Anyone for Anya meets Wild Orchid!

It's another Christmas card! It's also another faded photo - those reds and greens are a bit darker irl.

I found a pack of gold card in my stash the other day which I thought would look good with the Dovecraft 'Noel' pack. So I got out my favourite Anya and coloured her in Christmas Speccies et voila!

I may have overdone the Wild Orchid Crafts flowers, but once I started I couldn't stop! The gorgeous metal corner is also from Wild Orchid Crafts.

The frame is cut with a Go Kreate Frilly Square 6. I used a Marianne die for the swirl and an X-Cut die for the star. The sentiment is LotV and the starry red ribbon was a magazine freebie last year.

I'm entering two challenges: Anyone for Anya? has the lovely sketch (I hope I haven't covered it up too much!!)

The current Wild Orchid Challenge is 'Make it sparkle with stars!' - well, there are stars on the ribbon and also one die-cut in the corner!

It seems so odd to be making a Christmas card on such a gorgeous sunny day!

Thanks for looking, and I hope the sun is shining on you - literally and metaphorically!

luv, Mags x

Spectrum Noirs: Green set - 163, 48, 43, 51; Red set - 5, 3; Yellow set - 35, 38, 45; Skin tones - 132, 133, 142, 196.

Gamer boy!

Hi, guys! It's a glorious sunny day, and everyone seems to be smiling!

Here's a card using one of the first LotV images I bought. I made it for a neighbour's son, but apparently the image shows an X Box and he has a Play Station, and never the twain shall meet! It sounds like they're rivals like Lancashire vs Yorkshire or Arsenal vs Tottenham! Who knew?! So I'll probably make him something else.

I used Speccies again (finally becoming used to the colours!) I edged the Nestie shape and the sentiment with 64 in lieu of a mat (I ran out of the blue card) and glittered over the top. The racing car has also been slathered with glitter.

The papers are Nitwits 'Heavenly'. I used a Martha Stewart zig zag punch. The ribbon and stickers (including the sentiment sticker) are from stash.

I'm entering these challenges:

Lili of the Valley who want Aqua, White and Glitter;

Oldie but a Goodie whose theme is 'One for the Boys' the RUBBER stamp you use must be more than 6 months old - I've had this cutie for almost 18 months!

Sketch Saturday - the great sketch.

(DT visitors - is this layout of my post easier to read? Let me know if you don't like it!!)

Anyway, thanks for looking, hope you're all having a good week!

luv, Mags x

Speccies: All the turquoise set; Skin Tones 132, 133, 132; Browns 92, 96, 98; Blue Greys BG1, BG5

An Angel from the Realms of Glory!

I am all over ink and glitter and Glossy Accents!

It's a long time since I made a Penny Black card! This week's Challenge is monochrome. I picked up the gorgeous Dovecraft 'Noel' papers in a sale after Christmas, and was inspired to do a vintage colouring by the damask background paper and the glittery paper on the right! The third piece, with writing on, is a snippet by K and Co.

The sketch is from Sweet Sketch Wednesday

I used Speccies, and glittered the angel's trumpet, wings and the stars. I got some Diamond Stickles at Ally Pally on Saturday, and they seem to pick up the colour of the Vintage Photo Distress Ink I used to stamp the image. I like the effect, though it was pure serendipity (sounds better than 'luck' doesn't it?!

The snowflake is a Marianne die, distressed in Vintage Photo and stickled. The lace is from stash, and the card candy was coloured with Natural Oak (Spectrum Noir no 91) and glossy accented. It all took ages to dry!

In spite of the sunshine, the sparkles don't really show :(!

I'm entering this into PBSC

and Sweet Sketch Wednesday

and Flutter By Wednesdays where 'Anything Goes' as long as there's a fairy, butterfly or angel!

I'm off to hang out the washing now - life's all go at the moment!!

Thanks for looking!

luv, Mags x

Spectrum Noirs: all the brown set plus Skin Tones: 169 Putty, 135 Pale Cherry Pink, 132 Milky White, 133 Baby Skin Pink; Warm Grey 1

DT call!

Crafty Cardmakers and The Spotlight Challenge are under new management and have a DT call.

Do pop over and have a look, and see if you'd like to join them!

luv, Mags x

Autumn!

This card is for a new challenge blog, The Cutie Pie Challenge which has a very nice sketch.

Tilda is coloured with Speccies. The papers are snippets again - the horizontal strip is pearlised and through bad planning I managed to cover the pretty pattern! I put blobs of gold liquid pearls round the scallopped oval, and Glossy Accents on Tilda's shoes and orange stickles on her flowers. The ribbons are from stash and so are the flowers and the crystals. The round orange stickers are Paperchase.

Right, I really ought to keep on with sorting my room (again!) Thanks for looking!

luv, Mags x

Spectrum Noirs: Browns - 91, 94, 98, 100, 104; Greens - 42, 43, 48, 175; Skin Tones - 132, 133, 135, 142; Yellows - 24, 33; Warm Grey 1

Bite Me!

Purple and black are not my normal colours, but Lil Haunts Vampire Lilith, who is a digi from Tickled Pink Stamps, demanded to be given a Gothy and mysterious look, so what could I do?!

I have had the sparkly black card for years - it came in an assortment from The Range and I found it while having yet another clear-out of my shambolic craft room. The purple paper with writing on it is Papermania capsule collection, and I put it twice through my paper crimper to give a waffle texture, just for a change. The other paper was loose in a drawer and I can't remember its provenance!

I used a MS deep edger punch and a Nestie to give a bit more interest. The ribbon is from stash, it has a slight sparkle that isn't showing well. Also not showing is the distressing round the image and the addition of Whiff of Joy Christmas swirls, both in Milled Lavender DI. The sentiment is from The Greeting Farm, stamped in Dusty Concord DI. The flowers are from stash, I coloured the gems with my Speccies and added Glamour Dust to the petals.

Lilith has been coloured with Spectrum Noirs - the photo is a bit faded, in reality the colours are more vibrant. I added purple glitter to her collar and the bows on her skirt, and put Glossy Accents on her boots, the wine glass and her mouth! She looks as if she's about to say 'I do not drink.... wine' in a fake Transylvanian voice!

I'm entering two challenges: Inky Impressions Challenge - 'Dress to Impress' is the theme, and I think Lilith has done that! (Thanks, Joey, for the reminder!)

and a new challenge blog, Friday Sketch Challenge supplied exactly the sketch I needed!

Ok, back I go to my Grand Tidy-up - who knows what I'll find next?!

Thanks for looking, and have a good day!

luv, Mags x

Speccies: Skin Tones - 132, 133, 135; Purples - 81, 82, 83, 146; Cool Greys - CG0.5, CG1, CG7, CG9; Essentials - BG1; Reds - 1

Butterflies!

My daughter has been making cupcakes. My kitchen looks like an explosion in a cake factory!



Here's a card she commissioned for a friend who likes 'pretty' but not 'cute.' I used a scrap of K and Co paper for the background, and the glittery butterflies were cut from a piece from the 'Mariposa' stack by DCWV which was fluttering in my scraps drawer.



I found these gorgeous glittery stickers at the bottom of my Christmas papers drawer - heaven knows what they were doing there! So I decided to use them for the inside of the card.

Simples!

Although the stickers weren't snippets, the rest was, so I'm entering Jules's Snippet Challenge. It's so encouraging to know I'm not the only one with a paper snippets overload!!

Thanks for looking, and have a good week!

luv, Mags x

Dream Valley Challenge 16 - Buttons!

Good afternoon, all! It's time for another Dream Valley Challenge and this fortnight the theme is - use BUTTONS!

Our sponsors are Digis With Attitude who are offering a $10 voucher for their store. There are also freebies on the site, if you want to try before you buy!



My card features a DWA image, Gardening Tween. These Tweens make me think of those 'Bratz' dolls!! I used a Nestie to cut a hexagon, just for a change, and coloured her with Speccies and then distressed the edges of the hexagon with Spun Sugar Distress Ink.



The bp was free with a magazine: it's 'Vintage Rose' by Craftwork Cards. The flowers were punched with EK Success Retro punches from more paper from the same stack, and the pearlised buttons are from my mother-in-law's old button tin.

The leaves are made with a Woodware punch, the shiny pink ribbon is recycled from a birthday present, the gems are from stash and the sentiment is LotV.

The DT has had a great time with the theme, go on over to see what those inventive lassies have done! I do hope you'll join in this fortnight's challenge!!

I apologise for the faded photo, it was taken on quite a dark afternoon when I had to put the lights on. Typical of this summer, eh?!

Thanks for looking, and have a good week!

luv, Mags x

Spectrum Noirs: Skin Tones - 133, 142; Pinks 137, 8, 86, 15; Browns - 104, 100, 91, 92; Greens - 175, 163, 42; Cool Greys - CG1, CG3

'Snow business like snow business!

I know, I know, that is a very groanworthy pun!

It's high time I made a solid effort on my Christmas cards, and luckily there seem to be a lot of challenges out there to help! This one uses one of the new LotV Christmas images, 'Build a Snowman.' Haven't these little kiddies done a good job?!

I coloured with Promarkers, adding Glamour dust to the girls' white trims, and Glossy Accents to the holly in Mr Snowman's hat. The gorgeous ribbon was in my stash (it may have been a magazine freebie) and I mounted it on a strip of white card punched with an MS border and then glamour-dusted. The paper is Dovecraft 'Tis the Season.' The pearls came from Whiff of Joy. The sentiment is also LotV (love that script!)

I'm entering this for the Lili of the Valley Challenge, which wants a colour scheme of Green, Red and White - perfect for Christmas cards!

I'll be back tomorrow afternoon (after an exciting trip to Saino's) with my Dream Valley DT card. See you then, and thanks for looking!

luv, Mags x

Promarkers: Blush, Dusky Pink, Pastel Pink; Lipstick Red, Poppy, Ruby; Emerald, Pine, Forest Green; Vanilla, Putty; Tan, Caramel, Burnt Sienna; Cool Grey 1, 2, 5, Black; Bright Orange, Burnt Orange

Star Wars - help! And Ally Pally.

My daughter has asked me to make birthday cards for her young man and his twin, preferably with a Star Wars theme.

Help! Does anyone know of a source for stamps or digis? I could just buy a magazine and use pictures (not the Internet because of copyright!) but that seems like cheating!

Also will anyone be at Ally Pally next weekend who'd fancy meeting for a cuppa?

Help me, Obi-Wan Blogfriends, you're my only hope!!!

luv, Mags x

Rock on, Baby!

Now, this is really out of my comfort zone!

The pink, black and glitter papers are DCWV 'All Dressed Up' stack, and the glittered chipboard is from the matching set of chipboards, all a bit OTT! I've distressed all the edges with my scissors, rather than mat everything, because the papers are quite heavy.

There are few things more embarrassing than propping a card open and then seeing it topple forward because of the weight!

The gem brads in the corner are Do crafts, and the pink stars are Paperchase. I stamped Kenny K's Rock Chick with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with Promarkers, and I covered her guitar with Glossy Accents.

The sketch is from Sweet Stampin' Challenge Blog and they also want a card for a teenager. I know precisely who I'll be giving this to, a 13-year-old Goth girl whose favourite colours are pink and black!

There's a DT call at the challenge blog, too.

Thanks for looking!

luv, Mags x

Promarkers: Dusky Pink, Blush, Pastel Pink, Cinnamon, Cocoa, Henna, Cool Grey 1, 4, 5, Black, Blossom, Pink Carnation, Rose Pink

Windswept! My first Simply Sassy!

This little darling happened to blow into my shopping basket - well, with the weather so windy it seemed rude not to welcome her!

The current Sugar Bowl Challenge is this useful sketch, with the option of using scraps - well, I have an awful lot of scraps, so any reason to dig into the pile is a good thing!

The base card is a rectangle, mainly because I grabbed a piece of blue card and forgot to cut it into a square - but I think the image suits the shape. I tore the strips of yellow and blue papers to give definition without using a mat, mainly because I didn't have enough of the blue base card!

The lace is from Hobbycraft, the flowers are Wild Orchid, with leaves punched from another scrap of paper behind them. The gems are Paperchase. I stickled with Waterfall on the frills of the dress and round the oval shapes. The sentiment is a freebie from a mag.

I'm entering The Sugar Bowl Challenge - I used the sketch and lots of scraps!

It's not as blowy today, thank goodness, and there's sunshine out there! Today I saw a Comma butterfly in the garden - beautiful rust and black wings, with a lovely indented edge. Very pretty!

Have a good day, everyone, and thanks for looking!

luv, Mags x

Promarkers: Blush, Dusky Pink, Pastel Pink; Buttercup, Tulip Yellow, Mustard; Powder Blue, Denim Blue, China Blue

Bring me sunshine!

I hope you're all enjoying a peaceful Sunday. We have sunshine!

I haven't made any Iris fold cards for a long while, so I thought I'd use up some yellow scraps and make a sun. I die-cut the circle in a square of card and used a pattern from this book. The yellow frame and the holographic card are also from the scraps box.

I also decorated the inside:




The brown birds are cut out from one of the scraps of paper I used for the sun.

I'm going to enter this into Jules's Snippet Challenge. I didn't use quite as much paper as I hoped - and now of course I've got lots of narrow strips instead of half-cut sheets!

Thanks for looking!

luv, Mags x

A baby Girl

This is a card for the twin of a baby boy The image is hAnglar and stAnglar 'bee girl.' The twins are being baptised tomorrow, so I wanted to make cards for them that had similar images.

I used my new Martha Stewart PATP Deco Flowers from craftsulove. The papers are MME OohLala The doily is a Marianne die, and the butterfly is a Magnolia die. The ribbon and the alphabet beads and the buttons are from stash, and the button twine is Whiff of Joy. The butterfly is Magnolia. The butterfly and doily are shiny teal card scraps from stash.

I'm entering this card into the Crafting Life's Pieces challenge, because their sketch this month is just so lovely!

ETA: Actually, the challenge won't accept my picture so I can't join in! Never mind, it's a great sketch anyway!

Thanks for looking!

luv, Mags x


promarkers: Blush, Dusky Pink, Pastel Pink, Tan, Putty, Caramel, Mint, Pastel Green, Cocktail Pink, Antique pink

A baby boy!

I used Excalibur (my Grand Calibur)for this card, as you can tell! I used a Grand Nestie Labels One for the papers and base, and folded one in half and glued it to the back to make a stand. The papers are Bearly Mine Boys Zone.

The image is a hAnglar and sTenglar, coloured with Specciesand the wings stickled. I used foam pads to give him dimension, and also curled the image a bit to make him look more realistic. The buttons are Paperchase, the button twine is Whiff of Joy. The alphabet beads are from stash and I've had them for yonks! The banner is a Molly Bloom stamp, free with a magazine, and I stamped it on coloured paper and stickled the flags.

I'm entering the following challenges:

Just Magnolia where 'Anything Goes' with an option of circles - there are circles on one of the papers, and I hope the buttons count, too!

Papertake Weekly where 'Anything Goes' with an option of a shaped card

Sketch Saturday - I flipped the sketch.

Gotta love you and leave you, time to start the tea!

Thanks for looking

luv, Mags x

Spectrum Noirs: Skin tones - 133, 142; Pinks - 137; Blues - 185, 183, 74; Browns - 92, 91

A LotV Christmas card for a dear friend!

Phew! I'm just in time for the Lili of the Valley Challenge!

This week there's a sketch to follow. The papers are by Kate Knight, free with a magazine last year - the picture makes them look blue, but actually they're a gorgeous teal, and a contrasting bright pink.

I coloured this little LotV sweetie with my Speccies, using the turquoise set - it's not a colour I use much, but I'm quite pleased with how it turned out! I slathered her muff and the ground with glamour dust. The corner flourish is a Nestie, and I stickled the petals of the embossed flower in the corner and also around the edges of the bp. The snowflakes and poinsettia are made with Marianne dies - the flower uses more paper from the same pad.

I must say, I'm loving the Grand Calibur (I keep wanting to call it Excalibur!!) that my olde manne got me for my birthday! It embosses beautifully - no more faffing around with shims on my dear little Cuttlebug!

The text is also LotV. Ribbon is from stash, and if you squint you can see a Martha Stewart stars border punch has been used just below it. Only most of the border's been covered, d'oh!

The shiny dots are Paperchase stickers.

I've made this for my oldest friend - we met when we were 2 and went through Nursery and Primary School together. We both remember sitting on the floor at nursery in pairs, rocking to 'Row, Row, Row the Boat!' She prefers plain and simple rather than lots of fuss, so I haven't blinged or flowered the card - it looks a bit bare to me, but I think she'll like it! I don't see her nearly enough!

I'm also entering this for the Winter Wonderland challenge, whose theme is 'For a Special Friend.'

Ok, I'd better rush off to enter the challenges - why do I always leave everything till the last minute, eh?!

Thanks for looking!

luv, Mags x

Spectrum Noirs: Skin tones - 142, 133; Pinks - 137; Yellows - 37, 35, 33; Turquoises - 68, 65, 64, 62

Blog candy!

Aren't these amazing? Tab from Tabby Craft Designs is offering this candy to celebrate being on the DT for The Ribbon Girl. Her creations are lovely, do hop across and have a look!

luv, Mags x

Dream Valley Challenge 15 - Picture Inspiration

It's time for another Dream Valley Challenge already! Take this picture as inspiration and go where your fancy takes you - think garden parties, summer weddings, tea parties, delicate leaves and sprays of flowers, a still life of glasses and bottles, or take the colours from the picture as your starting point. And please tell us what the inspiration was, too, it's always fascinating to see how different people react differently to the same picture!!

It doesn't have to be a card, either!

We have two yummy sponsors this fortnight:



and:



The DT were lucky enough to have some great digi images from Sassy Studios to play with - I used I'm Every Woman - Bubble Bath. Wish I had legs like that!! The firm also has some gorgeous images of elegant ladies from films like 'Gone With the Wind' and some fun Pirate images - quite a variety!!

My card:



I saw a Christmas card made by Dawny Phillips in this zig-zag style in 'Cardmaking and Papercraft' (I think!) I picked the colours from the picture - green and white are so fresh and clean! The papers are Pink Petticoat, spots on the front and roses on the inside.

The image is coloured with Spectrum Noirs. (I had a list, but I just can't find it anywhere - sorry!!) I slathered the bubbles with glamour dust. I used a Woodware punch to round two of the corners, and distressed the image and papers with Bundled Sage Distress Ink. The ribbon is from stash, and I glued it onto some paper ribbon, recycled from a Christmas present. I dotted the paper with glue and sprinkled on more glamour dust to give more bling.



Here's the inside - the sentiment is The Greeting Farm, the gems are from stash.

Hope you like it, chaps, and do go across to Dream Valley to see the inspiration my teamies have ready for your delectation and delight!

Thanks for looking!

luv, Mags

Halloween blog hop from Squiggle Stamps

Just to let you know that Squiggle Stamps are having a blog hop to celebrate their new Halloween release. These are seriously cute! Hop along and have a look!

Two posts in one day!

My olde manne is out tonight, so I've been ensconsed in my room, creating!

I love this Whiff of Joy image of Willow adjusting her shoe. She is so graceful and elegant, and I love her ruffled sleeves!

I went back to my Promarkers, which are easier to use than Speccies because I know twhich colours work together! The swirls are also Whiff of Joy, stamped in Worn Lipstick DI, and I also dragged the edges around the ink pad to emphasise them. The pink mat is a Nestie and is also edged with Worn Lipstick. I've stickled her belt and jewellery, and also round the edge of the image, and along the cross-shape.

Papers are MME, from a pad that was a magazine freebie last year (loved these so much I bought a second copy!) I also used the Martha Stewart Doily Lace punch. The pearls are from stash.

I'm entering this into the current Sketch Saturday Challenge it's a really nice sketch, very simple.

I'm also entering the Whiff of Joy Challenge where the theme is 'Pink and Pearls.'

Ok, time to tidy and make a cuppa before Himself gets home!

Thanks for looking!

luv, Mags x

Promarkers: Tan, Burnt Sienna, Henna; Blush, Dusky Pink, Pastel Pink; Cocktail Pink, Dusky Rose.

Lemonade, anyone?

My goodness! We have sunshine (sporadically!) I'm even keener than usual on sunshine, because we now have solar panels on the roof! The electric meter goes BACKWARDS!! So exciting!

But enough of this blathering, you cry. What about the card?

The cute image is by Elisabeth Bell for Belles and Whistles, from Dies to Dies For. I coloured her with Speccies again. The swirls round her are Whiff of Joy Christmas swirls, stamped in Wild Honey Distress Ink, and I also distressed all the papers with the same ink. My yellow card is very bright, and the distressing toned it down a lot!

Papers are Cosmo Cricket 'Togetherness' which are lovely Retro designs. The sketch is by 'Sweet Sketch Wednesday.'

I stickled the swirls, the lemon slices and the dots on her bows. The flower is 3 Prima blooms, the blue swirl underneath is a Marianne die, and the green brad is one of a Papermania set I picked up at the Ally Pally last year. The glittery ribbon is from stash, the shiny stickers are Paperchase.

Talking of Ally Pally, is anyone going who'd like to meet up for a coffee? I hope to go, probably on the Saturday. It would be nice to meet fellow carders who understand the lure of stash!!!

I'm entering this card into the current Sweet Sketch Wednesday Challenge where the DT is showcasing Elisabeth Bell images.

Ok, if it's Thursday afternoon it must be time for the ironing! I have no life.

Thanks for looking!

luv, Mags x

Spectrum Noirs: Hair Browns 91, 92, 96; Skin - Skin Tones 142, 133, 132 and Pinks - 137; Apron - Skin Tones 142, 169; Trousers and plate - Blue 144, 185, 183; Lemons - Yellows 38, 45; Shadows: Blue Grey 1.