Versatile Blogger Award!

Ooh thanks Pat! and thanks Laurie! Both gave me this lovely award. I am honoured!


I've been given this lovely award by Pat and Laurie, Check out their fabulous blogs at the links below, their work is amazing!!!

Pat - http://clevercrafting.blogspot.com/   

Laurie -  http://designerdiva-laurie.blogspot.com/

The story goes that this blog award has the purpose of bringing to light bloggers who are creative, make wonderful creations, but have less than 300 followers. And the rules ask that you


1) Thank the person who sent you this blog. done
2)  List 7 things about yourself  
3)  Send this to 15 bloggers



So here are 7 things about me: (sorry if you have heard any of these before!)


1. I love anything to do with Egypt


2. I love Genealogy and my Gt Gt Gt Grandfather George I. Rooking was a Superintendent of Police in the Manchester force and was on duty during the famous Murphy Riots in 1868.


3. I home schooled my daughter from when she was 10 until she went to College, then Uni.


4. I have degenerative disc disease and arthritis which I hate because I used to be very active and love walking and travelling. I compensate by being an armchair traveller and watch loads of travel documentaries :-))


5. I played the trumpet at school but never had enough breathe due to asthma! wrong choice of instrument!!


6. My favourite meal is Chicken Korma and my favourite dessert is Black Forest Gateaux or Lemon Meringue Pie!!! mmm.....


7. I would love to visit Russia, especially St Petersburg!


I have been snowed under a bit this week, so I hope Pat, Laurie and you all will forgive me if I pass this on to all my lovely followers!!! 



Love Sue xx

Happy Birthday!

I was asked to make a girlie card for a Birthday, so thought  the lovely "Tea Party" stamp by Lili of The Valley fitted the bill perfectly. I have used this super Sketch by Bev for the Lili of The Valley Challenge.

This card very nearly got thrown away several times!! Everything kept going wrong with it! It might just be me - I have had a stressful week with a lot of joint pain and my darling doggy was ill also. I made a complete mess of the border. Used a gel pen which looked wrong. Tried to cover it up with stickle but picked up wrong one and it had gold gleam and looked awful! I was about to bin it and thought no! no! you are not going to the bin - I am going to revivie you! LOL so came up with the gingham border idea to cover up my mess. I actually quite like it and might use it again ROFL. Necessity is the mother of invention as they say!

The gorgeous purple backing paper is Kate Knight from freebie pad with magazine. The pink dotted paper is from Papermania 'Summer Bloom' pad. Flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts with Glitter Brads from Kars Christmas Collection. Bow is from Stash. The dragonfly had a big plastic loop on back and I wanted it to be flat, so I got out my metal files for jewellery making and filed it off - took ages! 

Close-up "Tea Party" LOTV

Colouring: (Copics unless otherwise stated)

Skin: E00 & R20

Hair: E31

Dress, Hat and Shoes: V12 & V15

Tea Set: G85 and Sakura Silver Metallic and Clear Star Pens

Table and Stool: Tan Promarker 

Tablecloth: E00 & Tan Promarker

Sketch by Bev - Lili of The Valley - Challenge 88

The white card is embossed with an embossing folder that came free with Docrafts Creativity Magazine. It is quite a small embossing folder, so did the piece of card in two goes and the join in the middle is conveniently covered by the image! I have used nestabilities dies for the image mount and for the Sentiment mount. Sentiment was made on my computer.

Some exciting news! I have treated myself to some new LOTV Stamps so you will see some gorgeous new ones popping up very soon! 

I am entering the card into the following Challenges:

Lili of The Valley - Challenge No. 88 - 'Sketch by Bev' (ends 23rd March 2011)

Papertake Weekly - 'Triple Tastic' Challenge - I have used 3 Flowers (ends 21st March 2011)

Top Tip Tuesday - Challenge No. 25 - 'Happy Birthday!' (ends 21st March 2011)

Simon Says - 'Happy Birthday!' Challenge (ends 22nd March 2011)

Charisma Cardz - Challenge No. 11 - 'To 'Die' For' - I have used nestabilities (ends 23rd March 2011)

Craft Us Crazy - Challenge No. 4 - 'Cupcakes and/or Celebration' (ends 30th March 2011)

Let's Ink It Up - Challenge No. 11 - 'Die Cuts/Punches - I have used nestabilites (ends 30th March 2011)

Paper Play - Challenge No. 11 - 'Embossing' (ends 23rd March 2011)

Paper Cutz - Challenge No. 83 - 'Your Choice' (ends 24th March 2011)

Paper Sundaes - Challenge No. 61 - 'Embossing' (ends 26th March 2011)

As you can see, I have entered quite a few challenges this time. I have read the rules for all the Challenges, but quite a few of the Challenges are new ones for me so if I have made a mistake anywhere, then apologies! And I have had a stressful week. Ah well, hopefully if I don't find any mistakes and have to edit my post, I can relax and watch Time Team and eat my Pizza followed by Black Forest Gateaux!!! Hope you've all had a lovely weekend and managed to catch some sun!!!

Sue xx

Spring is in The Air

Sir Stampalot have a 'Spring is in The Air' Challenge this month and it really does feel like Spring now. It's lovely to hear the blackbird singing its beautiful dawn chorus once again. Spring is also a time for Lambs and I just had to buy this Stampavie stamp called 'My Little Lamb' by Penny Johnson for another Mother's Day card. It is so cute! I know I've made two Mother's Day cards but my daughter will be giving one of them to her gran! 

I have been brave and made my first twisted easel card! I thought maybe my origami skills from years ago might help, but I was well confused LOL! I watched a You Tube video and the lady demonstrating did it all wrong! Kudos to her for leaving that online!! Anyway, I got there in the end!

The Happy Mother's Day Sentiment was made on computer and you can untie the ribbon ....

Untie the ribbon ....

Inside I have put a poem called 'Spring Quiet' by Christina Rossetti as my mother loves her poetry. 

'Spring Quiet' - Christina Rossetti

I used some fun flock on the lamb. This is the first time I have used fun flock and it isn't as easy as I thought! Hopefully you can see his fluffy fleece on the close-up! The sky background was done using a technique from a Whiff of Joy Tutorial - Sponged Sky by Jeanette. I made a mask of the image and also a mask of cloud shapes and then used 'Faded Jeans' Distress ink sponged lightly over the top. I think I should have stopped a little further up, poor girl looks as if she's floating on the clouds !!! Maybe she is on top of a steep hill? 

'My Little Lamb' Close-up

Colouring: 

Promarkers

Hat and Dress: Meadow Green & Apple

Leaves: Apple

Skin: Vanilla & Pastel Pink

Hair: Tan, Cinnamon and Sakura Glitter Pen 'Clear Star' streaks

Flowers: Primrose & Lemon

Ribbons: Lemon

Lamb: Fun Flock

Front 

The papers are from Wild Rose Studio 'Floral' Paper Stack. Card is from the Papermania Capsule Collection 'Fresh Verde'.  The circle mount is Nestabilities. Doiley Edge Border and Trellis Border are both Martha Stewart Punches. The little flowers on the trellis are from Handy Hippo. Other flowers, gems, ribbons and charm are from stash.

I am entering the card into the following Challenges:

Sir Stampalot - March Challenge - 'Spring is in The Air' (ends midnight Sunday 27th March 2011

Stampin' For The Weekend - Challenge No. 5 - 'Springtime' (ends 8pm Thursday 17th March 2011

The Pink Elephant - Challenge No. 95 - 'Spring Time' (ends Sunday 20th March 2011)

Charisma Cardz - Challenge No. 10 - 'Easel Cards' (ends 7.30pm Wednesday 16th March 2011

Creative Inspirations - Challenge No. 55 - 'Easel Cards' (ends 10am Friday 25th March 2011

Die Cut Dreams - Challenge No. 85 - 'Mother's Day or Special Friend' (ends noon Sunday 27th March 2011

I Won a Prize!

I am so lucky! I was random drawn on the Whiff of Joy Challenge and won $25 voucher at Simon Says Stamp store!

Ooh I was like a kid in a candy store. They had So much to choose from I was really spoilt for choice! Finally decided that I must get my first Tilda - so thought I would get "Birthday Tilda" as I can use her often and won't be restricted to time of year and she is so sweet, she can pop on any birthday card.

Also, I got a Nellie Snellen stamp called "Dawn With Birthday Cake"- I saw this on a card and fell in love with it because it so reminds me of my daughter Christina as a child. On her 4th Birthday, we had a special birthday cake made for her.  It was very big and very heavy! We put it on the settee and left the room for a moment, telling her not to touch it. When we came back in the room, she had picked up the cake and was staggering across the room with it!!! LOL This stamp reminds me of that. So I want to make a Birthday Card for her birthday in May using this stamp! While I was shopping, I also couldn't resist some pewter charms of keys and strawberries!

Huge thanks to Whiff of Joy and Simon Says Stamp for this prize!

Thanks for all your lovely comments and for becoming followers also!
Love n Hugs
Sue xx

Circles

This week's  Lili of The Valley - Challenge No. 85 is 'Circles' and so I dug out this paper with circles from my Milton & Co. brown paper stack. I do love this paper as the way it is distressed makes it look like suede.  I also made some spiral circles out of beige leather thong for my last card, but they just didn't look right and so I left them off. So thought, ah circles! will put them on this card! So I have gone with the coffee coloured theme again. It also fits Cupcake Craft's Challenge No. 131 - 'Anything But Square'.

I was distraught when I looked through my LOTV stamps. Apart from this stamp, I have quite a few others, but they are all Christmassy or Autumn/Winter ones!! Ah, well an excuse methinks to buy some of the new gorgeous 'Spring Animals' stamps that are coming out soon!! I do love this LOTV 'Tea Party' stamp though, and it always looks very different depending on the colours that you use. 

'Tea Party' (detail)

Colouring:- 

Skin: E00 & R20

Hat, Dress and Shoes:  Promarker Tan and E31

Socks: E00 and Coral

Hair and Tea Set: Promarker Coral 

Tablecloth: E00

Flowers on hat/Socks: Vanilla & Coral Promarkers

Table Legs: Vanilla & Tan Promarkers
Sakura Clear Glitter Pen

I made the sentiment on my computer. The flowers are Petaloo mini delphiniums coloured with Vanilla and Tan Promarkers. I added pearls from stash to flowers, spirals and corners of card. I couldn't find any leaves the right size or colour and I really wanted to add some, so in desperation I cut out some cardboard from my Hotel Chocolat box and made my own! My chocolate box now has a hole in it! I will have to finish off the chocolates now!! tee hee - that's my excuse anyhow!

The 'brown' colour combi is also a big, big favourite of mine and I especially love the Promarker shade 'Tan' and so I am entering Top Tip Tuesday's Challenge No. 24 - 'Favourites'. Also I think it is monochrome as I have stuck to brown tones, I think! so am entering Stampin' for the Weekend's Challenge No. 4 - 'Monochrome'. Also I have used a die cut nestabilities frame for the image and decorated it with gems for the Stamptacular Sunday Challenge No. 100 - 'You've Been Framed'. 

Challenges entered:-

Lili of The Valley - Challenge No. 85 - 'Circles' (ends Wednesday 2nd March 2011)

Cupcake Craft Challenge - No. 131 - 'Anything But Square' (ends 8pm Sunday 6th March 2011)

Top Tip Tuesday - Challenge No. 24 - 'Favourites' (ends 11pm Monday 7th March 2011)

Stampin' For The Weekend - Challenge No. 4 - 'Monochrome' (ends 8pm Thursday 3rd March 2011)

Stamptacular Sunday - Challenge No. 100 - 'You've Been Framed' (ends midnight Saturday 5th March 2011)