Book of Me - Week 4

Morning! This week on the 'Book Of Me' challenge is all about what is inside your handbag! My handbag, or 'The Abyss' as it is frequently known as, is something Mary Poppins would be jealous of! You never know what you might find. When I read the challenge I must admit I did groan a little bit, just for the thought that I might lose an arm if I delve in there, but I was pretty suprised at how little I had in it at the moment. Not quite sure how that happened!? Anyways, here is what you would find inside my bag. Check out this fab challenge and find yourself over at Georginas blog its just too random. Kel x

Scrap whispers - Challenge 26

A new challenge over at Scrap Whispers is to produce a layout in total black and white but with just a pop of colour with ONE item! Sounds easy doesnt it? I had a really hard time with it really. I am so used to using alot of embellies that are colourful, so I dont own lots of black and white things. I dug out a paper pad I've had for an age and used star print as background and used a sheet that has 'Memories' written to make some strips. I used American Crafts rub ons to create the title. Because of the photos I knew i had to fit a giraffe in there, so I stamped an image from 'Mindy's Zoo' by Autumn Leaves on to orangey brown cs and there we have it. It took me 4 hours to produce this simple looking layout but I am really happy with the result! Enjoy your day! Kel x

Basic Grey sketch challenge

Over at the Basic Grey challenge blog there is a great sketch to follow for this weeks challenge. So, if you love all things Basic Grey then check it out. Lets face it, its really hard not to love Basic Grey!! :)

On my take, I used Sugar Nellie 'Daisy' stamp and coloured her with brush pens as watercolours (as usual). I used Offbeat Basic Grey paper, I handstitched around the outer panels of paper. The flowers are from stash and the brads are by doodlebug.

Happy Monday!

Kel x

Challenges galore!

Another busy week for challenges. This weekend I took some time for myself to really get into crafting. So I made lots of cards, did some scrapping, took loads of photos and have started to make a knitted baby cardigan and bootie set for my sister who is due in a couple of months. This first card is for Cute Card Thursday, where the challenge is to "Get Edgy" by distressing, sewing, tearing etc. I had a rummage again through my stamp box and "found" this gardening one. I've had it for years and probably only used it twice before. I think its really sweet and that it went really well with the Basic Grey Offbeat papers. I distressed the edges of the papers by running my craft knife along the edges.

I think this stamp is so sweet that I used it twice! Colour Create's challenge this week is Orange, brown and green with the added option of making a male card. Something I don't normally do much because I find it really hard making cards for men/boys. I stamped this image first, the stamped it again but cut it out to make a mask. I put the mask on top of the stamped image and then stamped the garden with a border stamp from "Smirk" in orange and green, added some orange Basic Grey Ambrosia paper, some ribbon from stash and some letter stickers from DCWV Family stack, and there we are. Its easier when you have some inspiration! :)

Penny Black Saturday challenge is "Anything Goes". So any project as long as at least one penny black item is used. I stuck with a card (although one day I am sure i will make it out of my comfort zone) and made this for a friend of mine who has just got herself a new job! Again I used Basic Grey Offbeat papers, with doodlebug mini rub ons and a scrap of brown scalloped card from papermania. This card actually fell together by accident and when I looked at it after I had put it together I thought the scalloped edges and the stars looked like they signify something new and exciting. Whew! A little deep for a sunday evening, thats just my mind working overtime! LOL.

This is my first time creating for Stamptacular. "Charmed, I'm sure" is the challenge. I have loads of wedding charms from I dont know where and not sure how long I have had them for so how great is the chance to get to use them! The backing paper is actually a wallpaper sample from Homebase. As soon as I saw it I wanted to put it onto a wedding card! The stamp is from FunStamps, the ribbon is from stash. I sewed the bells charm to a pink flower by Laura Ashley and a brown flower from papermania and then twisted a tea rose around the jump ring.

Thanks so much for looking.

Kel x

Papertake weekly

I nearly forgot to add this! Here is a card I made from the sketch over at Papertake Weekly. For this card I used DCWV "All Dressed Up" papers, and Penny Black "Bubbly" stamp. I added the cheers sentiment with Doodlebug Limeade mini rub ons. Thanks for looking, Kel x

Scrap Whispers & Scrap Sketch

This week over at Scrap Whispers the challenge is "Butterflies". Immediately I thought of making a card, which I am really into at the moment, but then my dd sat at the table and told me her favourite joke for the 50th time this week and a lightbulb went off. Her joke is: Why did the man throw butter out of his window? Because he wanted to see butterflies! So it just had to be documented in her scrapbook and was just perfect for the SW challenge! Not a bad joke for a 3 year old. Also to boot, I was introduced to Scrap sketch - a sketch blog, (who are also looking for design team members BTW. Submissions have to be emailed by April 25th) and decided to try out some of the sketches. Here they are: Sketch #25 Sketch #46 and sketch #49. I really enjoyed playing around with these sketches and I am sure I will be back for more. Thanks for looking and a very Happy St. Georges day too you all!! Kel x

A whole lot of stampin' goin' on!

Since I have been blogging I have come across lots of challenge blogs and since I have been away from card making for a while, I am really enjoying getting back into it with the motivation of the sketches and themes from these challenges. And so here we are, another day and another load of cards! :) This weeks challenge for Basic Grey was paper piecing. I'm not very good at paper piecing but I thought I would give it a go. I used paper from the Sultry collection and a little piece of Eva paper for the beak. The bird is made up from a paisley stamp I have. I decoupaged the inner part of the paisley to make the wing and added a brad for an eye.

Have you got your shades ready? This one is a bit bright! This was done based on a sketch from A spoon full of sugar. I have had the Elephant stamp forever and never used it before but I thought it looked great with the pink and orange paper from Dovecraft - wild blossoms, and the turquoise blue, giving it a bit of an asian feel. I distressed the edges of the paper by rubbing the edge of my craft knife against it. I really like this look at the moment. Instead of using flowers I heat embossed a paisley image in gold and cut it out to use it like a fan. I also had a bit of an accident with the swirly stamps at the bottom of the card, I stamped directly onto the card and then heat embossed but the stamps slipped and smudged so it looks a bit blobbish.

We'll keep that a secret though..... Kel x

BOM - Challenge 3 Dream a little dream.

This weeks challenge for "Book of me" is all about daydreams. I have lots of dreams for my life and my kids, but one that has been with me since I was a child is that I really, really, really, desperately want to visit Elvis' Graceland! I am a HUGE Elvis fan. A few years ago I had a trip all booked and then I found out I was pregnant with my dd and so had to cancel. I was devastated as you can imagine, but I dream of being able to go one day. And definately before I am 40! The title of this page had to be "If I can Dream" - Elvis Presley. Come and join in this great challenge on Georgina's blog.

3 Challenges, 1 Day

Its Monday! I had that monday feeling this morning so while my dd is away at nursery, I thought I would play along with some challenges. This first card is for Sketch Saturday. I was having a rummage through my stamps and came across this arty one, which I have used a hundred times before but not for a while! So I thought I would put it together with Laura Ashley papers I was given, and while I dont normally go for chintz, I really quite like the way this one turned out! This next one is for Penny Black Saturday. I just love this stamp, its so cute and fun, you cant help but smile. I used my brush pens as watercolours to colour him in and some Forever Friends party paper. And last, but not least, this is my first creation for Colour Create. I always do their challenges but I am usually too late to enter them. I loved this weeks challenge of Black, white and Pink. I have made this card for my sister who is very girly, but also a bit of a rock chick at heart. Thanks for looking... And Happy Monday! Kel x

Hi Everyone! Just a quick one today. Here is my entry for this weeks challenge on Scrap whispers. The challenge this week was to use 4 photos. Thats something I dont usually do, normally its 1 or 2 photos so I really loved being pushed for this challenge. I love this photo of my dd that I decided to use the same one 4 times over. Originally I was going to print the smaller ones in Black and White but I just love the colours on the photo and I think that it matches really well with the Wild Blossom background papers, by Kate Knight for Dovecraft. And here is just a card that I actually did for Cute Card Thursday a couple of weeks ago, but I put it away and forgot to enter it til I came across it last night! DOH! Anyways, I am off to enjoy the sunshine while it lasts. Have a fab weekend! kel x

Unofficial BOM

This week we had an Easter Break from the Book Of Me, but I decided to do an unofficial one. This page is actually a challenge for SJ where the title of a layout is to be "Dirty Little Secret". I didnt want to add photos for this so I thought it would be perfect for my BOM. My little secret is that I rock out to "Shake a tail feather", actions and all when I am alone in the house. I sing so loud and dance so hard that I get out of breath. I love the song and it just makes me want to dance. Its usually while I am in my kitchen cooking so I grab the nearest spoon, fork, potato masher, whatever and just go crazy!

Basic Grey Challenge and Sketch Saturday.

Hi there! Hope you all had a fab easter break! Here are some cards I have made for the BG and Sketch Saturday challenges. For the Basic Grey challenge the theme was "Chocolate soft centres", and so choosing the colour scheme of your fave chocolate centre. Mine is Coffee Creams. I know alot of people would baulk at them but I love them!! Especially in a packet of Revels! So here is my card based on Coffee Creams. I used BG Letter stickers from the Porcelain Collection. The stamps are "Mindy's Zoo" by Autumn Leaves and paper is by doodlebug and DCWV. I have made this card for a friends little boy who will be 2 soon. This next card is for Sketch Saturday. I am loving the idea of using a sketch to make cards. I used a bear stamp from the "Bubbles and Squeak" collection by Daisy Dandelion (I picked them up in the Papermill shop), BG Eva Paper and Doodlebug paper and mini rub on's. The pink gems are just what have been in my stash for I dont know how long! Thanks for looking! Kel x

Just a quick one.

Morning! Here is a quick card I made. I love this stamp from Pink Gem designs! Space Jack is just so cute. I used DCWV, birthday and Rock Star papers and some America Crafts Ribbon, finishing it off with doodlebug mini rub ons for the salutation. Enjoy your day!

Book Of Me - Week 3 - Me time

When you get 15 minutes to yourself what do you do? That was this weeks topic challenge for Book of Me. For me, I like to do cross words and word searches. I have 2 small children so just finding 15 minutes is hard enough. All day long I sing and listen to nursery rhymes, play games of "let's pretend", do silly dances and see childrens tv, its nice to be able to sit and get my brain working by doing these puzzles. I try and set myself challenges, like how fast can I complete a puzzle or how many words can I find in 3 minutes, just to exercise my mind. So here is my next page. You can join in too at Georginas blog page. Kel x

Sketch Saturday

Here is a card I've made for Sketch Saturday. The stamp is from Pink Gem designs - Sprinkles and Teddy. For the bear I decided to finally try out the doodlebug flock properly. I've had for months and tried it twice on other cards I had made but wasnt too sure if I liked the effect, til I saw a tutorial on You Tube and realised I was doing it wrong. I used Cupcake flock, it came out darker than I had expected but I quite like it. I also put a little on the flower in her hair too! Thanks for looking.

Busy, busy, busy!!

This weekend has been possibly the best weekend of my life so far. Musically. On friday I went to London to watch Simply Red play live at the O2 Arena. This was the 20th!!!!! time I have seen them play live and they truly are just so amazing. I think the general opinion of Simply Red is that its a concert that you dont want to admit that you've been to, but I absolutely love their music and when they play live you know its for you! I was lucky enough to go with my Mum which is a very rare occasion these days. We had brilliant seats on the floor. I know it may seem little excessive going 20 times but it really is the kind of concert that makes you feel its the first time you have ever seen. I know I am babbling on now but I am so excited!!! Because, guess what? I am going again!!! In July and this time I will be 3 rows from the front!!!! The photo below isnt the best quality but it is the best of a bad bunch. I am so happy to have got just one! And then, as if it couldnt get any better, I saw TINA TURNER!!! play live in Manchester. I cannot believe just how amazingly fantastic she is! Seriously, just fabulous! The whole house was up dancing and went mental for "The Best", "Whats love got to do with it" and "Proud Mary".. my personal favourite! She had a few costume changes but each time she came back to the stage it was more spectacular than the last. She has the most amazing energy for a woman of her 69 years!! And her voice just commanded the place. Again the photos arent the best but I think you tell who it is!! So as you can imagine I am one happy bunny!!!!! xx

Penny Black Saturday

Hi! This is just a quick card I made for the Penny Black saturday challenge. The Challenge this week was to "Think Spring". So spring sprung to mind and this is what I came up with, using blue for the sky, green for the grass and new leaves on trees and a splash of yellow for the random daffolils which pop up randomly every year. Thanks for looking. Enjoy your thursday! kel x