LOTV Polar bear

Hello lovely people,

It's time for another 'Use any image' challenge over on The Ribbon Girl blog, so you can enter with any type of project as long as you include an image.
There are some fab prizes up for grabs too :-)

It's a double whammy this time as I'm also giving you a sneak peek of one of the new LOTV Novem-bears which will soon be released, and this is the adorable Polar bear.

I've kept the shading really subtle, which also means it's super quick to do :-)

As I've previously mentioned and as I'm sure some of you will have noticed, my cards are a little more CAS these days but I still like to add details...just a very carefully curated selection of details and The Ribbon Girl have the perfect choice of pretty embellishments.

If you find yourself tempted by any of the pretty supplies I've used then you can go straight to the individual products via the links at the end of my post or just pop over to The Ribbon Girl and have a little browse around!

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Copic colours;
Bear: N0, N1, N2, N3
Snow: B0000, B000, B01

Lovely things I've used from The Ribbon Girl;
16mm blue ruffle edge sheer ribbon
Silver metallic twine
10mm silver jingle bells
Lucy's Lagoon sparkly shaker selection

Other card ingredients;
Polar bear - LOTV (coming soon!)
Snow Queen 12x12 papers - Galleria Papieru
Inside and out stitched rectangle STAX - My Favorite Things
Layered snowflakes - My Favorite Things

Snowman love

Hello lovely people,

I have a Dies to Die For DT card for you today and I dived straight into my gorgeous new stash of Stamping Bellas for this one!

These Littles look so cute and cosy as they build their snowman, and I've added Nuvo drop snow in the sky and along the snowdrifts on the ground.

I finally got round to using the mod squares I bought and they are fab...so I can't wait for the stitched ones I ordered to arrive now!

I've just added a touch of detail with my favourite snowflakes...or at least they are my favourite for now but guess what?  I have some more arriving soon and they may soon become my favourites - lol!

If I've tempted you with any of the lovely supplies I've used then you can go straight to the individual products via the links at the end of my post or just pop over to Dies to Die For and have a little browse around!

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Copic colours;
Skin: E000, E00, E21, E11, E04
Girl's hair: E53, E35, E59
Boy's hair: E21, E25, E29
Snowman: C00, C0, C1, C2
Snowman hat: C7, C8, C10
Snowman nose: YR12, YR04
Snowman stick arms: E35, E59
Pink clothing: RV10, RV11, RV34
Blue clothing: B000, B01, B02
Mint green clothing: BG10, BG11, BG23
Snow: BG000, BG70, BG000

Lovely things I've used from Dies to Die For;
The Littles Winter Collection: Snowman Love - Stamping Bella
Winter Holiday Sentiment Set - Stamping Bella
Perfectly Plaid Winter 6x6 pad - Lawn Fawn
Mod square STAX - My Favorite Things
Stylish snowflakes - My Favorite Things

Other ingredients;
Tonic Studios Nuvo Drops in White Blizzard
pearls from stash

A Very Merry Thoroughly Modern Miss

Hello lovely people,

From midday today you can get your hands on the Thoroughly Modern Misses from LOTV!!
They will be available as digi stamps and Simply Print sheets.

There are 12 modern girly images, one for each month, and today I have used the December image.

I love how stylish this little lady is and I do really enjoy colouring red so she absolutely had to have a red coat!

One tip I have for these images is to make sure you add a teeny little bit of pale blue to the eyes which helps to stop them looking flat...even white should be coloured - lol!

I've added tiny spots of Nuvo drops to the wreath.

I keep finding great ways to use my stitched rectangle dies and for this card I discovered that they look lovely with a frame layered on top!

Now, why is this is the first time I have used those tiny stitched tags when I have had them for ages?!  I guess they were waiting for just the right project - lol!

I've just been working this weekend so am enjoying a day off today and a spot of crafting!

I hope you all have a great week :-)

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Copic colours;
Skin: E000, E00, E21, E11, E04
Eyes: B0000, B000
Hair: E53, E35, E59
Coat: R37, R56, R39
Belt: W7, W8, W10
Leggings / hat: W0, W1, W2, W3
Boots: W7, W8, W9 (& W00, W0, W1 for fluffy bits)
Wreath / ribbons: YG93, YG95, YG97
Presents: E41, E42, E43
Ground: W00, W0, W1, W2, W3

Lovely things I've used;

Thoroughly Modern Miss December - LOTV (coming soon!)
Jingle 6x6 paper pad - Lilybee Design
A2 stitched rectangle STAX 2 - My Favorite Things
Stitched rectangle scallop edge frames - My Favorite Things
Stitched scallop edges - My Favorite Things
Stitched tiny tags - My Favorite Things
Snow globe sentiments - My Favorite Things
Hemp twine
Autumn red Nuvo Crustal Drops

Polar friends in pink

Hello lovely people,

I'm a little late with my DT post but this was sadly down to me being rather poorly with a vomiting bug on Wednesday.  I am not 100% yet but feeling a lot better so I was able to do a little gentle crafting today.

It's time for another exciting new challenge at In The Pink and our theme is...

LOTS OF LAYERS
Don't forget we want to see more pink than any other colour!

Our fabulous sponsor this time is Polkadoodles with a £6.75 voucher

I was itching to grab all my pretty embellies for this design but I really must try to keep my Christmas cards flat for posting so I resisted!

All the layers add plenty of interest anyway and a few die cut details and a smattering of Nuvo drops did the rest :-)

This is such a lovely detailed image that maybe adding embellies would have detracted from it anyway.

If you haven't already done so then do pop over to In The Pink and check out the gorgeous creations from the rest of the Pink Ladies.

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Card recipe;

Image: Winnie Winterland Polar Friends - Polkadoodles

DP: from stash

Dies: Stitched scallop edges - MFT Die-namics, Tiny snowflake set - Impression Obsession, Mini snowflakes - Xcut

Sentiment: Christmas circular sentiments - LOTV
Gloss white Nuvo Crystal drops - Tonic Studios

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: Y21/YR23/E35
All pink bits: R81/83/85
Green clothing: YG61/63
Tree: YG61/63/67
Polar bear: W00/0/1/2
Basket / saddle: E42/43/44
Penguins: W00/1 & W 4/5/7 & YR23
Ground: W00/0/1/2/3

Tiny skater

Hello lovely people,

I have a lovely combination this weekend of catching up with friends and catching up on some crafting!

We have a brand new challenge starting over at The Ribbon Girl and it's 'Anything goes with an image' so you can make any type of project as long as it has an image on it.

As always there are some fabulous prizes on offer so do pop over to see the inspiration from the rest of the DT and I hope you will join in with our challenge.

My card could be a Christmas card or just a winter birthday card since it doesn't have a sentiment at present.  I couldn't find one that looked right so gave up, but I may add one later if I find the right one!

The image is one of the latest releases from Stamping Bella; isn't she the cutest little skater?!

I hope you are all having lovely weekends whatever you are up to :-) 

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

The Ribbon Girl products;
Craft & You 'Frozen' 6x6 paper pad
White lace now unavailable but ivory available - 45mm 'Clarice' Ivory Embroidered Tulle Lace
FB 4mm pearl white trim
5mm sea charm mixed self-adhesive pearls

Other products;

Image: Stamping Bella

Dies: Whimsy snowflakes

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
others to be added later

Winter is coming!

Hello lovely people,

I am spending this weekend at a family celebration for my Father-in-law's 70th birthday but am just popping in quickly to tell you about the new challenge at The Ribbon Girl.

It's our 'Anything goes with an image' challenge so you can make any project you like as long as you have an image on it...easy peasy!

I've made a card to add to my very small pile of Christmas cards and I've used some of my fave Christmas papers but just for a change I've swiped a little white acrylic paint round the edges rather than inking them,

I have chosen to use the gorgeous Winter Season girl from LOTV, which would also be fab for Winter birthday cards, and I've coloured her with Inktense pencils.

I added tiny spots of Nuvo drops to the snowflake centres.

I used a few of my new goodies from The Ribbon Girl on here, including the lovely soft faux hessian ribbon, and the beautiful chipboard snowflakes, which I coated with white acrylic paint.

If you like those chipboard snowflakes then may wish to pop on over to The Ribbon Girl because all Scrapiniec chipboard is 10% off AND there is also 10% off all WOC/mulberry flowers until 20th September...just thought you'd like to know ;-)

I wish you all a wonderful weekend whatever you are getting up to :-)

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

The Ribbon Girl products;
Maja Design Home for the Holidays 6x6" paper pad
Scrapiniec chipboard Christmas snowflakes
25mm faux hessian natural
Ivory button twine
Miniature white blossoms

Other products;

Image: Winter Seasons girl - LOTV

Other flowers: from stash

Inktense colours;
Skin: will add later!

Warm winter wishes

Hello lovely people,

It's one of my favourite days today...no, I don't have a particular love of Tuesdays, but I do love a CCC day!

I am of course talking about a Cake, Coffee and Chat day with my buddies, the Delightful Debs and Super Sue :-)

I realise that my blog makes it sound like I spend a lot of time eating cake, but I actually do squeeze in some crafting every now and then - lol!

 So today I have a little Design Team sneak peek for you from the next LOTV release, which is the second half of the HUGE range of Christmas images, coming on 8th August!

Don't forget you can now get many of the images in digital format as well as rubber!

I like to keep a lot of my Christmas designs quite simple for ease of making and posting, so this doesn't even have stitching on it...apart from from those fab stitched scalloped edge dies making another appearance :-)

That mittens paper is sooooo cute and I felt like it was just made to match the bunny in his little mittens!

There are lots of gorgeous trio stamps in this next release but I fell totally in love with the bunny trio, although of course I've only used one of the wee chaps on here!

Look out for lots more sneak peeks from me and the rest of the DT over the next week as we count down to release day!

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Card recipe;

Image: Noel bunny trio (coming soon!) - LOTV

DP: Vintage frost basics - Maja Design (available from Live and Love Crafts)

Twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Tag: Christmas sentiment tags - LOTV

Dies: Stitched scalloped edges - MFT Die-namics

Copic colours;
Fur: W00/0/1/2/3
Pink: R81/83/85
Blue: B91/93/95
Holly: BG93/96 & R59/89
Stars: YR30/31

Christmas in May?!

Hello lovely people,

It's time for a new challenge at As You Like It and our theme this time is...

YOUR FAVOURITE...PATTERNED OR EMBOSSED PAPER
...and don't forget to tell us why it's your favourite!

Our sponsor this time is All Dressed Up with 2 digi images of the winner's choice

Well this has to be the earliest I have ever made a Christmas card!

I was aiming for a shabby chic / Nordic style for this design so these yummy Maja papers were just the thing and I love how they even include little sentiment strips.

This image is so sweet and I've added a touch of sparkle to the furry details.

I love arranging flowers round a circular image as it's so easy to do and looks so pretty especially with a charm dangling at one end, and this teeny pine cone is pretty darn cute!

Card recipe;

Image: Holiday friends - The Paper Nest Dolls

DP: Home for the holidays and A gift for you - Maja Design (available from Live and Love Crafts)

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts
Twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Dies: Circle stax - MFT Die-namics, Big circle dies scalloped edge - Presscut

Charm: Tiny pine cone charms - The Ribbon Girl

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: E41/43/47
Hat / cape / mittens / bow: R27/46/39/59
Dress: W2/3/4
Boots: W5/6/7/8
Furry bits: W00/1 (& Glamour Dust)
Reindeer body / collar: E41/42/43/44
Reindeer light patch on back: E40/41/42
Reindeer hooves / antlers / nose: E43/44
Reindeer ears: R000/00/01
Bells: YR30/31
Ground: W00/0/1/2/3/4

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Winter birthday princess

Hello lovely people,

I took a little time out from organising my newly kitted out craft room to do some colouring this morning, so I'm afraid the room is still in way too much disarray to photograph yet!

Instead I just have a card to share and I'm showcasing some LOTV products as part of the Design Collective.

At least, that was the plan but unfortunately, both the image and papers have been discontinued :-( 

This image is fabulous for winter birthdays...the only time it gets used - lol!
The snowflake blobs have had a little Glamour Dust treatment but it seems to be a little camera shy this time!

Card recipe;

Image: Snow Queen - LOTV (discontinued)

DP: Snow Princess - LOTV (discontinued)

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts
Twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Dies: Tea label tags - Magnolia Doohickeys, Fancy flourish - MFT Die-namics

Sentiment: A little sentimental - Clearly Besotted

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: E53/57/59
Dress / shoes / star / bow: V20/22/25/28
Crown / socks: BG70/72/75
Small stars: BG72/75
Ground: W00/0/1/2/3/4

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend, whatever you are getting up to...crafty or otherwise :-)

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

This time in pink!

Hello lovely people,

I had a lovely time catching up with people from work at the Pizza Hut lunch yesterday and my final pizza slice total was.....8 slices!  But I cheated a little by not eating the boring crusts ;-)

And now it's time for a new challenge at In The Pink

Our theme this time is...

PINK CHRISTMAS

So don't forget we want to see more pink than any other colour!

Our fabulous sponsor this time is Paper Nest Dolls with a $15 voucher

I had another play with this lovely stamp because it was just crying out to be done in pink and I fancied a bold modern design this time.

Since I threw rather a lot of bling at this card the tag seemed very appropriate!

Card recipe;

Image: Bubble tree - Woodware

DP: from stash

Twine: Cotton candy pink Bakers Divine Twine - The Ribbon Girl

Tag: Christmas sentiment tags - LOTV

Dies: Dotties - Presscut

Gems - from stash

If you haven't already done so then do pop over to In The Pink and check out the gorgeous creations from the rest of the Pink Ladies.

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Challenges I am entering;

Winter warmth

Hello lovely people,

I have come to the conclusion that I need a time machine and then maybe, just maybe, I could be ready in time for Christmas ;-)

Ok, not going to happen so I'll just crack on with those Christmas cards and meanwhile...

..it's Creative Inspirations challenge time and this week we have the theme...

ANYTHING GOES
with the option to use a sketch

Here's a lovely new sketch for you, or you can use any of the sketches from the Creative Inspirations sketch page

Our sponsor for this challenge is Time for Tea Designs with a prize of 5 digis of the winner's choice

I have done my usual thing of using the sketch but tweaking it a little...so my embellishment cluster grew a little bit and also migrated over to the opposite corner!

The papers I chose are such soft pastels that I wanted to keep my colouring a little paler than normal, which I find quite tricky with Copics.  So, I just did one layer of each colour rather than my usual two layers and I think it does look a little softer.

I always find myself reaching for my little letter stamps when I want to personalise cards...although in this case 'Felicity' is entirely fictional and can be replaced with any other name as and when I need to!

Card recipe;

Image: Winter warmth - Time For Tea Designs

DP: Vintage frost basics - Maja Design (available from Live and Love Crafts)

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts
Lace: Teresa - The Ribbon Girl

Tag: Sentiment tags - LOTV

Letter stamps: magazine freebie set

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: E41/44/47
Coat / boots: R81/83/85
Hat / scarf / boots: B91/93/97
Hand warmer / pom poms: W00/1/3
Boot soles: W6/7/9
Ground: W00/0/1/2/3/4

The DT have made some gorgeous samples to inspire you so pop over to Creative Inspirations to take a look :-)

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Challenges I am entering;

Sparkle bubble tree

Hello lovely people,

It's time for a new challenge at As You Like It and our theme this time is...

YOUR FAVOURITE SEASON
...and don't forget to tell us why it's your favourite!

Our sponsor this time is Sweet and Sassy Stamps

My favourite season for card making is winter because I love all the festive images, beautiful snowflakes and of course, adding lots of sparkle to my creations.
I only usually start making my Christmas cards in October/November but I LOVE doing them and always end up with way more Christmas supplies than I need!
This fabulous stamp I got at the NEC Hobbycrafts show is a case in point because I really didn't need any more Christmas stash but I fell in love with it and *had* to have it!
I think this image could be used all year round for other occasions too so it was totally worth getting it ;-)

I made the card candy dots myself using a new die and teamed them with glittered Copic coloured dots, pearls and Nuvo crystal drops; I really love this mix of different textures :-)

I am so excited to try this in some different colours...pink maybe?!

Card recipe;

Image: Bubble bloom festive tree - Woodware

DP: Winter wonderland - Joy Crafts (from Noor! Design)

Twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Dies: Lovely fence - Magnolia Doohickeys, Dotties - Presscut
Sparkle: Crystal Glamour Dust
Blue pearl dots: Wedgewood blue Nuvo crystal drops - Tonic Studios

Copic colours;
BG70 & BG72

I hope you will pop over to As You Like It and check out the fabulously creative projects from the rest of the team :-)

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Challenges I am entering;
to be added