LILI OF THE VALLEY WEDDING DAY AND A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR!

 Hi beautiful bloggers! At last, a card, and yes - it's another of those gorgeous LOTV

stamped images! The theme of the challenge at LOTV this week is another of Bev's fabulous sketches, which are always a joy to work with, and I am also entering the card into the

challenge at A Spoonfull of Sugar. The challenge this week is to use your die-cut machines, and punches.

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The happy couple have been coloured with Copics and cut out with a Nestie "Labels One" die, inked around the edges with Tattered Rose DI. Frosted Lace Stickles added here and there.

Base card is Bazzill, the lacy BP was bought on

holiday 2 years ago and this is it's first outing (just couldn't bear to use it)!

Border punch is MS Doily Lace, Sentiment from a set by Hero Arts, cut out with a circular Nestie, and layered onto a slightly larger punched circle of pink card. Edges inked with DI.
Loads of pearl gems, cream satin ribbon, and some flowers I made from pink organza ribbon (do they remind you of jelly-fish)?

Thanks for popping by - have a wonderful weekend.

WELL, IT'S SUNDAY, SO LET'S GET SENTIMENTAL !

Hi peeps - and a huge WOW!!

Just popping by to share some wonderful news - the very talented Ann Vento from Sentimental Sundays has asked me join her amazing Design Team, and I can't wait to get started on November 7th!! 

Click the link and you will be magically transported by cyber-flight! 

LILI OF THE VALLEY ON THE GARDEN WALL!

PS: UPDATE - 21st October - The two little cuties above have been awarded a "Top 3" badge from

Lili who lives in the Valley! Thank you so much!

Hi lovely bloggers! Hope you are all well, and getting used to wearing six layers of clothing again (or is it just me who's cold)!

I'm just in time to enter this week's Challenge at

LOTV!  - the theme is a fabulous sketch by Bev.

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I will keep this post (fairly) short and sweet, as it's almost bedtime, which is a bit of a worry as I started making this card at 9.00am this morning and have only just finished it.

The image is LOTV - "On the Garden Wall"

Base card: Core-Dinations.

Papers: Basic Grey, MME, K&Co Brianna.

Sentiment stamp: Penny Black.

Border Punch: MS.

Flower Punches: EK Success Retro.

Leaf Punch: SU Two-Step Bird & Branch. 

Glamour Dust here and there.

Colouring: Mainly Copics, with DI around the edges (Antique Linen and Vintage Photo).

Machine stitching: wonky as usual.

Edges of papers distressed with scissors.

~ Love to everyone who visits ~

MY FIRST EVER HALLOWEEN CARD - AN UPDATE!!

Hi peeps - just popping by to share a little Update on my Halloween card which I posted a few days ago.

I am such a happy bunny, and hope you don't mind me sharing this, but not only did my card win the Challenge at Cowgirl-up Designs, and a Top 3 Badge at Moving Along With the Times, but it  has also been chosen by Holly and the DT as this week's feature in the "Trendsetting Spotlight"

at There She Goes!!!! Do pop over to see what it's all about, and take a peek at the range of beautiful clear stamp designs which are availabe in the store. There is some truly wonderful and inspirational work from the DT ladies too. 

Thanks for popping by - love to all -

and here is the card (again)!!!

AUTUMN LEAVES AND A MESSY WOYWW !!

UPDATE - OCTOBER 31st: My Autumn card has been chosen as one of the TOP THREE at the

Sir Stampalot Challenge! Whey-hey!

and

it made it to the TOP 5 at The Stamp Man!!

Whoo-hoo!!

Hi there lovely Bloggers! The leaves are turning into such beautiful colours, and of course there are some Autumn Challenge projects to be made!

I am entering this card into two Challenges:-

Sir Stampalot Autumn Breezes - Button(s) and Bow(s), and

The Stamp Man "Autumn".

I have used a Side Step template from Get In Shape Templates - cheating I know, but it's so easy to use!!!

The cardstock is from the Basic Grey Granola range, the gorgeous image is Serena from Stampsmith, and the leaves are CB die-cuts, gently curved over a pencil to give a bit of dimension.

Lots of Distress Ink was used, as you will see

in a mo. on my WOYWW below !  Spiced Marmalade and Vintage Photo are the colours. A spritzing of Glimmer Mist was added to the leaves too -  in Pineapple and Tiger Lily.

"Serena", the Penny Black sentiment, and the Crafty Individuals swirls were stamped with Archival Coffee ink.  A little Gold Glamour Dust was sprinkled here and there, and to finish - one heart-shaped button, and 2 tiny ribbons.

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here is the mess on my desk late last night

after playing around with inks and sprays! The sheet  of card on the right is the one I had been working on whilst inking some of the leaves - it's not part of my card!! I'm rather late with my WOYWW so I will probably be near the bottom of the list again, at around No. 1,500 (heaven knows how you get to be first on Julia's list)!!!!

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, click the link above to visit Julia's amazing blog!

Thanks for popping by, and have

a very happy Autumn  day!

MY FIRST EVER HALLOWEEN CARD!

Hi peeps - hope you are having a good week - it's actually sunny this afternoon in West Yorkshire - yay! Think this might be a looooong post so grab a cuppa and pull up a chair!

This is my first ever Halloween card - thought I would join in the fun this year and do something scary!!

Actually, this fab little digi witch is quite sweet really,

apart from that slime green cake covered in cobwebs,

and that very suspect little shopping bag from Harvey Nicks, full of bats, dripping blood and goodness knows what else.

This was one of several fab. digi images from Tiddly Inks, which I won in Larissa'srecent Blog Candy draw. You might like to pop over and leave Larissa some lurve, and then pop into the Tiddly Inks shop - if so, just click the links above.

Soooooooooooo - onto my card,, which I am entering

into 5 Challenges:-

Sentimental Sundays :- Autumn or Fall

There She Goes :- Purple, Orange and Lime

Cowgirl-up Designs!:-Anything Goes!

By The Cute and Girly :- Spooky!

Moving Along With The Times :- Fairies or Fantasy.

The cardstock is purple Bazzill lined with black.

Black cobweb lace and orange ribbon bought from the new Boyes store in Ilkley - love that shop!

Image coloured mainly with Copics, plus Dusty Concord DI for shading on the dress and Weathered Wood DI around the edges of the piece.

Corner cobweb drawn freehand with fine pen.

Black stitching done on my sewing machine.

The Halloween Ticket Sentiment is from a set by Ann Vento at http://whimsystamps.com/.  Ann's designs are

fabulous and are well worth checking out.

Orange stickles, Glamour Dust, and some black beads from a very old necklace, to finish.

Phew - hope I have remembered to mention everyone involved in this production!

Lots of love to all who visit -

BASIC GREY CHALLENGE, AND WOYWW!

Hi lovely Bloggers - came home from holiday yesterday, and couldn't wait to get back to my blogging. I will try and visit everyone ASAP, once the washing and ironing is done (on second thoughts - bubbles to the washing and ironing)!!

I started this card before I went away but didn't have time to finish it, so I am just in the nick of time for the fortnightly Basic Grey Challenge which ends on October 1st. The fabulous sketch we had to work with is by Tara G, and the BG papers I used are from the Granola range and were a RAK from my crafting buddie Nicola - thanks Nicola!! I have also been longing to use these Lavinia stamps which I bought at the Harrogate Extravaganza a couple of weeks ago. Love Tracey's delicate designs - her work can be seen in the November issue of Craft Stamper, and the stamps can be bought at http://laviniastamps.com/ 

The inks used are Weathered Wood DI, and Night of Navy from Stampin UP, with some  Peach Pastel Color Box Chalk Ink around the main image. White glitter has been added, and some machine stitching (please don't look at the wonky bits). The base card is  Blind Date Bazzill Bling, used with the reverse side showing as I wanted a "flat" colour rather than a shiny one. Nestie circles for the image, and cream lace from stash. 

 

And here is my workdesk today (a bit late in posting) for WOYWW - you can just see a sneeky peek of my card for the BG Challenge in the bottom corner, and my li'l old sewing machine on the left. The trimmer is a new X-cut Super Trimmer and I absolutely love it. You can just see my ribbon holder in the background, which was a fab idea from another WOYWW-er, and I am sorry to say I cannot  recall the name of the lovely lady whose idea it was, so if you're out there, please let me know! The holder is actually a kitchen paper towel stand, and I found this one at Boyes - it's chrome and cost 99p - I love a bargain!!!! It holds a dozen or more rolls of ribbon as long as the central holes are large enough to pop onto the stand.

If you would like to know more about the phenomenon that is WOYWW - visit Julia's blog by clicking the link above.

Thanks for visiting - have a great week/weekend!

BAH! HUMBUG CHRISTMAS TEXT!

Hi Peeps - hope you have had a great weekend!

As I'm going away on my jollies in a couple of days,

I thought I'd better get something posted before I go as I've been a bit behind with things this last week or two. 

Thanks to the lovely ladies at Bah! Humbug for the current Challenge - the main focal point on your Christmas card must be TEXT, and I just happened to have this card which I made recently, when trying out a Square K Card Template from WS Designs, (which I have had for ages), and hey-presto - the

main focal point is TEXT - yay!!  The fabulous Holly paper is from Anna Griffin - a few last scraps which I had been clinging onto, as sadly they don't make it any more. The gold heat-embossed Text stamp is from Papermania/Anita's (again an old favourite).

This WS template (designed by Kay Carley) is really easy to work with - not very easy to photograph the finished results though! 

The inside layer is a concertina shape, and the greeting square pops out of the aperture when the card is opened, but lays flat when closed!

Soooo - one less Xmas card to make! Hope you like it!

WOYWW ! (NEW STASH)!!

Hope you are all well Peeps. 
I am aiming to be first on the list of Julia's WOYWW this week, instead of leaving it until WOYWThursday before linking my Post!  No particular reason for this - I would just love to be first at something!!
If you want to know more about the fabulous WOYWW -
click the link above and leave Julia some love!

Anyhow, there's nothing much going on in the way of work on my "work"desk as I am feeling rather grotty - (probably just the start of a cold - sniff). Sooooo, as I  am just sat here trying to get motivated, and stroking the stash I bought at the Harrogate Craft Extravaganza on Saturday, I thought I may as well take a piccie.

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How come, that such a small amount of stash

cost  such a large amount of cash?

BLOG CANDY TO CELEBRATE 100 FOLLOWERS!

CANDY NOW CLOSED!
The lucky winner was Nicola of Nicola's Creations, and the Candy is now on it's way to her in sunny Spain! Many thanks to all the lovely followers who took part!

BASIC GREY CHALLENGE - PAPER PIECING!

Hi peeps! This is my entry for the Basic Grey Challenge 28, which requires some Paper-Piecing and the use of BG papers (of course)!!.

So - here goes!!

I have stamped one of my all-time favourite images - Gracious Lady from Hero Arts, which I have had for years. I have paper pieced her hat and coat with Basic Grey Bittersweet, and decoupaged the bow on her hat. (Her face, and the curved sides of the hat are lightly coloured with Copics).  

If you look reeeeeeally closely, you will see I have also added a tiny Bittersweet EK Success Retro Flower in the centre of Sir Tim's Tattered Florals flower, which is mainly made up of Basic Grey Motifica papers (again, which I have had for oooh - years).

The flower has been finished with a central coffee coloured pearl. The back of the flower petals have been stamped with the same Crafty Individuals text which I have used on the Motifica BP.

The Gracious Lady has been layered onto black cardstock, with Antique Linen and Vintage Photo DI applied around the edges.

I coloured the cream lace with Antique Linen, added the Crafty Individuals swirls stamp to the BP, and that's about it really!!! Bet you're glad that's the end of that!!!

PS - I have waited 6 weeks for my TH Tattered Florals die - it arrived 2 days ago, so this is my first attempt at using it! Not the best TH flower, but it was great fun to make!!!!

Have a great week my lovely bloggers -

DISTRESSED CHRISTMAS TEDDY !

Hi lovely bloggers! Just a quick post today, and yes it's another of those gorgeous LOTV Christmas images!! Ted is a little distressed (well, the backing paper is anyway), and he is now on his way to join two Challenges  - Lily Of The Valley Thursday Challenge - using a beautiful sketch by Bev, and Secret Crafters Saturday Challenge - which is Make a Start on Christmas. I have only just discovered their lovely blog, so have just managed to squeeze in at the last minute!

Gorgeous Ted is coloured with just a light touch of Copics, the BP is an old scrap piece from my stash, stitched around the edges. Punches are EK Success Retro Flower, Papermania Snowflake and Woodware star.

Fun Flock on Ted's hat and on the "snow" on the ground, Silver Stickles on Ted's star.

The sentiment is also from LOTV, stamped onto a CB die cut tag. The base card is SU Kraft.

Have a wonderful weekend!

TILDA FOR 2 CHALLENGES!

Hi Peeps - September tomorrow - time to start Christmas shopping!!!

My Tilda is entering two Magnolia Challenges -

Just Magnolia - a sketch by Dawny P., and

Magnolia Down Under - A Recipe: 3 patterned papers, 2 buttons, 1 ribbon.

The papers are Basic Grey Wisteria, Tilda has been coloured with Copics and the edges inked with Milled Lavender DI, the two heart buttons have been distressed with sandpaper , and I have added stitching, Glamour Dust, ribbon (well, fibres actually - they were the only thing I had in my stash in a matching colour)!, and a SU sentiment on my favourite SU oval scallop die.

Love to all -

DU2DS CHALLENGE 45 - A SHAPED CARD!

Hi lovely bloggers - it's time to Dare U 2 Digi Stamp again!
Another two weeks have gone by, so time to get your thinking caps on for another fab challenge - A SHAPED CARD!
Lots of scope there then - can't wait to see what you all come up with! Thanks to everyone who joined in the previous challenge - stunning entries once again!

Pop over to DU2DS
for full details and some DT inspiration!
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My DT offering is a Nestie easel card with a fabulous digi image from the talented Mo Manning. This little sweetie has been coloured with Copics (of course), and methinks I may have overdosed on the pinkness and the glitter, but hey - a girl can never have enough of these things!
The two large cupcakes have been decoupaged and I then printed a smaller version of the image so I could cut out a teeny-weeny cupcake for the "stopper". 
I have added lots of Glamour Dust and Stickles (Star Dust and Silver), spotty paper from Papermania Chatsworth, Penny Black sentiment on a SU punched oval scallop.
If anyone has been looking for a simple to follow
tutorial on small Nestie Easel Cards - pop over
here. Kari's easel cards are fabulous.
Have a great weekend everyone!

WOYWW AND SOME ORIENTAL LILIES

Hi lovely bloggers and fans of  WOYWW . You will spot fairly quickly that there isn't much crafting going on here - I have finished and put to one side, my DT card for this week's DU2DS Challenge, and today I have been out with my 7-year old granddaughter, which was great fun, so all you will see is a load of bubble wrap!  That means Blog Candy for my followers has arrived today - yay!! I will be posting details later! YOu can just see the two LOTV stamps which I won this week on their "Ideas to Inspire" Blog (the link is in my sidebar) which also arrived today. Whoo-hoo!!

And here are some of the Oriental Lilies in my garden, which have survived the heavy rains of yesterday - every year, as soon as the flowers open, the rains come down!! Thought you might like to see them. Wish we had smelly-blog as the scent is divine!

Will be back later with candy.

HAPPY BUNNY!

Hi peeps - this is a very short post as I am busy doing star jumps and cartwheels - I am such a happy bunny today!! 

Two reasons - firstly, I won this week's candy at LOTV Ideas to Inspire - two of the gorgeous new Christmas stamps. 

Secondly, I have now hit 100 followers! (no - I haven't actually HIT them - you know what I mean)!! Anyway, thanks to each and every one of them - I think it's time I offered some Candy to celebrate, and once I know what that will be, I'll get back to you, so keep checking!

Lots of love, and have a great weekend.

DU2DS CHALLENGE 44 - BLOOMS AND CHARMS!

Wow - another two weeks have just flown away which means that it's time for another Friday challenge at DU2DS.

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Hope none of you lovely bloggers were caught in that amazing thunderstorm/rainstorm/snowball storm yesterday afternoon - was it just here in Leeds I wonder?!! (They weren't actually snowballs of course, just bloomin' big hailstones!) Half an hour later, the sun was shining.

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This fortnight's challenge theme is Blooms and Charms, and as usual a digi image is required on your project. (Full details and DT inspiration can be found by clicking the link above).

Thanks to all those who joined in last time - your projects were fabulous.

***

 The beautiful image on my DT card is "Summer Blossoms", from the ever-so-talented Phindy, and is coloured with Copics.

The two flowers (Woodware punch) are coated with Anita's Clear Gloss Finish, although the shine doesn't show up on the picture.

Beaded spacers have been added to the flower centres and a butterfly charm next to the Hero Arts sentiment.

Ribbons from stash, green card from SU.

***

Have a fabulous snowball-free weekend!

WOYWW ! (A BIT OF A MESS)!!

OK all you WOYWW fans - you asked for it!! You wanted mess, and here it is!! The pic. was taken last night after finishing my DT card for DU2DS. You wouldn't think it from looking at this pile of stuff, but the card is actually a very simple one!! (Sorry peeps - the card is hidden away until I post it for the challenge on Friday)!

So, this is my workspace - warts 'n all. For those of you who haven't yet shared your space - pop over to  Julia's blog to find out more about WOYWW. 

OFF ON AN ADVENTURE AT THE CARDS FOR MEN CHALLENGE!

OMGoodness - two posts in two hours (OK, so only one of them is a card)!! It's still a record for me though - two cards in two weeks is usually the rate I work at!!

This gorgeous little chap is entered into the Cards for Men Challenge, where the theme this week is "Off on an Adventure".

It's obviously the first time he's been down to the boating lake with his brand new yacht - I can just tell by the way he's striding out that he can't wait to get there and give it a go! What an adventure!

Yes, it's another LOTV stamped image - told you I was addicted!

The image has been cut with a Nestie Labels 4 die and coloured with watercolour pencils. 

Card is SU Kraft, papers are LOTV downloads inked around the edges with Adirondack Denim and Stonewashed.  

Sentiment computer generated. Faux stitching drawn with a white gel pen, some navy ric-rac and a metal charm added.

Hope you like him as much as I do!

Love and hugs, Sylvia xxxxx

WHATS ON YOUR WORKDESK WEDNESDAY, No. 61...........

Hi Peeps! Hope you are all having a great week! (Its been pouring with rain here in Leeds this morning - hope it's better where you are).

I have been intending to join in the WOYWW fun for a while now, but have been a bit scared of sharing the mess that is my craft room! Soooooo, after taking a load of pics, then deleting them 'cos they were a bit

TOO scary, I decided to tidy up my desk, and here it is. (I also wash my hair before going to the hairdressers - mad or what)!

Maybe now I've taken the first step, I will have the courage to show my workspace in all it's messy glory next time!

Hugs to all - Love, Sylvia xxxx