Sunday 30 August 2009

Our Second Anya Challenge xxx


I can't believe how quick this week has gone cos it's time for our second Anyone For Anya challenge.

I used Hope & Grace - I'm never sure which one is which but they are both so sweet, and they are available over at the very wonderful Dies To Die For, along with lots of other fab stuff :)xx

I coloured her with the usual pair of fabsters that are my PM pens and a dash of Glamour Dust and I gave her a little bow and a cute button both of which were lying about on my craft table - what a messy madam lol xxx.

The last challenge of every month is going to be a sketch challenge and it is the last challenge of August.......

.... so here's the sketch :)

And here's the card.

The papers are Nitwits and PP and the ribbon was from The Paper Mill Shop. The button was salvaged from something I was chucking out and I threaded some thin strips of paper through it.

That gorgeous scalloped edge is courtesy of my new border punch. I am just loving this new little fella. It's a SU punch and my wonderful teamie over at PTW Mandy can sort you out with one in no time at all xxxx

And there ya go :)

If you get a sec do nip over and check out the AFA blog - there's some amazing work on there.

Have a fabulous bank holiday Monday. We're off to Tatton Park tomorrow but right now I'm off to rest my weary stomach cos we've been out to lunch and as usual I have lived up to my piggy name. So I am totally and utterely stuffed.

Diet tomorrow :(

Hugs to all xxxx

Tuesday 25 August 2009

Tangy Hanglar :)x

I've been dying to colour her in since she arrived at the pig sty.

She was part of some stuff that was the most wonderful RAK from one of my very good pals who will remain anonymous - thank you sweetest chickster xxxx. She knows who she is and she knows that I am just ultra chuffed to have some of these images.

So as it's Tuesday, it's time for another Papertake Weekly, but before I start me ramblings, I want to thank everyone who visited me and left me a lovely comment for the 100th PTW challange.

And my winner is ....

Here are your random numbers:11
Timestamp: 2009-08-25 12:15:09 UTC
(see how colour co-ordinated it is lol xx)

And number 11 is Mary J.

If you e-mail me chick and tell me what sort of images you'd like, I'll have them done and off to you asap xxxx

Over at PTW, we have a piggy sketch for you. We also have a fabulous sponsor and a VERY special guest so poppity pop over and check it all out when you get a sec xxx

You've seen the image which was coloured with the old PMS and just a teeny little bit of Glamour Dust ....


... so here's me card.

I don't usually go for tangerine colours but I was so inspired by Leanns fabulous card that I had to have a go.


There are 2 blooms - the orange one is Poppicrafts and the grey one is a Paper Cellar one. The button was in my stash box.

The lace was in my stash box as well - I quite like it. We must be in a lacy mood this week cos a few of us have used it on our PTW cards.

The ribbons are both Raspberry Ribbons - love that colour!!

The paper is PP Stripes - the colour is Putty and it is the warmest grey and is gorgeous. The tangerine card is also PP. That is one of the things I love about Liz's stuff - apart from the fact that it is all so lovely - there are 'solid' colours so you can be sure that everything matches perfectly.


And here's the funny angle.
LOTS of dimension here.

And that's it for today.

You'll be pleased to know that you are spared my waffle today cos I am on a real flyer. I'll be back in the week with some more cardage but don't forget to check out what the girlies have been up to - some fab cards as always cos they are all so flippin talented.

Have a great day xxxx


Sunday 23 August 2009

We're Off lol xxx

Yes, our Anyone For Anya challenge blog is now officially open - wooohooooooo!!!.

Thank you to all the girls on the team for their fabulous cards and to everyone who has left us good luck messages xxxxx

Our first challenge is Sugar & Spice & All Things Nice.
And for this, all you have to do is use your fave pretties - anything girlie goes for this one. And also you can use the theme as your guide to the colours. Kim thought of this - she is way too clever that girl. All the cards are fab so if you get a sec, pop over take a look.

If you want to join us but find yourself Anya-less then you can get a wonderful selection of these gorgeous stamps from the fabulous Tracy K over at Dies To Die For :)

So this is what I did.

I used Snow Anya and I coloured her with PMs and there's a bit of the old blingy stuff on there as well. And I dug out my Cosmic Shimmer Ice Crystals for her hand warmer cos I wanted it to look furry!!

I made the danglies from some beadage I had and that beautiful silver snowflake charm was from Nikki's Bunny Zoes Craft shop. I love it and you can expect to see a few more of them on here between now and Crimbly!!!

The ribbon was from my local floristry warehouse and the big diamond brad was from the very wonderful Poppicrafts.

And yes, its had a rest so it's back to work for the old doily punch.

The papers are a mixture of PP and Wild Rose Studio.

I think they are so pretty.

The bling is Kars and I got them from Creative Pastimes

Plenty of dimension here.
Ohh I hate it when you can see the dimensional pads. I always think it's a bit like going out with yer bra straps showing lol xxx

So there ya go.

We are off to Blakemere this afternoon entertaining Miss Kyla.
We went to the zoo yesterday and had a fab time. But we are very spoilt here as it is only about 10 minutes from our house so we go there quite often. So today we are going somewhere she hasn't been to for a while. It has something for us all.

There is a kid's play area with tunnels and ball pools etc, so that's Kyla happy.

And there is a bird of prey centre there, so that's Ricardo happy.

And there are craft shops galore, including a fabulous bead store, so that's this little piggy very VERY happy.

Now, if R can keep K amused while I sneak in, I can not only look around in peace without worrying about little fingers picking stuff up, but I can also put one or 2 things in my shopping basket without beady eyes looking over my shoulder!!!!

So have a fab day one and all and enjoy what's left of the weekend and see you soon xxxxx


Thursday 20 August 2009

Ladybird, Ladybird xxx

Hi peeps xxx

I've done another 1 card = 4 challenges again here, and they are -

Pink Elephant - Summer (ladybirds are very summery, don't ya think)
Allsorts - In An English County Garden (plenty of them in my garden)
Cute Card Thursday - Lazy Days (again a Summer theme)

and finally I used the wonderful sketch over at Sketch and Stash and I've used my new download which is the fabulous Ladybird. She's another of the new Frillie Millies from Pink Petticoat.

Now just for a change, I did a bit of a hybrid thingie with lil Miss Ladybird. Some of her has been coloured in on the old 'puter and some of her has been coloured in using the bad boy PMs.

The reason I did this is because as much as I 'heart' my PMs - and you know I do really 'heart' them lots, the reds and black can bleed like a stuck pig (ohhh hold that thought - I've just gone all funny and brought tears to my own piggy eyes lol xxx)


So this is the old card.

And for some reason, the area around the sentiment (Woodware) looks really wonky but I promise you IRL it's quite straight - I'd tell you if it wasn't.

However, I can't say the same for one side of the card and I obviously have not stuck the first layer on with as much care and attention as I should have. Major slapped trotters - slap dash Dawny strikes again, sorry chicksters xxx

The fab spotty paper is PP - Really Big Dots - and I made the lil ladybird using a couple of nesties, some punched dots, 2 beads and a couple of head pins!!!

It may not be anatomically correct but it's a tad funky I thought ;)

And that's me card.

Have you noticed that the old MSBP has been conspicuous in it's absence? Well that's because it has been on its hols. It has been spending a bit of time with my aunty who has probably been nicer to it than I usually am and spoiling it rotten lol xxx But it came home last night so now doubt it will be back on here very soon.

There's no place for slackers in this pink pig sty, let me tell you!!!

I'm hoping to have some more cardage to share tomorrow. However, Emma is off on her annual pilgrimage to the V Festival so we are in charge of her Ladyship for 4 days, which means that there may not be much going on in the craft department!!

But you never know!!!!

Have a great day and hugs to all xxxx


Tuesday 18 August 2009

Happy 100th Papertake Weekly xxx

Yes, Papertake Weekly is celebrating it's 100th challenge.

And I had my card all ready to go and then this morning I saw this little lady in my 'inbox'.

Well of course I was smitten and I just had to re-do my card so I could use her. She is Pumpkin and she is one of the brand new Frillie Milles that are now available at Pink Petticoat. There are 4 all together and they are all just as sweet.

But before we get to the card, I have to tell you that there are some fabulous prizes up for grabs this week, cos each one of the PTW girls has put together a giveaway to say a huge thank you to everyone for all the support over the last 99 challenges. Pop over to Papertake and check it all out. We've also got our Nikki back after her break plus 2 brand new guest designers :)

The challenge this week is

'Take Your Pick'

and that's exactly what you can do cos you can choose any one of the last 99 challenges and use that for your card. So there's heaps to choose from!!

And all you have to do to be in with a chance of winning one of the 6 prizes up for grabs is to visit each of our blogs and leave us a comment, and then next week we will each draw a random winner.

So this is what I'm offering - and it's all pink and green to match my card - well mostly :)

It's a little tote filled with a selection of images (I'll give the winner a choice from the stamps I have so you can choose the images you want).

There's also some blooms, a Papermania mini scrapbook kit which has various bits and bobs in it, and I'll make some card charms as well (they're not shown here).

I might even put some extra surprise things in as well cos we all like surprises :)

Here's me card.

Like I said I did have another one done but I just had to use this image.
The challenges I chose are Delightful Downloads and I used the layout from Sketch #4.

I coloured Pumpkin with my old PMs (they are getting old as well, but then aren't we all lol xx) and I did the Glamour Dust sparkle thing and a bit of D-ing which you can sort of see here. The sentiment is from a Woodware set and the little black beads were from Creative Pastimes xxx


The gorge ribbon is from my US parcel - I had to re-cycle it from one of my other cards cos I've run out (sob sob). The papers are all PP - Little Fleurs and Really Big Dots.

You can see the 3D bits a little better here.

So there ya go. I do hope that lots of you will help us to celebrate. Nip over to Papertake and check out the fabulous cards that the girlies have made - each and every one is just as gorge as always.

I'm having another early night cos I had a very long day yesterday. I was down in Oxford and I got to meet a lady who I've spoken to re work for quite a while now. It turns out that she is an avid scrapbooker - talk about a small world!!!. So if I go to the NEC later in the year, we are going to meet up again. And like every other crafter I've ever met, she's lovely. She doesn't have her own blog as yet but I'm trying to persuade her lol xx

So that's it for tonight. But before I beggar off to get the pjs and poly-filla night cream on (think I'm joking ???) I would like to say a huge thank you to all the PTW design team, past and present, and to everyone who has supported us over the last 100 challenges.

Have a great night lovely peeps and see ya soon xxxx

Friday 14 August 2009

Alota Challenges lol xxx

5 to be exact - not sure if this is my personal record lol xxx

Soooo, they are -

Friday Sketchers - a gorgeous sketch by Beatrix

Stamp With Fun - Birthdays (it's for someone but I can't say who xxx

LOTV - So Charming

Colour Create - Blue, Sand Silver & Black

Daring Card Makers - Lacey Days of Summer (hope Martha S's finest counts !!

THINK I ticked all the boxes :)


So here's the result of them all.

I used one of my beloved Alota stamps. I've not used one of these for ages and I do so love them. You can get them over at Dies To Dies For btw :)

And of course, I coloured it with my usual PM / GD combi

You can just see the teeny tiny heart on my dangly charm thing - poor photography Dawny, just for a change!! There's always something lol xxx

The blooms were part of my Simon Says Stamp prize and the brads were from the fantabulous Poppicrafts xxx


The papers are a mix of PP and Polka Doodles


Ohhh there's Martha Stewart's scalloped border punch trying to hide!!! The ribbon is from the US of A and the sentiment of from a Woodware set

Not too much dimension but there is a little bit.


It's only been a few days but I feel like I've not made a card or posted anything for ages!!

Work has been really busy and I've put in a fair few hours this week - needs must sometimes!! And there's been a serious lack of blog hopping, even by my dreadful standards.

But I'm planning a crafty weekend - fingers crossed - cos I feel like I've earned it this week :)

But it hasn't been all bad, oh no sir-eee. I've had some fab news today, cos I only went and won this week's prize over at Just Magnolia - woooohooooo!!!



And I also have to share an award I got but as per usual I've been a bit slow putting it on here. It's this little sausage .....

And I got it from 2 of the fabbiest girlies ever. They are my wonderful Wild Rose teamie, the awesomely exotic Sally B (check out that link and you'll see why she's exotic lol xx) and the sweetness that is the lovely Emma. Thank you chicksies - you are so kind to rhink of me xxxx

I have to leave 5 interesting facts about moi, and tell the truth there aint that many, plus I got tagged once so you know them already probably.

So -
1 - I used to be in band years ago

2 - I met my OH on a tennis court and it was love at first sight (for me, not him, cos it took him a while to catch up, but there again, men are always a bit slower than us)

3 - my sister in law is a prominent MP but I'm not naming parties or names, heeheee!!!

4 - I've got one of those funny encyclopedic memories where music is concerned and I'm always getting phone calls from peeps asking me who sang this or which band was so and so in. So there ya go - I am an anorak lol xxx Sadly in other areas, my memory is dreadful.

5 - I am emetophobic (scared of peeps puking) and have been all my life.

So in gereral, and when you put it like that, I'm an all round weirdie really

I'm supposed to single out 5 peeps to pass this on to but this is hard cos there are so many lovelies in this land of Blog. So what I will say is that if you have been kind enough to visit here, then please consider yourself a friend and have this with my love xxxxx

Well I am off for a nice sit down - I don't do that very often - and I'm going to have a nice glass of something chilled!!! It's Friday and Miss Kyla is never at her finest after a busy week at nursery, so we've been keeping her happy by playing snap and 'pairs'. She is Miss Cheaty McCheat from Cheatsville where snap is concerned but by 'eck that kid can seriously play pairs. She hardly ever loses!!So she has worn me out!!

So one glass of Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand natch) coming up and an evening in with Dog The Bounty Hunter and Jeremy Kyle - not necessarily in that order!!! I am living the dream once again!!

Have the best weekend peeps and hugs to all xxxxx

Tuesday 11 August 2009

Pretty Pink Papertake xxx

And a sweet little angel as well.

I've had awful probs with me editing today for some reason so the pics arent 100% I'm afraid. Photoshop just did not want to play ball. Call me old fashioned but I think they all look like they need dipping in the Vanish Oxy Action!! I like my work to look clean and these look like the 'before' bit on a soap powder ad!!! IRL it isn't mucky looking, honest :)

Anyway enough of all that, cos it's Tuesday and it's a bit later than usual, but it's time for another Papertake Weekly.

And it's sketch time so this is what we have for this week ....



And this week we are sponsored by Bee Crafty and there's a fab prize up for grabs, so nip over and check it out lovely peeps xx.

The image is Seated Angel by Bee Crafty and as per usual I coloured and highlighted her with my good old bad old PMs and Glamour Dust :)



And here's me card. Like I said, the picture quality is dreadful and I don't know why cos I don't think I did anything differently, but the evidence is there for all to see.


That fab ribbon is out of my parcel from the US xxxx

I used my new nestie and lovely as it is, it is an absolute sod to get out of the die. Now I have a tip for you here. You need to shim it and you need to run it through your Cuttlebug a few times. If you do this, it will just pop out nicely :)


The papers are PP (spotty) and Wild Rose Studio Spring CD (gingham). Both beautiful IRL :)


The sentiment is from Blue Rose Is My Angel and it is part of the Just A Dream Angel set. That set is sooo sweet.

And the centre panel which you can just about see here has a bit of Martha Stewart and her scalloped edge punch going on, along with a bit of PP Little Fleurs.

So that's the old mucky looking card.

As it's late and I've been working since stupid o'clock this morning and my eyeballs feel like they are hanging out, I'm off to put the cotton nightie on - no pjs for me in this humidity, and I shall make me a nice hot drink and get off to bed. I am re-reading The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time (Mark Haddon) for about the 4th time (if you have never read this book then you are really missing out cos it is fab). I might not even manage a page tonight - we'll see.

Have a fab night - what's left of it and I'll see ya soon xxxx


Saturday 8 August 2009

Simon Says Just Magnolia xxx

With a bit of sugar on the top lol xx
It's another treble - you probably gathered that lol xx So I combined the Simon Says Stamp challenge which is Buttons and Ribbons (fab), with Just Magnolia which is a gorgeous sketch by Martine and then the Spoonful Of Sugar challenge which is Floral Fantasy

Tilda has been coloured with the bad boy PMs and given a dusting of bling. You can get your hands on her and her friends over at Dies To Die For.

And this is the old card. There is a fair old bit going on here - well for me at any rate. But I like the pretty colours and I think it's really girlie :)

There was an option on the sketch to use a tag, so I did. The tag pull was made using a SU punch and the sentiments are from a Woodware set.

The ribbon was a bargainous buy from The Paper Mill Shop - it was reduced to £3.29 for 20 metres!!! It is lovely quality as well.

The blooms were part of my Simon Says Stamp prize and the buttons were lurking about in my stash box


All the beautiful papers are PP - Stripes, Ice Cream Curls and Little Fleurs. That glittery lace I THINK was from Hobbycrap but I wouldn't swear to it!!


And that is that, as they say!!!


We took Kyla to the circus last night.

I don't really think she enjoyed it 100%!! It was an animal free circus - otherwise I would not have gone. But the clowns (who I swear I wanted to choke because they were so annoying - party pooper or what!!) did a bit of a ghost busters thing and it terrified the hell out of her. To make matters worse, we were sitting right at the front and the 'ghost' came right up to where we were sitting. She went rigid and screamed. Luckily the rest of the kids were screaming as well, but for very different reasons!! I did feel guilty, poor little thing.



So if you have youngsters and you are thinking of going (it's touring the UK), it's probably best not sit too near the front lol xx. We were almost of the verge of having to take her out but it was soon over and she was ok again.

And there was a really strange act as well - oooo errrr. It involved two girls being hauled up on one of those wires and they did their acrobatics thong whilst hanging in the air. But it was ever so slighly 'verging on the porn' we thought. Nikkie said that that bit was probably for the dads!!!

Ohh matron lol xx



Anyhoos, I doubt we will be going back.

And on that rather strange note, I'm off to sort our dinner out. Hope everyone is having a fab weekend xxxxx


Thursday 6 August 2009

I Got Funky xxxx

And not an image in sight lol xx

I just had to join in the new challenge over at Get Funky cos 2 of my best blog buds (Kath and Enfys) are on the DT, and I wanted to show my support.

Plus Anice's papers are rather fabulous!!!

And I think it does you good every now and again NOT to rely on an image as the focus of your work. It makes you think more about the card and I really enjoyed making this one.


So this is my take on Anice's sketch.

I have to admit that when I decided to do the challenge, I had one of those little 'bit of panic' moments. But this sketch is a dream to work with and the DT cards are so inspirational - every one is gorgeous.

So I soon got busy with the papers and this is the result. Not something you'll hear me say often, but ....... I like it :)

AND the only red on here is what is supposed to be on here cos I checked every inch for errant bits of backing tape and I even made sure the charms were straight!!!

Is this the end of slap-dash Dawny?

Haaaaa, what do you think? I'll give it a week lol xxxx

All the papers I used are Funky Hand (naturellement), and they are all from the Salt And Pepper collection.

The blingy bits are Kars and I got them from Creative Pastimes.

Seeing as I am still in jewellery making mode from Tuesday's class, I made a little charm to hang from the ribbon. I've had the ribbon so long that I cannot for the life of me remember where I got it from :(

And yes, it has made an appearance!! God bless Martha Stewart and all who sail in her!!

I nicked the idea of using chipboard letters from my lovely Kath who is indeed the Queen of chipboard letters. Hers are neat - mine are not. But I still have 'L' plates on where they are concerned!!

I like the smudgy black bits round the edges. I felt that I had to say that incase anyone thought I'd just made another one of my grand messes. A bit like when you trip over and then start to run so people don't think you really tripped over!!! Well it isn't one of them, honestly. You know I'd tell you if it was :)


You can see the dimension here - I don't like flat (you probably noticed!!)

It's a bit different from what I usually do, but thanks for a great challenge girls - I will definately be joining in with this one every month.

I'm off to do a bit of work so that I can see my desk again, then it's off to the post office for me - lots of post to go out today, and some of it is long overdue!!
Have a fab day and hugs to all xxxx