzybells, coloured with koh-i-noors and sansodor

Papers: DCWV chrsitmas stack {several years old}

CS: DCWV

Sentiment: SU Best Yet set

Tools: distress inks, sponge, nesties

Misc: glossy accents, snowtex, ribbon & star brad from my stash, card candy from craft work cards

Well I hope you like today's offering, please leave me a comment so I know you have been!

Only 2 days until I go off on my pampering break with my mum. I'm trying to get as much crafting done as I can before I leave as I know I will have craft withdrawl whilst I am gone. I am even considering taking some images with me to colour. Is that a bit sad?! If you have never been to Ragdale Hall take a look here, it is just the best place to go and relax!

TTFN

Hugs, Vicky ~x~

Triple Tilda challenge!

Good morning all! The sun is shining and I hope it will stay that way! I think we had more than enough rain yesterday! The card I have to show you today is one I managed to make yesterday and it meets with 3 of this weeks challenges. Well I though I had better get my thinking cap on as I won't be here for 4 days this week so I want to get as many challenges done as I possible before I leave! I am entering it into this weeks Just Magnolia, whose challenge is distressing, Colour Create, where you have to use the colours Orange, Pink and Green and I have used the sketch from Friday Sketchers, although I have rotated the sketch clockwise {so I hope it counts!}.


I have used these gorgeous new stamps from the magnolia Summer kit, the first time I have inked these two up! I think she is just so sweet in her bathing suit, dipping her toes in the water! She must be somewhere abroad as we certainly haven't got the weather for it here in the UK at the minute!
I'm slowly getting used to this distressing technique {I'm usually more of a CAS gal} and have distressed around the image and paper edges with my sponge and distress inks. I also distressed the paper and CS lightly with an emery board. This is about as distressed as I can get! Lol!

Materials:

Image: Tilda and rubber ring from the Summer Kit, coloured with koh-i-noors and sansodor

Papers: MME Bloom & Grow

CS: Coredinations

Flowers: Acrylic Flowers from Making Memories, hand punched with retro punches

Pearls: Papermania brad, Hobby House pearl gems

Sentiment: Studio G

Tools: distress inks, sponge, nesties, retro flower punches

Misc: button, pink thread from my stash

Well I spent most of yesterday in my craft room, I had a lovely day in my own little world and got lots done! Unfortunately I also have a very sore left index finger this morning, lets just say there was a craft knife and lots of blood involved! It's the first time in 3 years that I've had an accident like this whilst crafting, it must have been because I was so engrossed in what I was doing! Lol!

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend! I'm planning on heading back to my craft room for a few more hours again today, although I do have a few house chores to get done today as well! Boo hiss!

Thanks for stopping by to say hi!

Hugs, Vicky ~x~

Blue's not just for boys!

I just can't stop using these beautiful Gorjuss Girls. The new girls from set 3 are now available to purchase individually from funky kits. So what are you waiting for, pop on over and have a look at these cuties!

For todays card I have used the adorable 'little star' image, aint she just the cutest?! I have coloured her with my koh-i-nors and sansodor. The paper is from papermania ' sweet nothings' pack. CS is coredinations and I have run it through my spots and dots folder before distressing it wiht my emery board. The sentiment is from a See D's set and a few little adhesive pearls from my stash to finish!

So there we have it a lovely CAS card. Sometimes I definately believe less is more!

Well it's officially the weekend now and I am so thrilled as I have 9 whole days off of work! I've already been and done the food shopping and the housework was done the other day, so when my OH heads off to work in the morning I am planning on spending many happy hours in my craft room! Yay!

I hope you all enjoy your weekend and the weather stays fine for those of you who are heading outdoors. I will be heading on over to your blogs later for a nosey to see what you've all been up to!

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave me such lovely comments. They really mean so much!

TTFN. Hugs, Vicky ~x~

Tilda for mum!

Morning all. I can at last share with you the card that I made for my mum's birthday! We had a lovely time on saturday at the garden party and fortunately the rain stayed away {until sunday at least!}.I used some of my favourites, pearls {as I do on most of my cards lately}, so I am entering in into this weeks stamp with fun challenge. It also meets with this weeks theme over at My Time To Craft which is 'floral frenzy'


I used a couple of the new magnolia stamps from the summer kit, masking tilda to stamp the flowers behind her. I coloured her with my distress inks and sponged some more distress inks below her feet to create a soil effect {hopefully!}. The butterfly I have stamped is from PB and I added a little glitter to it's wings. The papers are from the gorgeous apsparagus MME pack. The spotty paper is gorgeous, it is embossed and gives a lovely texture to the card. The scalloped edges at the bottom of the card were punched with my SU scalloped border pucnch which I got from the lovely Jules. The sentiment is from a See D's set and I have cut it out with some nestie labels. The flowers are from prima, the pearl brads and specers from my stash. The three pearls underneath the sentiment are from my gorgeous stash of pearls I got from Elaine!

The cards I show you over the next few days will be cards I made a while ago. I'm not having a very good week. It started on monday when my dad told me they had had to have our family cat put to sleep. He was 20 and hadn't been well for some time but it is still an upsetting time for us all. Then on top of that I am having the worst time at work lately and it is starting to get me down. Anyone who works for the NHS will probably know where I'm coming from! I've felt that worn out I just haven't felt like any crafting these past few days. Good job I have some cards in reserve to show you! Lol!

Well I only have 3 more days at work and then I have a whole week off. I can't wait for some R&R. Me and my mum are going to Ragdale Hall next week for 3 days and some much needed pampering. We went the other year and absolutely love it there!

Well I'd best shift my behind and go get ready for work!

I hope you all have a good day. TTFN.

Hugs, Vicky ~x~

Cute Card Thursday V's Friday Sketchers!

Morning all. Well today's card was made with two challenges in mind. The challenge over at cute card thursday is to use eyelets, which I admit I don't use very often and I have combined this with the sketch over at friday sketchers, which I have rotated to fit my image better!

This adorably cute CC image was sent to me in a recent RAK I won from Leanne, thanks so much hun! I coloured her with my koh-i-noor pencils and sansodor before adding lots of glamour dust to her wings {hope you can see this better in the close up}. The delish papers are MME Bloom & Grow again, sorry it you're getting fed up of seeing these but I still LOVE them! CS is coredinations and I have distressed it with my emery board. I set the eyelets with my cropodile before threading ribbon through. The sentiment is PB and the flowers, pearls and brad are from my stash!

Well I hope you like it, sorry about the poor lighting, it's been so dingy these last few days, where has our summer gone? I can assure you the colours re much more vibrant IRL! I'd best get ready for work now, but I shall be back tonight to have a look what you've all been up to over the weekend!

For those who asked, I had a wonderful time at my mum's garden party. She seemed to have a really good time with all her close friends and family!

TTFN

Hugs, Vicky ~x~

Distressing can be gorjuss!

A good saturday morning to you all! The sun is shining and hopefully it will be a beautiful day, as I am going to a garden party at my mum's today to celebrate her 50th birthday tomorrow!

Well I am still on a high after being invited to be on the Sugar Nellie DT, it's just a shame that my friends and family don't understand how important this is to me, I think they are starting to get fed up of me talking about it! Lol!

Today's card was made for this weeks Creative Inspirations challenge of distressing. Although I love the CAS look I justed wanted to prove that you can still do CAS with distressing!


I just had to use another of the gorjuss girls from set 3 {sent to me by the lovely Bernie}, I just can't stop using them, they're so adorable! I coloured her in with my koh-i-noor pencils and sansodor before cutting her out with my craft knife, adhered to card base with 3d foam for added dimension! The papers are from the MME asparagus paper pack, just so yummy! The ribbon is from hobby craft (49p for 5m!). I made the frame from white CS before embossing it with a cuttlebug folder and adding distress inks. The sentiment is from HOTP and to finish it off, yet more capaccino pearls! Gorjuss girls and pearls seem to be my favourite combination at the moment! Lol!

Thanks to everyone who continue to send their congratulations and well wishes, your lovely comments mean so much to me! I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I hope to catch up with you all tomorrow whan I get back from my mums!

Hugs, Vicky ~x~

The most gorjuss day!

Well as a lot of you now know Karen has asked me to become a permanent member of the sugar nellie DT! As you can imagine I am over the moon and have been dying to tell people {other than my OH and my mum!}, so am so glad I can finally tell you all properly! Thank you for all the well wishes and congratulations I have already had, I cannot tell you how much they mean to me. I almost didn't apply for the DT call as I didn't think I had a chance to be honest, I have been a guest designer for them previously, but there are so many talented ladies {and gentlemen} out there I though it was a really long shot! Boy am I glad I decided to enter. Sugar Nellie stamps are just my all time my favourites, Maggie with flowers was my first ever stamp purchase so this is like a dream come true for me!

Congrats to all the other DT members who have been chosen, I feel honoured to be chosen alongside you as you are all so talented. I look forward to starting my DT work and hopefully making some cards which will inspire others out there!


So onto today's card which I made to celebrate my new position. I though it only appropriate that I use one of the wonderful Gorjuss Girls from the new set {available at funky kits}, which Bernie kindly sent me! I just LOVE the gorjuss girls as I know many of you do too!

I coloured her with my koh-i-nor pencils before cutting her out with my nesties and the out of bounds technique. The sentiment is Hero Arts and the papers are from the new BG lemonade pad, these are just so yummy! CS is coredinations and has been distressed with an emery board. Pearls/brad/flower spacer/Prima flowers are all from my stash and I recycled the twine from a clothing tag! I also followed the sketch over at Simon Says Stamp this week so I will be entering it over there!

Well that's enough for now, a bit of a long winded post from me tonight, hope you're all still with me and have not dropped off to sleep! Lol! I'm going to have a little wander around blog land now and see what you've all been up to!

Thanks for stopping by and for all your lovely comments. TTFN!

Hugs, Vicky ~x~

Good Morning!

Well it is a great start to the morning for me. I've just found out I've won Leanne's RAK she was giving away. She has made a wonderful paper bag card and I am hoping it will inspire me to try one myself!

I also have some very exciting news that I can't wait to share with you all but I must keep it to myself atm! Hopefully I'll be able to let you all know really soon {before I burst}!

Well I'd best get myself off to work. I'll be back later today with a card for you.

Have a great day!

Hugs, Vicky ~x~

A Gorjuss Sugar Bowl!

When I saw the prize over at The Sugar Bowl I just had to have a go. There is a wonderful sketch to follow by Gayle and you have to include ribbons and bows somewhere on your creation! I just love this sketch. I know some people have felt that it is a little too simple for their taste but I LOVE it. I'm more of a CAS girl myself anyway!


I just love these new GG's from the third set. I am a little short on craft money at the minute and these have had to go on my wish list but the wonderful Bernie has sent me a few of these images to keep me going! I think this image has to be one of my favourites {if not my absolute favourite} from the new set. I coloured her with my koh-i-nors and sansodor, glittering her wings before adding some glossy accents {not sure if the pic picks this up!}. The yummy papers are from the Bloom & Grow MME 6x6 pack, CS is DCWV. I have inked the edges of paper/CS with distress inks for extra definition. Faux stitching added around the edges by pricking holes with my pokey tool and using my white sakura pen. The cappucino pearls are beautiful and I got them from Elaine at Quixotic Paperie. You can get a bag of 100 for just 85p, which I think is just fab as I LOVE my pearls at the minute and with 100 in a bag I don't have to be too frugal with them! The sentiment is a cheapie rubber stamp that I picked up from a craft show last year. They had a special offer of 6 wood mounted rubber stamps for just £5! I was a bit dubious at the time as the quality didn't look that great but I have to say they stamp beautifully, so a real bargain!! Well I have to confess I finished the card and then realised that I hadn't included the additional 'ribbons & bows' and I so want to be in with a chance of winning the gorgeous manga anime stamps. Soooo I found this cute little ribbon bow on another embellie that I had, I pinched it and added it to the top right corner. To say it wasn't planned I think it actually look ok! I did try to put it in her hair or on the front of her dress but I didn't think it looked right in the end!

Well that's it for me this morning. Just got time to have a quick blog hop before work. I didn't get chance to have a look around yesterday as we went to see Harry Potter last night after work, bit dissapointed with it really, not as good as some of the others!

Have a great day, whatever you're up to! Thanks for stopping by to say hi!

Hugs, Vicky ~x~

It's a girl!

I have made today's card for a girl at work who is leaving this week to go on maternity leave. She already knows she is having a girl so the colour theme was an easy one! It also meets with three of this weeks challenges. I used the sketch over at Papertake Weekly, spots and stripes which is the theme at Secret Crafter Saturday and over at PB this week they want to see soft and sweet!



The sweet PB image was kindly sent to me by one of my blogging friends and I coloured it in with my koh-i-noor pencils and sansodor. I also added glossy accents to the daisy centers and glitter to the butterflies wings. Cut out with my oval nesties and the out of bounds technique. The CS is coredinations and the papers from papermania. I used my worn lipstick distress inks to sponge ink around the edges of the paper and CS. I added a few little pearls to the outer corners to finish.

Well the weather doesn't look so good here today so I think I'll head off to my craft room! My OH is in bed as he's on nights, so he'll have some peace and quiet if I'm in there! Lol!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and thanks for stopping by to take a look at what I've been up to!

TTFN.

Hugs, Vicky ~x~

Christmas in July!!

Well there is another christmas challenge to do this week this time over at cute card thursday. I am well ahead of myself with christmas cards this year, so at least it won't be a last minute rush like last year!


I used the beautiful Anya from the rain, shine, snow set and coloured her with my koh-i-noor pencils and sansodor. After cutting her out with my craft knife, I attached her to the matt with 3d foam. Matt was cut out with my nesties. CS is from coredinations. I have embossed the white CS with the cuttlebug snowflake folder, I just LOVE LOVE LOVE this folder and have used it so much! If you don't own this folder may I suggest that you buy it, it will be the best £3.50 you have ever spent on making your christmas cards! The sentiment is from craftwork cards and I have added a little glitter around the border. I also added gitter to her earmuffs and fur trimming!

I have been given this wonderful award by the very sweet and talented Sandra. Thanks so much San for thinking of me, you really are so kind and I am delighted that you though of me.


I would like to pass this award onto several people who I consider to be my blogging friends and whose blogs and designs continue to inspire and amaze me every day.

• Janny
• Tab
• Jill
• Michelle
• Carole

Thanks so much ladies for sharing your designs with us all. Keep up the great work!


Well the weekend is finally here and for once I am not working it! If the weather stays this torrential over the weekend I can see me getting a lot of crafting done! Hope you all have a fab weekend whatever you're up to!

Thanks for stopping by to say hi!

Hugs, Vicky ~x~

Beautiful Anya!

Evening all. Another beautiful day here in Yorkshire. So to reflect the sunny weather we've been having I though I would make a lovely bright sunny card! I used the sketch from this weeks friday sketchers, love it!

I coloured the beautiful Anya in with my koh-i-noor pencils and sansodor and I used the out of bounds technique to cut her out with my rectangular nesties. I inked around the edges with my distress inks and a sponge. The CS is from coredinations and the papers are a mixture of sweet nothings from papermania and Bloom and Grow from MME. I took a trip to The Range yesterday and saw that they have started to stock these delish MME papers so I just had to buy another 6x6 pack, well it would have been rude not to!! Lol! The sentiment is a freebie from papermania, the flowers are prima and the pearl brads are also from papermania {my absolute favourite craft item at the minute}! I also added a touch of glossy accents to her headband and shoes to finish, not sure if you can pick it up on the pic though!

I really enjoyed making this card and just love this combination of colours. I wouldn't have though they would have matched but I have been left pleasantly surprised!

Well I've had a busy day at work so I'm off to have a relaxing bath and then an early night! Hope you are all well!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs, Vicky ~x~

CAS Gorjuss girl!

Evening all! Well I have been busy working for the past 7 days so not muct time for crafting! I did manage to make my mums birthday card over the wekeend but I won't be able to post it until after the 26th as she is a visitor to my blog and I don't want to spoil the surprise! So today's card is a card I made for Shary a while back now to say thank you for some images she sent me.


I used one of the images from the GG2 set, coloured with my distress inks and cut out before matting it onto my matt with 3d foam. I am not too keen on the skull in her hair so I covered it with a flower gem, much prettier! I just love GG images and I adore the images in set 3 but I have spent far too much on craft stash lately and will just have to save up for them!! The CS is coredinations, the paper from Basic Grey {sorry I can't remember which pad, maybe sugared!}. The sentiment and the scalloped border punch I used to create the scalloped border are both from SU and available from the wonderful Jules! I just love the CAS look, I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I do sometimes agree with the old addage less is more. Although lately my cards have had less and less visible 'white' on them!! Lol!

Well it's my DO tomorrow. I've got to take a trip into Leeds to take something back but then I'm hoping to have some crafty time!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and leave me such lovely comments. I really appreciate each and every one of your comments!

Hugs, Vicky -x-

These are a few of my favourite things!!

Good morning all! The sun is shining and it looks like it going to be a beautiful day. The only fly in the ointment this weekend is that I am working! :-( I hope it won't be too busy! The theme over at papertake weekly this week is 'favourite things'. Well for me the list is endless but here is a card I made using some of my favourite craft items and crafting techniques. I also used the technique of paper peicing {which is a favourite of mine} and which also meets with the challenge over at Simon says stamp this week. After I'd completed this card I also discovered {accidentally} that it aslo meets with this weeks challenge over at a spoonful of sugar, which is 'hearts'. I love it when you are able to combine challenges on a card, time is such a precious comodity for me at the moment. Why oh why do we have to work! Lol!


One of my favourite stamp designers at the moment is Leanne Ellis. I adore these stamps of her {by sugar nellie available at funky kits}, they are so easy to use, and so cute! I have coloured her in with my fabulous koh-i-noor pencils and sansodor, and it is the first time I have used this 'luvvie' image to give her blonde hair {Shes's normally a brunette}, I think it suits her! I have paper peiced the heart with papers from the sweet nothing range by papermania. I have also added a pearl to the flower in her hair {I adore pearls at the minute as well and they appear on nearly all of my projects!}. The CS is coredinations and I have distressed it with an emery board. The sentiment is from Elzybells {the everyday greetings set, another favourite of mine at the minute}. I created the scalloped edge to the card with my SU border punch and added the holes with my cropodile.

Well that's all from me for now, best finish my breakfast and head off to work. I'll be having a look at all your wonderful creations when I get home from work tonight!

Have a great weekend whatever you're up to and thanks for stopping by!

Hugs, Vicky -x-

First summer magnolia kit card!

This is the first card I ahve made with my new stamps from my summer magnolia kit. It's the first time I've ordered this kit direct from Magnlolia and I can't believe what amazing value it is! It's a bit leathal really as I can see myself ordering every one of these kits from now on! Lol! I also used the sketch over at friday sketchers this week!

I masked this gorgeous tilda so I could sit her on the logs and its' the first time I've used this technique. I love the final effect, so clever! I coloured the image with my koh-i-noors, getitng better at this, although the sky could be a bit better! The beautiful papers are from the MME Bloom & Grow pad again. I just LOVE these papers. CS is from coredinations and I embossed the green CS with a cuttlebug folder. The sentiment is also from the manolia summer kit and the legless brads are from craft work cards and I have added a little glossy accents to them.

Well I hope you like! My OH is out with the boys tonight so time for me to hit the craft room I think! Lol!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs, Vicky -x-

Butterfly Tilda!

Evening all! Today's card was made for three of this weeks challenges. I used the sketch over at sketch saturday and also added some faux stitching around the edges of the card to meet with cute card thursdays challenge of ' a stitch in time'. I also used three of the challenge colours over at simon says stamp this week, yellow, orange and green!

I used this beautiful Tilda image that was sent to me by my wonderful friend Janny! Thanks so much hun, you are just the best! I coloured her in with my new koh-i-noor pencils and sansodor {I'm getting better at this technique the more I practice it and I love the effect!} before cutting out with my nestie labels. The fabulous papers are from the stunning MME Bloom and Grow papers which I got from Elaine! I just LURRVE these papers!! CS is coredinations. I have added faux stitching around the edges of the card with a faux stitch stamp that is part of a HOTP stamp set. The flowers are prima and the flower centers are legless brads from craftwork cards with a little glossy accents added to finish! Almost forgot to say the sentiment is from Hero Arts!

I really love how this cards turned out, not normally the sort of colours I use but I htink they look so summery. It makes a change from me using pink all the time! Lol!

Well I've got to get off now, my tea is ready! Lucky for me my OH has cooked tonight, but it does mean I will have to do the washing up! :-( I will be back later {after tea and washing up} to have a lok at what you've all been up to!

Hugs, Vicky -x-

Papertake weekly new home card!

I just adore the sketch over at Papertake weekly this week so I couldn't wait to give it a go! It also gave me the perfect excuse to dive into some new stash I got this week! Yes I know, even more stash, don't tell my oh! Thank goodness they all arrived when he was at work, now he'll never know! Lol! And for those of you who have left me comments, my summer magnolia kit arrived on friday morning so I have also been playing with that and will have some cards to show you throughout the week!


I just love this Elzybells stamp and haven't used it in a while so thought I'd make a new home card to go in my box! I coloured the image with my new Koh-i-noor pencils and Sansodor which I also got from Elzybells. The delicious papers are from the new MME Wild Asparagus pack which I got from Elaine's new on line shop Quixotic Paperie. Please head over and take a look. She has some gorgeous stash for sale and the customer service is excellent, so thankyou Elaine I shall be shopping again with you really soon I'm sure!! I inked all the edges of the papers with my distress inks and a sponge. The tab was handmade and the sentiment is also from Elzybells, the Everyday greetings set. This clear set is just amazing. You can get so many sentiments from it I can't ever imagine ever being stuck for a sentiment ever again!

Well I hope you've all enjoyed your weekend! The weather has been glorious and I am a little disapointed we didn't make plans to do anything. That's the last time I listen to the BBC weather, they said it was going to rain all weekend! I've also been shopping today to try and find an outfit for my brothers wedding in august with very little sucess! I musn't panic though, lots of time yet!!

Thanks for stopping by and leaving me a comment, I really appreciate it!

Hugs, Vicky -x-

Happy Birthday Jules!!

It is the wonderful Jules' birthday today. Happy birthday Jules!! I get all my fabulous SU goodies from Jules and she holds the best workshops with yummy homemade cupcakes. I am so lucky that I live close enough to attend her workshops! So here is the birthday card I made for her. I put a few anya images in the card as I know Jules likes these and doesn't have any of the stamps!

I used this gorgeous Henry stamp from WOJ and coloured it with my distress inks and whispers pens. Cut out with nesties. The papers are BG and I have embossed the base CS with the swiss dots folder. I created the scalloped border with my SU punch. The sentiment is from HOTP. Flowers are a mix of prima and hand punched and the adesive pearls are from papermania.

I hope you have a fab day Jules and have got lots of lovely cards and pressies!

Well today is my day off, the first of four! I have got all my fingers and toes crossed that my Magnolia summer kit lands on my doorstep today as I am itching to get my hands on them and make a card. They look so sweet! Those of you who already have yours are lucky, lucky, lucky!!

I hope you all have a fantastic friday, and a great start to your weekend! It should be a little cooler today for us all!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and say hi!

Hugs, Vicky -x-

Double trouble!!

Evening all! Wow what a scorcer it's been today, I know I shouldn't complain but I have been so warm at work. We don't have a summer uniform so I have still been wearing my tunic and trousers and I have been sweltering. I just hope it stays this nice until friday when my days off start!

Well onto today's card. I am entering this card into two of this weeks challenges. I have followed the sketch over at Just Magnolia which was designed by the fabulous Bev and I have also used the colours over at colour create this week which are Pistachio green, aqua and powder pink!


The image was given to me by a blogging friend some time ago and I coloured her with my whispers. Papers are from the sparkly sweet K& CO pad. CS is coredinations. The scalloped border was created with my SU punch and the sentiment also from SU, available from the fabulous Jules. Flowers are prima and pearl brads from papermania. Apologies for the picture quality and the wonkiness!! I've been working for the past 11 day straight and the lights not so good when I get home {and neither are my photography skills}! LOl!

For all of you who have ordered the magnolia summer kit the news is it's on it's way! Some lucky people have recieved their's aready! Hope mine arrives tomorrow in time for my four days off! Although I can't complain too much I did have a parcel waiting for me from Jules when I got home, some more lovely SU stamps!!

Well sorry for the long winded post. I'd best get off now and get the tea on ready for the OH coming home from work!

Thanks for taking the time to stop on by!

Hugs, Vicky -x-

Feeling the blues!!

I love the sketch over at friday sketchers this week so couldn't wait to give it a go! But I wanted to use some different colours to my norm {ie not pink/green/brown} so I opted for blue, more to prove to myself that you can still make a girly card with the colour blue!

I coloured the gorgeous Miss Anya image with my new Koh-i-noor pencils and Sansodor that I got from Elzybells. I think it's going to take me a while to get the hang of these, more practice is what I need!! I cute her out with my nesties and inked the edges. Papers were free with a magazine. CS is coredinations and I have added faux stitching with a white sakura pen. The scalloped edges were done with my SU border punch. The sentiment is from the 'everyday greetings' clear set again from Elzybells! I love this new set, there are so many sentiments you can create with this one! Flowers are from Prima and the pearl brads are from my stash!

Well I am really pleased with this card and am loving the blues, for once!!

How warm has it been today and it's only set to get hotter over the next few days!!

Thanks for stopping by to say hi!

Hugs, Vicky -x-

Mojo monday!

When I saw the sketch over on mojo monday I knew I wanted to have a go this week as I thought it was just my style! So this is what I came up with:

I coloured my GG image with distress inks before cutting her out with my rectangle nesties. The edges of the CS were also inked with distress inks and my sponges. I ran the kraft card through the swiss dots folder. The sentiment is from the 'Best Yet' set from SU. The gorgeous red gingham ribbon was one of my buys at last weeks craft fair. 20m for only £3!! I love this ribbon with these colors and think it will work realy well for my christmas cards!

Well I hope you're all enjoying your weekend! I am working this weekend so I've not long been in, just had some tea and now I'm catching up on some blogging befoer an early night! Got a 7.15 start in the morning!

Thanks for stopping by everyone and for any comments you may leave, I really appreciate each and every one of them! TTFN!

Hugs, Vicky -x-

Sweet as Sugar!

Evening all! What a beautiful day it had been here in Yorkshire. Hope you've had a lovely day wherever you are! Well I really wanted to enter The Sugar Bowls challenge this time around as the prize is the whole set of the new gorjuss girls, set 3, not yet released!! What a totally fab prize!! So in celebration of this prize I have used one of my trusty GG images from set 1! I just love them. I followed the sketch designed by Lilian and also the added extra of using Kraft. I just can't get enough of this at the moment! It seems to be appearing on almost all of my cards! I also used the colour combo over at SCS this week which is pink and green!

I coloured this wonderfully 'gorjuss' image in with my distress inks and cut her out with my curved rectangle nesties. The papers are from BG two scoops pad and papermania. CS is kraft. Felt flower is from making memories and the others are my new prima hydranga flowers. Pearl brad from my stash. Sentiment is from Craft work cards. Adhesive pearl gems were one of my purchases from the Hobby House stall at the craft fair last weekend! I distressed all the edges of my CS and sentiment with my distress inks and a cosmetic sponge, my new discovery of this week! Such a great technique!!

I really enjoyed making this card and I loved using this sketch, now I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed that I might be the lucky winner of the new GG set 3!!

Off for my tea now, yummy homemade lasagne, my favourite meal of all time!!

Thanks for stopping by. TTFN!

Hugs, Vicky -x-

Just Magnolia meets Friday Sketchers!

My wonderful friend Jill gave me this lovely tilda image yesterday and I just couldn't wait to ink her up. So I though I would use her to make a card for two of this weeks challenges. I have used the sketch from friday sketchers and I am also entering it into this weeks Just Magnolia challenge, whose theme is 'summer'. Well ladybugs reming me of summer so I thought this tildas was perfect!

I paper pieced her apron and boots and coloured the remainder of her with distress inks. I also added glossy accents to the ladybug before cutting her out with my new labels nesties. The spotty paper is from the DCWV christmas stack. CS is mix of coredinations and kraft CS. I embossed the bottom of the kraft CS with a cuttlebug border folder and added distress inks to make it pop a little! The sentiment is from a See D's set. The felt flower is making memories and I also punched out a retro flower with my xcut punch before I embossed it with the swiss dots folder. I used one of new spacers from 'The Hobby House' and added a pearl brad to finish.

Well I've had a hectic day at work, going to have some tea and then maybe a bit of blog hopping before an early night me thinks!

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs, Vicky -x-

Two new awards... Thank you!

I have been given a few awards over the past few days. The first is from my wonderful blogging friend Janny. Her blog and designs are just so inspirational, so if you haven't visited yet please pop over and say hello!


I now have to pass this award on to people who I think deserve it. I am sending it to people who have been very supportive of my blog and have became my blogging friends.

• Sandra
• Kim
• Tab
• Jill
• Tara
• Katy
• Vicki
• Bev
• Michelle
  

Thank you so much ladies for your support and comments over the past year ladies they have all meant so much to me.

The second award is from the wonderful Claire. Claire is quite new to blogging but she creates the most gorgeous cards, please pop over and take a look!

the rules of this award are that I must thank the person who sent it to me, tell you 7 honest things about myself and pass this award on, so here we go................. 7 honest things about me.......

1. I am a complete craftaholic and need to spend at least an hour a day in my craft room, oterwise I get withdrawal sypmtoms! Lol!
2. I have recently lost 3 stone by going to weight watchers
   
3. I have a crush on peter andre.... not cool I know but I think he is so sweet!
4. I am obsessed with buying bags, it used to be radley, but lately I have a nica obsession!
5. I am a chocoholic and have to have chocolate in some form every day {which makes the 3 stone weight loss a bit of a miracle!!}!
6. I got engaged this march in Kenya on my 3oth birthday! My boyfirned is my world and I cannot wait to become his wife!
7. I am a bit of a beauty junkie and I love Molton Brown, L'Occitane & Liz Earle products!

I would like to pass this award onto a few of my blogging buddies across the pond who are the best and always leave me the sweetest messages.

Janny

Claudia Rose

Well that's it from me this morning, best get off to work now, I will be back later with card though! Have a good day!

Hugs, Vicky -x-

Fantastic Weekend!!

Afternoon all! I have had a wonderful weekend, I thought I should warn you that this post may be a bit long winded as I have lots to tell and show you!

Firstly I went to Jule's SU class yesterday afternoon and had a fantastic time. Jules is a wonderful hostess and even made a coffee and walnut cake and some delicious muffins!! Here is what we made:

I love the opening of this card and we even decorated the inside!!

Then we made a waterfall card {think this is what you call this style}!

And finally a card made with a tie template from craft work cards.

So after a fabulous afternoon of making these cards, and having a laugh with Jill, Julie did a raffle for those who had placed an order and I won this lovely prize:


Some fab SU CS, papers and ribbons, perfect for making some male cards with! Thanks so much Jules!

Then today I have been to Stamp Magic at the Doncaster Dome with my mum! I met the lovely Bev, who was demonstrating on the Hobby House stall. It's so nice to put a face to a name {&blog}!! Well I stuck to my budget and even came back with £5 to spare, that's my birthday money all spent now though!! Lol! Here's a few pics of the lovely goodies I got!

I got some yummy prima fowers, spacers and charms from the Hobby House, along with a pot of what can only be descibed as 'crushed glass', it gives a lovely sugared crystal effect which can be seen here on the snowflakes on a card that Bev has made .

Some more nesties to add to my ever expanding collection {I really don't think I can possibly have that many more to collect now!} Lol!

I also got some staple items, CS, cello bags, EZ mount, envelopes etc that aren't so interesting to look at so I've not bothered showing you them!! Lol!

Hope you've all had a wonderful weekend in the sun. I'm off now to do a bit of hopping and to go and play with my new goodies before bedtime!

Thanks for stopping by and leaving comments. I really appreciate it!

Hugs, Vicky -x-

You win some... You lose some!

I made this card to fit with two of this weeks challenges. I am just in the nick of time for the sketch saturday challenge this week, but I'm a day late with the second challenge, last weeks Cute Card Thurday which was quotations! Oh well here it is anyway!


I rotated the sketch anti-clockwise. The image is the adorable 'Luvvie' by Leanne Ellis, available at Funky Kits. I just adore these images, they stamp beautifully and are so easy to colour! I coloured her with my whispers pens adding chalk around the edges. Papers are BG, black CS used to matt & layer. The ribbon was part of a candy win from the lovely Bev. The sentiment is from a K&Co kit I bought from QVC ages ago and have barely used. The swirl stamps are from a HOTP kit and the adhesive pearl are papermania {a favourite of mine at the minute}. Now this card is a bit different to my usual style and I'm not to sure whether I like it. The longer I leave it, the more I'm warming to it though!

Well I have a fun filled weekend ahead of me that I am really looking forward to. I am off to Julie's SU workshop tomorrow where the theme is 'you've got male'! Really looking forward to it as we always have such fun and I will also get chance to catch up wth the lovely Jill. Jules is a fab host and even provides home made cakes with a cup of tea! Yummy!! Then saturday night I am going out for a family meal in Doncaster to one of our favourite restaurants, 5 whole courses!! Food is my next big passion after crafting! Lol!

Sunday morning me & my mum are going to The Doncaster Dome for Stamp Magic, where I am hoping to say hello to the wonderfully fabulous Bev who will be on the Hobby House stall. I have my new craft stash funds all ready and waiting to be spent!! Then Sunday afternoon back home to Leeds to have a play with all my new stash!! Pheww! Think I'll be exhausted by monday morning when I have to go back to work!

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend whatever you're all up to. I will catch up with you all on sunday night when I get back! Thanks for stopping by, TTFN!

Hugs, Vicky -x-

Friday Sketchers meets sugar nellie!

This is the card I have made for this weeks friday sketchers challenge, almost forgot to post it, but luckily I'm just in the nick of time!! I will apologise again in advance for the poor lighting in the pic, what's happened to all the lovely sunshine!

I love this cute sugar nellie image. My mum has this stamp and gave me a few of these images! I coloured her with distress inks and whispers pens, with a few white sakura pen accents here and there! I cut her out and mounted her with 3d foam. The paper is BG, and CS is a mix of coredinations and kraft CS. The beautiful image is from the Sincere Salutations set from SU, which you can order from the wonderful Jules. The flowers are a mixture of prima and hand punched, buttton and brads from my stash. The spotty ribbon is one of my recent purchases from hobbycraft. I found it in the sale box, 3m for 49p. I love it so much I have to confess I bought 12 rolls!! But there is a method behind my madness. I want to use this ribbon when I finally get around to making my wedding invites so wanted to get plenty!

Well I've got to dash, it's my Weight Watchers meeting tonight. I am at goal now after recently losing 3 stone, but I want to keep going to keep myself motivated and to stop myself from putting it back on, perish the thought!

Hope you're all well, thanks for stopping by! TTFN!

Hugs, Vicky -x-

Winter wonderland!

The challenge this week over at Winter Wonderland is 'Let it snow'. Last year my christmas cards were made in a bit of a last minute rush so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get started early! This is the second christmas card I've made now this year, a good start me thinks!!

I coloured my GG image with distress inks and whispers pens before cutting out and mounting with 3D foam. Added onto a matt cut out with nesties. CS is coredinations and I embossed the white CS with my cuttlebug snowflake folder, I just love this, such a fab investment! The sentiment is from Craft work cards and I cut the surrounding CS matt freehand. Quite a simple card but I'm pleased with it! My OH said 'what's a fox got to do with christmas?', but I think this image has a lovely wintery feel to it and works perfectly on a christmas card! What do men know anyway!! Lol!

Look what I received in the post today from my lovely friend Janny!


Such a beautiful, detailed card filled with some gorgeous Tilda images. If you haven't visited Janny's blog please head over and have a look, her creations are just stunning and are stitched inside and out! Sorry about the poor lighting in the pic's the weather's been rubbish the past few days, wet and dull!

Well I've had an exhausting day at work so am going to have some tea, a quick blog hop and then an early night! Thanks to everyone who has sent me well wishes, I am feeling a lot better today!

Thanks for stopping by. TTFN!

Hugs, Vicky -x-

Double Challenge Father's day card!

Well this is the other father's day card that I have made, this time it's for my FIL. I am entering it into this weeks Stamptacular Sunday Challenge which is themed 'fabulous fathers' and also Secret Crafter Saturdays challenge whose theme this week is 'in the jungle'.

Well yet again I have dug out my stampendous birthday changuito stamp, this one has definately paid for itself!! Lol! Coloured with distress inks. I have paper peiced the central sentiment which is from a hero arts set. The CS is coredinations, run through swis dots folder and distressed with brown ink and the paper is BG Arahic. 'Dad' was created on my dymo machine, brads from my stash. I cut out the image with my curved rectangle nesties and matted it onto Coredinations CS after watching Bev's tutorial. Thanks so much for this Bev!!

Well not a great start to the week for me. I was really unwell last night with severe abdominal pain so went to the GP with it this morning. I have been suffering with it for years really and it comes on every few months. Turns out my GP thinks it's a grumbling appendix and has referred me to a specialist at the local hospital. Still feel a bit off it today, but at least the pain has subsided. An early night for me I think!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by!

Hugs, Vicky -x-

Colour create Anya!

Morning all! What a beautiful sunshiney day it is! Well I had a fab time in York yesterday and last night, spent a lovely afternoon drinking down by the river, wonderful! Onto my card for this weeks colour create challenge where the theme is to use the colours bush pink, lilac and moss green. Not much moss green on my card admittedly, more lilac and pink but it is still there!

I have used one of my new Anya images, paper pieceing her umberella and coat. I have used my distress inks and whipers to colour. Cut out with my curved rectangle nesties. CS is coredinations, paper is from papermania. The sentiment is from a 'smirk' clear stamp set and I have recycled the heart buttons, they were off of some slippers I had last year! Don't you just love finding and recycling bits from around the house that you can use in your crafting!


Before I go I just want to tell you that Elzybells are having a birthday celebration to celebrate the first anniversary of their blog, with special offers on stamp sets, competitions and 10% off all orders in June! Head on over to the Elzybells blog and shop and take a look! I just love their stamps and the service Elizabeth gives is amazing!!

Well I hope you all enjoy the glorious sunshine today whatever you're up to! I think I'm going to have an easy day today, still feeling a tad fragile after yesterdays drinking session!

Thanks for stopping by to visit I really appreciate it!

Hugs, Vicky -x-

Lot and lots of lovely candy.....

... around at the moment! Bev and Rach are offering one lucky winner the chance to win a stamp that has been donated from Simon says stamp, so what are you waiting for, head on over and take a look!

Katharina is also giving away some candy, 2 surprise packages filled with stamps of the new Whiff of Joy Wedding and Baby collection designed by Elisabeth Bell. She also has the whole range of new stamps on her blog so head on over and take a peek!

Elaine also has some gorgeous candy including Leanne Ellis stamps to give away to celebrate the opening of her new shop Qixotic paperie

Mina has some fabulous candy to celebrate her 6 month bloggoversary and 35,000 hits wow!! Some of my fvourite things in this candy as well, so make sure you go and have a look!

Hugs, Vicky -x-

Simon says stamp - Pink & Brown!!

The theme this week over at Simon says stamp is pink and brown, one of my faourite colour combinations so of course I had to give it a go!

I adore these Leanne Ellis images available at Funky Kits. I coloured her with a mix of distress inks and whispers pens. The CS is coredinations, the checked paper from a kit from QVC and the background paper is BG and has been embossed with swiss dots. Ribbon is from my stash and the sentiment is from Elzybells.

The sentiment lends itself perfectly to decorating the inside of your card, something I don't ordinarily do and whilst this is still quite simple I like it!

Just a quick post from me. I've had a very long and not so good day at work and I feel an early night calling! I probably won't be posting for a few days either as I am off to York this weekend for my SIL's hen weekend, my baby brother gets married August BH weekend! I still can't believe he's doing it before me!

See you all in a few days, although I hope to do a little hopping tomorrow before I leave!

Hugs, Vicky -x-

Bit of bling in the bath!

The challenge over at Secret crafter Saturday this week is Bling. This was a bit of an easy challenge for me {as it is probably for many of you} as I love to use bling and sparkle on my cards!

I was kindly sent this image by a blogging friend and I colourd her in with a mixture of watercolour pencils, distress inks and shimmer paints {on the bath & bag of chocs}. I have added plenty of glamour dust to the bubbles, I just hope you can pick this up on the picture! The CS is coredinations. White CS embossed with swiss dots and a pink ink pad run over it to make the dots pop! Sentiment is from SU Sincere Salutations set, cut out with my oval nesties. I have added chalk to the edges of my image and sentiment.

Although this card is relatively simple, what with the lack of embellies and patterened papers I really like it!

I would like to thank Joey and Georgia for passing my such lovely award, thanks girls it means a lot to me! I hope oyu won't mind if I pass these on another time, it's just my tea's almost ready and I'm marvin!! ;-)

Hope you've all had a good start to the week!

Hugs, Vicky -x-

Just Magnolia and colour create card!

Good morning all. Well the sun is shining here in Leeds, West Yorkshire, but I don't know how long that's going to last for! I had some me time yesterday whilst my OH was at work and I managed to get into my craft room for a few hours. I also recieved my blog candy that I won from Michelle and some yummy Gorjuss images from the lovely Sheila, and I got the new edition of craft stamper which has the gorgeous cute sugar nellie owl stamp. Lots of new crafty bits to be playing with!
Here is a card I made yesterday, which combines the Just Magnolia sketch this week, a fabby sketch by the wonderful Rach, and the colour creat challenge which is to use the colours of the rainbow!


This tilda image is my new stamp that I won in Michelle's blog candy and it is the only Magnolia stamp that I own! I colored her with a mixture of distress inks and whispers before cutting her out onto a circle matt made with my nesties. The papers are from the sweet nothing range by papermania and I have faux stitched around the edges of the pink paper. CS is coredinations. Sentiment is from hero arts. The ribbon is also from the candy I won from Michelle. The flowers are Prima and the pearl brads are papermania {LOVE these!!}.

I don't normally use such a wide spectrum of colours on one card but i'm pleased with how this one has turned out, it feels so colourful and summery!

Well I should really think about getting dressed, and then I'm off back to my craft room {after I've stopped by all your blogs to see what you've ben up to!}!

Have a great sunday everyone and thanks for stopping by to visit!

Hugs, Vicky -x-