Pencil Lines, Prizes and Pretties!!

Another sketch update, this time from Pencil Lines. Check out their blog for masses of sketches and years of inspiration......this one is sketch 145! I am in love with blossoms, brads, rub ons and Papertreys Dark Chocolate ink right now - i think i managed to use them all on this layout! lolRemember today is the last day to vote for your Gallery Idol favourite - the winner is announced tomorrow!! :) I have just had to send my address for the prizes for getting into the top 20, 15 and 10 so im very excited and will share piccies when they arrive :)

Anyone else drooling over the CHA releases?? Im loving most of them right now and cant wait till they hit the UK shores! I NEED some of these mini alphabets so if anyone sees some on their travels give me a yell please............how yummy are they!!

Save the Date.....

My lovely cousin, Laura, is getting married next year and requested some save the date notices to be sent out. I hadnt heard of them before but theyre a fab idea, its a little note to stick on the calender so that people reserve that date ready for the actual invitation coming through :) Theres the information at the back, the blue which is their wedding colour card in the middle, then embossed Save the Date front cover. I thought it would be a little more special if i boxed and tissued them ready to give to Laura to post out - i popped one on the front so that she can see what its like finished off :)Aint forward planning cool!! lol

Laura, Jonathan and my little Ethan (he adores them both!) photo taken last summer at nanas birthday party :) I cant believe how much they have all changed in just one year!

5 more packs of buttons and 2 ink pads arrived this morning to add to my growing collection......im wondering if i can reach the roof by the time i have all the colours - PTI please stop bringing out such yummy colours and let me catch up with whats already out first!! lol

Mojo in motion!!

Loving me some ink right now - yep everything is inked and raggy edged to within an inch of its life lately! While the boys have played today i have been making some goodies with some of the fab sketches around :)

First up is Creative Scrappers sketch #61, i love the fact it has 3 photo spaces but works equally well with only 1 pic! Photo is of my little sis while we giggled in an OK diner - eating bacon, egg, pancakes and maple syrup for breakfast - it was a one off, i dont think my heart could stand it regularly!! lol

Second is based on sketch #30 from 52sketches...52weeks :) Ive wanted to scrap some of the baby pics i have of the boys but always seem to struggle. This one came together quite easy but you would be forgiven for thinking it was a girl i had because of all the pink! lol

Remember the final 5 go live for Gallery idol tonight - go vote for Shanna........ oops i mean your favourite!! ;) Hehe go girl!! :D

Lots of Thank yous today!!

I have so many thank yous to say today so i will start with the biggest - thank you to everyone who voted for me in the rounds of Gallery Idol!! I didnt make it though to the top 5 this week but finishing in the top 10 is a huge accomplishment and i didnt even think i would get that far so Thank you for believing in me :)

Thanks to the Cuttlebug blog for another amazing sketch - i hope youre all following their CHA journey?? :)
Thank you to the girls at the Sketch and Stash Challenge blog for the fab sketch. My take on it is below....
The stamp is from the new Popcorn range from Crafters Companion

Thank you to Amazon for a superfast delivery of some 'light reading' ;) I love any books that can help me be the best i can be and also when Heather recommended Redeeming Love i jumped at the chance :) Thanks Heather xxx
I will finish up my little love fest with a layout made with Bo Bunny papers and Papertrey Ink stamps.....Jake thought it was so cool to have a tray bake birthday cake - it was HUGE!!!
He also keeps giggling when i sing 'Happy Birthday Choo choo' (his birthday was May - Scotts is on Sunday so more birthday piccies to scrap soon) :D

Sneaky peeks!

Please forgive me today for posting some peeks, im busy finishing off some guest design team spots so the actual layouts have to remain unseen until they go live! I couldnt help but share these little peeks as im so pleased with how they have turned out, plus ive been that busy finishing these i havent done anything else to show you!! EEK! guess whos going to be making some cards this afternoon while the boys are playing in the garden! ;)

The sun is shining and its a perfect washing day - theres nothing nicer than the smell of fabric softener wafting through the open windows :) Enjoy today everyone and thank you for the lovely sweet comments i recieve via this blog - i really am blessed and please know each one is very much appreciated *love*

:D

Dawns colour challenge #12

and again just in the nick of time! LOL Cutting it fine again with Dawns colour challenge, this time but with the time difference i think i managed to get this in under the line! lol
I love these papertrey papers and stamps - the basket is so versatile and can be used for many card themes :)
The red card has a fab sheen to it and is the same as the one i used for the polished floor on the Cinderella card.

If you havent yet voted for gallery idol i know all the girls would appreciate it if you could take th time to register and cast your vote :)

Gallery Idol Top 10 - buttons!!

Yayyy tonight the next round of Gallery Idol went live! Our mission this round was to use buttons, concidering i use them on almost every card/layout/project i thought it would be a breeze. I wanted to go down a route i havent done before, whats further than my usual than a Cinderella night sky with starry buttons!!I sprayed the buttons with Crafters Companion glitter spray and boy is that stuff sparkly!! The navy cardstock was sprayed with it too and its so dreamy looking! The invitation/card was placed against white for the main gallery photo but for my blog i decided to make it a little more fantasy. The clock strikes midnight and there one lost slipper too.......If you like my card please vote for me before closing on Thursday night, the next round is the final 5 and i think i would probably pass out if i got that far as all the cards are stunning tonight!! lol

Thanks to all of you and a huge thanks to Paper Crafts for this fabulous opportunity!!

I have a little toot as well............I got an email today saying i had been chosen to be guest designer in August for Genuinely Jane Studios . Go check out their site - they have just launched the most amazing and HUGE list of wooden books and embellishments!! :) I cant wait to get to work!! :)

On a non scrappy front.....dont you just love it when you havent been into the charity shops in a while and it ALL looks new!! Well, today we tootled down to our local shop and picked up some fab bargains!
Woods of Windsor Lavender Bath Grains - 50p!Clear your Mind - mini book 50p Check out the note written inside too - how sweet is that, not to mention the fact its for Debs (i couldnt say no could i!) lolFab striped box folder £1 (to keep all my scrapbooking bling stickers in), gift bags 20p each for teachers pressies and my most favourite purchase of the day..........a mint green, complete with monkey, NEVER BEEN USED Kipling bag.......... £2.50!! Bargain! :D

Challenge, pretties and quirky!!

Ok lets start with the quirky - yes, the boy has done it again! LOL Scott has a passion for dressing up, making things and generally being creative so it didnt suprise me when, after a week of playing wrestlers, he came downstairs looking like The Undertaker. Im hoping its just a phase as im not too keen on sharing eyeliner!! lol ;)

Next we move to the challenge which is this weeks take on the Card Patterns sketch :) Any excuse to use Raspberry Fizz bitty square papers :) Go take a peek at their blog - theres lots of amazing work by a lot of talented girls!!

Heres a little peek at a layout i have just finished, cant share the full thing yet but will do asap :) Its all Bo Bunny papers, stickers and die cuts. The buttons are PTI and its all edged with Dark Chocolate ink by PTI too :)

For the shabby chic'ers out there i have managed to nab a photo of my latest Coleport pins. Mum keeps picking them up at her local charity stores too so im gaining a cute little collection :)

Remember to check back tomorrow night to see my upload for the button challenge for the Gallery Idol competition :)

OMGoodness Im in the top 10!!

OMGoodness ive made the top 10 of Gallery Idol!! EEK!! Thank you so much for the support :) The next round is buttons so im going to get my thinking cap on - its to be uploaded by 9am MST on Monday so i know what i will be doing this weekend! lol

Sorry for the lack of update yesterday but this house has been manic lately!! Scott was a superstar in the school production of Bugsy Malone - not only did he have a part......he had the star roll!! So much for him to learn and in an amazingly acurate American accent too (i believe we can credit the cartoons and sit coms for that!) LOL

Twix escaped yesterday and ended up spending the night out in the rain, not a good thing for a housecat. DH left the kitchen window ajar to let some air in (its so warm!) and the cats pushed it open and escaped! Crunchie came straight back in but Twix disapeared!! We finally resigned ourselves to the fact he must have been hiding from the horrid rain somewhere and went to bed, getting up at 6.30 to start the search again! He came waddling out of a bush, soaked to the bone, looking and feeling awfully sorry for himself! Guess he wont do that again in a hurry!

Ive just finished reading The Shack and would highly recommend it to anyone. Whether you are a believer or not this is a fantastic story and yes ive started it again straight away! It really does make you think and in so many places i cried, laughed and wanted to walk along side them.

For now im giving up on tutorial Thursdays and will just upload as and when i have them done - may be once a fortnight, may be 5 times a week who knows!! There are so many exciting things happening right now i just darent promise something im not sure i will be able to keep!

Dreamboats & Petticoats....

We went to see the musical last night and it was great.......lots of old songs that i remember mum singing along to when i was little (im a 70s child so a little before my time to remember the actual songs being released!) LOL Scott Bruton (one of the boys knocked out of X Factor) was the lead and he played a great part..well worth going to see if you like 60s music (i would have gone just to watch the dresses!!) lolAs for the rest....Today im mainly catching up on housework as mum has just left to stay at my sisters for a few days, im so ready to get back into my routine and have the kids settle down instead of keep popping down on a night just to see Nana!! lol My MIL is coming to stay tomorrow as Scott has the lead in the school play - hes Bugsy Malone - we are so excited to see how it all turns out as hes worked like a little trooper for the part!

I will be back tomorrow with a new box template and some new projects ive been working on but right now i want to give a HUGE thank you to everyone for all the lovely comments on my washing machine card! :)

Gallery Idol - next round!!

Ok girls here are the pics of my card for this weeks challenge :) The theme was household items and i went for the thing most used in here - our washing machine!! lolWe were only allowed to upload one picture so here is the inside....I think it just finishes it off :)If you would like to vote please click on the box to the right which will take you straight to the Idol gallery.

Sunday catchup and TOOT!!

Yesterday me, my sis and mum went to visit my dads sister (June) and her family who lives in York. It was lovely as she really looked so much like dad and even had his manerisms and everything! It made me smile, for some reason it wasnt sad........it was really lovely to see :)
We called at an American diner for breakfast, stayed at my Aunts for dinner (the meringue was the best ive ever had - Denise is a miracle worker with a whisk!!) :D
Loved the range as i managed to pick up beds and a scratchpost for the cats for half the price they would have been in Pets at Home!! So envious of people who live within reasonable distance of this fab shop, unfortunatley a 2 hour drive wont cut it with DH! lol

I swear this girl makes me giggle so much!! My little sis....I am so happy, i have been chosen to be on the Creative Scrappers Design Team!! Check out this fabulous sketch blog and forum for some great ideas!! My first layout as part of the dt will be coming soon :)

Ive finished my Gallery Idol 'appliance' card, its uploaded and will be going live lunchtime tomorrow MST (which is around 6 - 7 pm UK time) I will post a link again and more pics here too :)

Thank you so much for all the comments and wonderful emails - i do try and comment back on everyones blog etc or reply to the mails as they are really appreciated :D

Top 15 Yayyy!!

Thank you so much for your support girls, i made it into the top 15 of Gallery Idol - im so excited i could burst!! Papercraftconnection is where the announcement is so check it out for all the info on the next round...........household object..........hmmm will have to think hard on this one! eek! The cards have to be submitted by monday and i think voting goes live Monday lunchtime US time :)

In the meantime here is a card i made using the Cardpatterns sketch. I used Papertrey Ink bitty square paper, chocolate ink and sentiment from the Vintage basket collection, Prima flowers and Hero arts swirl stamp.

Creative Scrappers sketch/ Cuttlebug combo ....

After a swift run through to the shops this morning (told you i was running out of DST - well it happened!! eek!!) i have come to the conclusion on 3 things.............

1. when you have no money you see loads of things you would like
2. when you have your hands full with shopping the little ones legs give up and they need carrying
3. you will sound like foghorn as soon as the little one goes round a corner out of sight! **i swear my heart will never be in its normal place again, then this little angel face says Boo and you dont know whether to cuddle or cry** It wasnt even major, he hadnt wandered for miles he was literally ducked down at the bottom of the checkout just out of view but i swear he could have been abducted by little green men the way my heart sank!

When we got home i chilled and scrapped (suprise!) a sketch set by Creative Scrappers. I have so many windows open with challenge pages, sketches, tasks and designs that i will get caught up one of these days! I have combined this one with a challenge set at the Cuttlebug Challenge blog - go check it out, supercool prizes up for grabs! The tree is simply brown cardstock edged and inked, which is instead of the mini tutorial today i took a pic of how to create the fluted edge ( i know Jane asked for details the other day and the only way to explain was via pics.....)

Its so simple but will ruin your nails so be prepared! Stick the double sided tape a little bit away from the edges of your cardstock etc otherwise you wont be able to lift up the very edge. Run your fingernail underneath and flick it upwards now and again causing the little tears. You can do lots or just say touch it - both creating different effects :)

Pah.....summer???

A lot to share today as i went into overdrive yesterday! I think it was seeing the rain pouring down and not being able to get out and about that sent me into a creative spin! Please let the sun come back - it really cant have been summer already, can it?? There surely has to be some more warm weather on the way?? At the minute its like tropical thunderstorms every day, rain coming down so hard its bouncing and filling up the drains in seconds! Oh well, i guess as long as its cool i can get through some of the challenges etc and some DT work without the worry of melting all over them! :)

First up today is my take on a sketch from Creative Scrappers. I flipped the sketch and worked it upside down so i could take advantage of the Good Times Great Food sentiment printed at the top of the paper :) Papers are from a Cutnpaste pad (so shabby chic its adorable!!) Pic was taken of me and Claire on the way to Debden this year - an American diner with fab food, what more could we ask for on our 5 hour journey!! :)
Next up is a layout created for Scrapwhispers challenge this week. The challenge was to use red, white and blue - a combination im loving right now! Mine isnt based on July the 4th - more just fab colours that worked well with these poser photographs of Ethan! lol
I love the sheen on the red card. The star stamps are from Papertrey.
Its that time of year again when we get creative for the teachers :) Scott is leaving for big school so its going to be an emotional time when it comes to leaving his brothers in the little school :( I have made a special folder/book for Scotts teacher (she is also my next door neighbours daughter so i have inside info on the kind of things she likes - it also helps shes a cardmaker!!) which i will share shortly. I made this card for Jakes teacher based on the sketch from Sketch Saturday. The stamps are Vintage Basket from Papertrey ink.
Last but not least is my take on the Caardvarks sketch this week. Cupcakes and inks are all from Papertrey (ok so you didnt really expect anything else did you! lol )
Right, today i have a list of things i need to get done so im logging off here now..........ok, let me check some sites first......oh and i need to check emails too.....ooh and theres those blogs i didnt visit.......

Im running out of DST!!

Im going through double sided tape like its no ones business!! I dont even think ive scrapped this much since i first started - i just cant get enough and would rather substitute sleep with playing right now! lol

Here is a layout i created based on the So Sketchy July layout sketch. Its a little about the journey i have been on to get to where i am now, (lets just say i owe my friends a lot!) :)It was lovely to use these papers as ive never had the right photographs before (the boys just dont suit damask and fleur d lys patterns) LOL

I cant seem to do a layout without it having the fluted edges either - it adds the depth im looking for right now so maybe i will stick with it a while, maybe not - we will see :)

Thanks again for all the support and lovely comments about Gallery idol. All of the girls have done a fantastic job and im just pleased to have been placed amongst them :)