Saying thanks with a cupcake - Softpencil Tuesday

Was that really Christmas???  It went by so quickly - I think it must be an age thing!!  When I was a kid it seemed to take forever for Christmas to get here and now it seems like no time at all between one Christmas and the next!  Hey ho - New Year to look forward to now!
Well it is Tuesday once again and that means time for another Softpencil Tuesday.  This week the Design Team were given another of Elizabeth's fabulous images to use called Ratiny in a Cupcake.  I decided to make a Thank You card with it and here it is:

Now this Thank You card was given to one of my work colleagues.  We all signed it to say a huge big thank you for organising our Christmas Party in Chester - after all we did have a fabulous time and I hope she organises next year's too!!

I decided to use a couple of those wonderful die cuts from Die Cut Dreams which I think are just soooo versatile.  I added a ribbon across the middle of the main die cut and secured it with my stapler and used another piece of the same ribbon across the top left corner of the card. 

The "thanks" (again a die cut available from Die Cut Dreams) is coloured with inks using a dauber and I have tried to graduate the colour because, well because I like it like that and the image is coloured with copics. The frosting on the cupcake is done using liquid pearls and then covered in white glitter.  I added some purple roses and a purple pin just to finish it off.
So I hope you like my card and I hope you remember to pop in on the rest of the Design Team and have a look at their fabulous creations too.
I would like to say to all my followers and the rest of blogland - have a Happy Healthy New Year and enjoy the parties (if you are going to one that is) - stay safe and see you all in the New Year.

Ooh La La - A Toast to 2011!!

Well, we had a lovely turnout for the Nativity Scene challenge last time - there were some really beautiful entries.  Remember to stop by the Ooh La La challenge blog and see who the top 3 were.
Onto the last challenge of the year then and as you have probably already guessed we want to see your New Year cards - the challenge is entitled A Toast To 2011.  You may interpret this however you want so long as we can see the challenge theme on your entry.
Here is the card I made for this challenge:

I have used a pyramage image from the Joyeux Noel CD (available to buy at the Ooh La La Store) and I have simply matted the image onto navy and then gold card

and layered that onto navy card which I have punched down one side with my Fiskars Snowflake punch. 

I have added three gold (well I think they are orange but I'm gonna call 'em gold for now!) gems at the top and bottom of the card and Voila!!

Please remember to stop by the rest of the DT and have a look at their projects too.

I would just like to say a huge big thank you to everyone who has taken the time to enter any of our Ooh La La challenges this year and to say congratulations to all our winners from the past twelve months.  I hope you all have a fabulous New Year, stay safe and enjoy yourselves.  I look forward to seeing you all again for the first challenge of 2011!

401 and still going strong!!

Hi all,
I'm sorry but there is no card to show you today.
I would just like to say to my followers - thank you for following my blog - I'm sorry if I haven't been around to comment on your blogs lately, life has been a little on the hectic side but I do still follow you all in my dashboard and try and keep up to date with all that you do, just because I don't comment doesn't mean I dont' still love to see all your wonderful work.
To my new followers, thank you for joining me and please stick with me as there will be a candy in January as I will be celebrating the big 50 birthday next year so want to have a candy to celebrate.
And lastly to all my fellow Design Team Mates thanks for all your support, thank you to the DT leaders who asked me to join and thank you for having faith in my work - I love you all just for believing in me.
I want to take this opportunity to wish you ALL a very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.  I hope Santa brings you all your hearts desires.
See you all in 2011
Big hugs

Time to go all girlie at DCD

Please bear with me here, you will need to read on to the end as there is some important challenge information at the end of this post.
Firstly thought let me say so sorry my post is up late today - don't know whether I'm on this earth or Fuller's at the moment.  Went to our office party on Friday night - stayed overnight in Chester - fabulous night out, great food, even better full English Breakfast and a reasonable journey home despite the weather so I'm still in catch up mode.  Oh and no I didn't get rolling drunk - was still able to hold a perfectly civilised conversation at the end of the evening but still had a fab time!!
So anyway, excuses over, time for another challenge over at the Die Cut Dreams Challenge Blog.  Thank you to those of you who entered our Fairies challenge - not as many as usual but some fabulous creations nonetheless.  Stop by the challenge blog to see who the lucky winner was and who our top 3 were.
So on to a new challenge and this time we want to see how Girlie you can get.  Make whatever you want to but it should be as Girlie as you can!!  So plenty of scope for ribbons, flowers and bling then.
Here is the card I made for this challenge:

I used one of my Anya stamps from the Greeting Farm and this one is from the Anya Love set.  I have used a stool stamp from one of my Digital Delights stamp sets to sit Anya on then set this onto one of Susie's fabulous Die Cuts from Die Cut Dreams.  (Remember although the shop is closed for the holidays you can still place your order and Susie will sort it out when she re-opens after Christmas).

So I added a pink polka dot ribbon down the side, added a couple of pink butterflies, a pink pin and a selection of pink flowers.  The DP is from that fabulous Papermania range Henbury Lane.  The Sittin Pretty stamp is from the same Digital Delights stamp set that the stool came from.

Now I hope you are still reading folks because I have some important news for you.  From this point on our challenges will be going bi-weekly.  This challenge will run up until January 2nd which now gives you a bit more time to get your creations submitted.  Also, just for this challenge our wonderful leader Susie has given us all a couple of weeks off to spend a bit of time with our families over the Festive season, which means you probably won't get any comments for the entries on this challenge (althought I might leave the odd one if I get time).  But please don't let that put you off entering as the prize for this challenge is a Guest Designer spot for one of our future challenges so if you have time over the Christmas Period please submit and entry and you never know you could be a Guest Designer for Die Cut Dreams.

Easely a great challenge at Totally Tilda!!

Well, I am sorry this post is a bit late folks.  Went out for our Office Christmas Party on Friday night - we went to Chester and stayed over so didn't get back till midday yesterday and was absoloutely shattered so didn't get time to do my post ready for today........... but I'm here now - better late than never eh!
So, first off thank you to those of you who entered our last challenge - remember to pop in to the Totally Tilda challenge blog and see if you were one of our lucky winners/top 3.
So, time for another challenge - last one for this year and this time we want to see all your Easel Cards.  There are so many of you who make beautiful Easel cards so we are looking forward to seeing all your wonderful Tilda Easel creations.  This time we are lucky to have the wonderful Nikki from Bunny-Zoe's Crafts as our sponsor.

So if you are our lucky winner here is what you'll get as your prize!

Nikki's service is second to none and she stocks an awesome variety of goodies so even if you don't win the voucher you should pop over and have a look - don't forget your purse though!!
So here is the card I made for this challenge:

The DP on the  bottom is from a DCWV paperstack called Once Upon a Time and the sentiment is stamped onto one of Susie's versatile Die Cuts available at Die Cut Dreams. (I should tell you that Susie has closed up for the Christmas Period but you can still place your order and it will be dispatched as soon as possible when she re-opens in January).  The sentiment is a Clarity Stamp as is the flower to the right of it.  If you've never heard of Clarity Stamp before you might like to know that Barbara does shows on Create and Craft and also the website is well worth a visit.

The chair stamp is a Magnolia stamp which I purchased from Nikki at Bunny-Zoe's Crafts and I decided to paper-piece the chair as well as the books and letters.  Then I placed Tilda on the chair.

All the flowers, pin and pearls are from my stash as are the skeleton leaves. 

The butterfly is a peel off stuck on to acetate and cut out and then adhered to the card with my glue gun. 

The complete image is placed on another of Susie's wonderful die cuts. 

So people, can't wait to see your Easel creations - have fun.  I am going to enter this into the challenge at
Crafty Catz - Your Choice (I chose challenge 55 Magnolia)

Softpencil Tuesday

Hello everyone, did you miss me last week??  Now as I said in my last Softpencil post there will only be two posts during December.   Due to it being such a busy time of the year Elizabeth has decided that we should have a bit of time to do our Christmas shopping and our housework as well as crafting - thank you Elizabeth, you are so thoughtful.
So this week we are showcasing one of Elizabeth's Michu images and this one is called Christmas Michu.  I love this image and here is the card I made using him.

The candy cane is coloured using my Sakura Gelly Glaze pens - I always think these give such a good shine for things like this.  Michu's hat is embossed with my new WOW embossing powders in glittery red and the rest of the image is coloured using metallic pencils.

The image is matted onto one of those fabulous Die Cuts from Die Cut Dreams and the crackers are also from Die Cut Dreams.  The DP is from The Creative Table and is called Winter Wonderland.

The snowflakes are from my stash - probably one of the first things I ever bought!!!

So there you have it.  Please remember to pop in to the rest of the Design Team's blogs and have a look at their wonderful creations.  Next time you're sitting having a cup of tea why not pop in to the Softpencil group at Papercraft Planet where you will find likeminded folk for a chat, the occasional freebie and once in a while maybe even a challenge!
Remember, no Softpencil post next week as it is one of our week's off but we will be back on 28th December with a very cute little chap to share with you. 

A Nativity Scene at Ooh La La

Two weeks seems to get shorter and shorter - must be my age I think!!!
Time for another challenge at Ooh La La Creations.  Thanks for all your fabulous Christmas Song entries for our last challenge - there were some real crackers!! (oops, sorry LOL)  Remember to stop by the challenge blog and see who the lucky top 3 were.
So this time our challenge is called "Nativity Scene".  So as the title suggets we want to see your creations using a Nativity Scene.
Here is my card:

I have used an image from the CD Silhouette Magic (available to buy at the Ooh La La store), cut out one of the topper images and backed it onto silver mirri card.  I made this into an easel card and used the sentiment (which came from a Unity Stamp pack called Joy and Wonder which I won in a Candy a while back). 

I added some Crystal stickles to the stars just to lift it a little.  I have left it simple because I love black and white Christmas cards and I find that the more simple they are the more they stand out - I hope you agree.

Remember to stop by the rest of the Design Team blogs (links on the DT page tab) and have a look at their wonderful creations and then go have fun making your Nativity Scene entry for this fortnight's challenge.
TTFN xx

A Fairy new challenge at Die Cut Dreams!!

Catchy title eh???  Firstly let me say a huge big thank you to all those who entered our Three of a Kind challenge last week - what fabulous entries we had.  Please stop by the Die Cut Dreams challenge blog and see who our winners were.
So onto our next challenge and this time we want to see Fairies on your creations.  I chose to use one of my new Lili of the Valley stamps and here is the card I made for it:

The image is coloured using Tim Holtz distress inks and Sakura Gelly Glaze pens.  The backing papers are from the Papermania Henbury Lane range and these are backed onto purple mirri card and grey card respectively. 

The large purple flower is from my stash and I have added a pearl spray which I recently purchased from the Wedding section at Hobbycraft.

The bow is made using my bow easy.  I am really pleased with how this has turned out and I hope you like it too.  Please stop by the rest of the Dream Team's blogs and have a look at what they have to offer you as inspiration - trust me - you won't be disappointed.
Have a fairy good week everyone!!!

Sylvia's candy

Just a quick shout out for Sylvia at Sylvia's Stamping Place.  She is offering up a little Christmas Candy to celebrate the fact that it is nearly Christmas and that she has reached 250 followers.  Now despite the fact that the candy was originally open until 8th December Sylvia has decided to extend it until 12th December.  So what you waiting for - hop on over now to be in with a chance of winning - here is a little piccy of what is on offer.

Seeing three of a kind at Die Cut Dreams

Monday once more and that means another fresh challenge over at Die Cut Dreams.  Thank you for all your wonderful Sweet creations on our last challenge - simply mouthwatering!!  Remember to stop by the Die Cut Dreams challenge blog and see if you were our lucky handpicked winner or one of our talented hand picked top 3.
So onto the next challenge and that is "Three of a Kind" - we would like to see three cards all on the same theme.  So you could either use the same image on three different coloured backgrounds, or three layouts the same with a different image - it's up to you really - but there must be three cards (or creations) - you can't just use three of something on one card.
Ok, so I chose a Sarah Kay image and did it in three different colour ways.  Here they all are together:

and here they are in separate piccys:
Yellow:

Green:

Orange:

All the papers are from Papermania pads.  The flowers on each are hand made using my cuttlebug.  I punched them all out and then tipped all the petals with a contrasting ink.  All the images are coloured with Promarkers and are all set on die cuts from Die Cut Dreams.  I made the layout exactly the same for each card and used a birthday sentiment on each one too.  I quite enjoyed this as normally I only make one of everything (unless I am asked specifically to make a batch of cards)
Please remember to stop by the rest of the Dream Team's blogs and have a look at their creations - pretty awesome they are too!!
Can't wait to see what you all come up with - bet picking the winner/top 3 won't be easy this time! hehehehe.

Tilda for the one you love - Totally Tilda DT card.

Hello Tilda fans and welcome to another Sunday and you know what that means don't you??   That's right, it's time for the next challenge at Totally Tilda.  Thank you for all your wonderful Glitz and Gold entries in our last challenge.  Remember to stop by the Totally Tilda challenge blog and see if you were our lucky winner or one of our top 3!!

So onto the next challenge and this time we want to see your creations for someone you love and remember it must feature our Tilda to qualify as an eligible entry.  The Design Team were all given the opportunity to use one of Lynne's fabulous sentiments on this project - pop over to Sentiments 4 You if you haven't seen Lynne's awesome digital sentiments and tickets - but be warned - you're gonna need your purse!! LOL
Mind you, as the wonderful Lynne is sponsoring this challenge you may be in with a chance of winning a $10 gift certificate to spend at Sentiments 4 You so what better incentive do you need????

So here is my card for this challenge:

I have used Tilda and Edwin skating for this card - thanks Christine!!  The image is coloured with my promarkers and the image is set on - yes you've guessed it - a die cut from Die Cut Dreams!!  The DP is all from my stash as are the flowers which I have sprayed with Multicolour spray and sparkle from Crafter's Companion.

I hope you like my card, and remember to visit the rest of the Totally Tilda Design Team as they all have some fabulous creations to offer you some inspiration.
Thanks for stopping by and good luck with your entry into the challenge - Have Fun!!
Challenges:
A Crafty Little Place - Anything Goes
Craft Your Passion Challenges - Monochrome
Cute Card Thursday - The Blues
Moving Along With The Times - For Someone Special

Blog Launch with Fabulous Candy

Hi there blogging buddies.

Now you will remember I told you that there was going to be a new blog launching on the 1st January called Do It With Digis well, today sees the Blog Candy Launch for the new blog.
All you need to do is post one of the piccys of the candy on your blog (or all three if you like) and then leave your name with Mr Linky here.
Now there are some fabulous prizes to be won so here are the photo's of the candy that Lynne is offering for three lucky people.

HERE IS WHAT YOU COULD WIN ....

PRIZE ONE - EVERYDAY THEMED

PRIZE TWO - CHRISTMAS THEMED

PRIZE THREE - $10 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO SPEND IN MY DIGI STORE

THE BLOG CANDY WILL RUN UNTIL MIDNIGHT (GMT) ON 31ST DECEMBER AND THE WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON 1ST JANUARY

We, the Digi Diva's (great name isn't it??) are all really excited and we hope that you are too.  Our first challenge will start on Thursday 6th January and will be every fortnight - more details will follow shortly.
Good luck everyone!!