Back In The Pink :)

Morning peeps and Happy Friday :)

No you aren't seeing things here – I’ve actually gone and done a Tilda with dark hair instead of her usual blonde lol!! This has nothing at all to do with my grey hair debate btw – I just fancied giving her a change, bless her.

So over at the Just Magnolia and hAnglar & sTanglar challenge today we are sponsored by the lovely Mary & Andrea at The Ribbon Girl and just feast yer peepers on this prize ….

.. OMLife I drooled when I saw all that pink  - it’s awesome :))))

And this week we are hosted by the ever so talented Jane and she has done us a sketch ….

.. and here it is.

It’s fabulous and I really enjoyed working with it, thank you sweetie xxxx

So….

.. here’s the old card.

I used Flower Girl Tilda  and coloured her with these Copics -

E000, E00, E21, R11, R20, E25, E29, E35, E51, E71, R85, RV0000, RV00

You can’t really see but her shoes have been Glossy Accented.

Did you notice btw that the Tilda Lace Die has a new friend? It’s the Magnolia Lovely Fence Die and it is indeed lovely I think, and both dies and Tilda were from Simon Says Stamp.

The papers are from Nitwits again - I am really loving these right now (you probably noticed that!!)

The bow is made from 15mm shocking pink small check gingham ribbon which is from The Ribbon Girl and I added some Wild Orchid Crafts blooms as well as some white pearlescent head pins.

The butterfly pin is from my stash – I think it’s sooo pretty :)

I'm not sure I’ve got this right here, but then again I never was much good at gardening :(

Right so I’m done for this week and we have a busy weekend ahead of us.

I have a class tomorrow morning and then we are taking her ladyship swimming (the card btw is actually for her as she is a flower girl at my niece’s wedding in 2 weeks time and she can’t wait!!!) Then we are doing the pizza and bowling thing before collapsing into bed no doubt exhausted. Where do these kids get their energy, that's what I want to know!!!

Sunday is looking like a day out on the bikes unless it rains and if the aforementioned energy has returned (well we are crocking on a bit now, bless us!!).

So enjoy your weekend and I’ll see you next week.

Huggiest of hugs to all xxx

Christmas For Two, Just For You :)

Hi peeps and hope you are all OK.

It’s another one of me trolley dashes today I’m afraid cos the warm weather got the better of me and I went out for a spin on the old bike.

So time to nip over to the fairy gang and see what’ happening and this week our theme is

Button It

No we aren't being rudies, we just want you to include a button or buttons somewhere on your work – it’s that simple:)

So ….

.. this is what I did.

I used Plum Pudding, awww!!

And speaking of puddings, I have no Copics list today folks, sorry. I dropped all the pens on the floor and they got mixed so up so I have no clues as to exactly which ones I used. There were quite a few ‘E’s and YG’s, that I do know!!!

The papers are both from the fabulous Nitwits (a bit like my good self, without the fabulous of course lol!!)

Do you like the little arrangement here?

I used some Wild Orchid Crafts  holly leaves, some red pom poms that I had in my stash and some of those lovely silver jingle bells from The Ribbon Girl. Both the ribbons are also from The Ribbon Girl and they are 15mm satin and 15mm pencil stripe, both in dark brown. 

 

So there you go and I’m off for some grub now – I think I’ve earned it today.

I’ll be back in the morning with the last card of the week so see you then and enjoy your evening.

Huggiest of hugs to all xxx

Total Mare!!!!

Ohh good evening lovely peeps and I’m ever so slightly late getting this on today. I have had a few technical probs which hopefully are now sorted and instead of enjoying the sunshine, I’ve been trying to sort them out – grrrr!!!! What a total mare :(

Anyhoos over at the Simon Says Stamp Challenge this week. it’s

Anything Goes

so it’s one of those weeks when you can really get creative. The DT have all used brads on their projects this week and as always there is a …..

… which you get to spend in the Simon Says Stamp Store

So, what did I do then???

This is the very chap!! 

I have had this Tilda With Fir stamp for a good while  but have never inked it up until now (why not ya dope cos it’s NICE???). I coloured her with these Copics -

E000, E00, E21, R11 (skin),  E42, E50 (hair), C00, C1, BG0000, BF01, BF10, G94, R17, R27, R59, YG0000, YG01, YG03

The papers are form the Basic Grey NORDIC HOLIDAY 12 x 12 Paper Collection Pack – they are sooo Scandinavian I think – and the brads match them cos they are from the same range and they are Basic Grey 24 NORDIC HOLIDAY GLAZED EPOXY Brads.

Here’s a close up of one of them – what a pretty blue that is. I found an old bit of grosgrain ribbon in the bottom of the ribbon box and it matched perfectly :)

And I couldn't resist using my ‘die’ namic  duo lol!!

Yes the good old Tilda Lace Die and Magnolia leaf and swirl are back again!!

So we are done for today and it won’t seem long before I am back again tomoz.

Hasn't it been a nice day folks?

I don’t know why some peeps are surprised cos I think the last few years our Septembers have been much nicer than our summers. Maybe I am getting old but I do remember when we had actual seasons once upon a time instead of this merged grey that we get now!!

And talking of  grey and getting old …..

I am quite upfront about the fact that I dye my hair and for those of you who have had the ‘pleasure’ of meeting me, you probably guessed cos purple/plum isn't really natural is it. Well, I was watching This Morning while waiting  for something to load to try and sort out my techie issues and it just so happened that they were discussing grey hair Apparently it is very on trend right now – they call it old lady chic, the cheeky beggars,  which I aint too happy about,  but  I am thinking of all the dosh I am going to save (and extra stash I can buy!!)  if I let nature take it’s cause.

Jean Paul Gaultier to name but three had grey haired wigs on all his models this season….

… see what I mean!! 

And loads of other trendy bods are doing the same. So I am just deciding if and how I get rid of the dye and go back to my au naturelle look.

Watch this space!!

Right I’m off to start another bit of cardage but I’ll see you tomoz.

Enjoy your evening and the huggiest of hugs to all xxx

Not For A Long Time ……..

Hi peeps and hope all is well in your world today.

It’s that time of the week where we head over to Papertake Weekly to see what’s happening there and this week, as well as some gorgeous cardage,  we have 2 lots of news – a fabulous new DT member and also what’s going to be happening next week, so if you get a sec, nip and check it all out :)

So as our reggies will know., the last week of the month is sketchie time and this month ….

… it’s this bad boy here.

We are also sponsored by the ever so fab Simon Says Stamp and as always there is a nice little voucher up for grabs to spend in the shop :)

So this is what I did and once again I actually stuck to the sketch (shock horror!!!).

Now not for ages have I used a Sugar Nellie (why ever not Dawny???)  but when I saw these, well how could you resist them?

This little sweetie is Little Apprentice and of course she is from Funky Kits.

I coloured her with Copics and these are the colours I used -

E000, E00, E21, R11, R20 (skin), E42, E50, (hair), C00, C1, C3 R17,  R85,  RV0000, RV00, YG0000, YG01, YG03 (the rest).

The papers are Bo Bunny Crazy In Love and Memory Box 8 x 11 Moroccan – Licorice and these are both from Tracy over at Dies To Die For.

 

And just to make it extra extra  pretty, how about a yummy bow and a bit of bling in the form of some 15mm Gingham ribbon and a sparkly button, both of course from The Ribbon Girl.

And there’s also some gorgeous Wild Orchid Crafts blooms and some pretty little  pearl star beads

The diamond pins are from my stash but if anybody wants any, I can probably get them for them.

So that’s me done for today and I’m rushing off peeps cos I have loads of stuff to do ie commissions prep for the Copicific Retreat, work etc etc and then I am getting the badger streak in my hair removed!!! One of these days I will just say sod it to the vanity and let nature take it’s course… but not yet!!!

I’ll be back tomoz and do you want a little sneakie peekie of the cardage?

Well here you go then …..

…. merry and bright it would seem peeps!!!

See you back here in the morning and have great day and huggiest of hugs to all xxxx

I LOVE This :)

Morning lovely peeps and hope you are all OK today :)

It’s Thursday and that can only mean one thing – yes it’s time to check out the Lili Of The Valley Thursday challenge  and this week our theme is

Aqua, White & Glitter

Well say no more cos this is right up my blingtastic  street !!

As always we have a fab voucher up for grabs ….

… for one lucky girlie to spend in the shop (I wonder what she’ll choose!!)

So …

.. this is what I did and it’s one of those times when I actually really like the end result.

I used Christmas Dance and she is from the first Christmas release this year – and she is soooo sweet.

I coloured her with these Copics -

E000, E00, E21, R11, R20 (skin),  E41, E42, E50 (hair) , BG0000, BG01, RV00 (the rest)

and I also added some shading with polychromos pencils and then went a bit mad with the old Glamour Dust.

The papers are all from the Bumbleberry Cottage collection from Nitwits  and I stamped the image onto a Nesties die cut – this one is Labels 18 and you can get them from Tracy at Dies To Die For

I love how this bow turned out – it looks so pretty.

It’s a mixture of 23mm white organza and  vintage seam binding (I used aqua of course!!). And as it’s a Chrimbly card, I added 3 silver jingle bells which I’d tied together with some Divine Baker’s Twine (again I used aqua).

And all of these are from The Ribbon Girl :)

The flowers are all made from Spellbinders Rose Creations dies and of course I just had to add a bit of Tilda Lace and both dies are from Simon Says Stamp. The pretty aqua self adhesive rhinestones are from Wild Orchid Crafts but you can always colour plain ones with your pens if you don’t have any.

The sentiment is Pink Petticoat and printed onto Safmat.

Well that’s me done for today.

I’m off to try and get through a mountain of work then start the prep for my class at the weekend. So it’s all go today peeps. I hope that your day will be more relaxing!!!!

But before I go, remember my little mini rant re the travellers and  I said that the council had agreed to a permanent site on some green belt land near here? Well apparently it isn't a done deal after all and the info wasn't released 2 days before the closing date for objections (my source was wrong and they are sacked lol!!)  and there is a petition going around which has practically everybody’s signature on so maybe there’s hope ?  I think the council have pretty much made up their minds to be honest.

And I won’t even start on the saga that happened at Hobbycrap yesterday. I’ll save that for another time – grrrrrr!!!!!!

All I’ll say is that if you are going to have a major refurb, you really ought to consider that your customers might still want to buy things (strange concept I know!!) so best not pack most things away where it can’t be gotten at!!!! Oh and if they could maybe get some peeps that work there to understand the difference between 12 x 12 and A4 sizes, it would be MARVELLOUS!!!

Or am I just being Miss Picky Knickers again :(

Have a fab day and huggiest of hugs to all xxx

Chasing Butterflies :)

Morning lovely  peeps and sorry about the unimaginative post title today - the old brain has turned to mush it would seem :(

But onwards and upwards as they say and it’s time to get transatlantic and head over to see what’s happening with the girlies at Simon Says Stamp Challenge. I say girlies but this week out GD is male – he is Alberto and is 15 and he does the most amazing work :)

This week our theme is

Use Dies Or Punches

so self explan really :)

As always there is a …..

 

… which you get to spend in the Simon Says Stamp Store

So, what did I do then???

I got a bit bright that’s what lol!!!

I really like zingy colours with lots of white on show – you may have noticed,  heeheee

I decided to do something a little bit different and I wanted it to look like she was chasing the butterflies so I punched a few out and attached them to strips of acetate which I hope you can just about see. Now if I did this again I would make the strips a little thinner perhaps. I also made a boo-boo I think re the number  of butterflies and would possibly add one more on the left hand side ….. but maybe I am just getting picky in me old age :(

Perhaps I should rename the blog Pink Picky – what do ya think lol!!

The base card was made using Spellbinders Grand Nesties and the image is Capture Each Moment Jolinne – it’s an MFT image (all the DT have used MFT products this week) and I coloured her with these Copics -

E000, E00, E21, R11 (skin), E50 (hair), BG0000, BG01, YG000, YG01, YG03 (the rest).

The shading here and there was done with polychromos pencils.

Isn't the paper pretty?

It’s from a My Mind's Eye 6 x 6 Life Of The Party Paper Pad. I also used it to make the butterflies and the rolled rose in the centre of the bloom as well.  The large bloom is from a Prima Craftable Flowers pack and I just coloured it to match with the Copics.

 

Quite right too :)

And you can just about see the good old  Tilda Lace Die and Hero Arts Gems trying to hide away there.

So there we are all done.

I was so glad to see that I am not the only one who objected to the shenanigans at Dale Farm peeps.  But enough ranting from me for one week I think!!!

Now it isn't often that I make a card and look at it when it’s done and really like it – you see, Miss Picky Knickers again!!! . But that actually  happened yesterday so I’ll leave you with a sneaky peek of it and show you  the the rest in the morning.

I’m off to Hobbycraft now (oh deep joy, not!!) as I am all but out of the lovely white card I use for my card bases. I am so fussy about it as it HAS to be brilliant white and they don't often have it in so I am expecting the worst. But you never know and I will remain cheerfully  optimistic.

But there could be tears if I can’t get any (and then I will go and try and get a life lol!!).

Before I go I must just tell you that we are almost out of spaces for the forthcoming Copicific Retreat on 22nd October. But there are one or two places still available so go on and treat yerselves to a a whole weekend of pure crafty bliss - the programme is awesome and class sizes are deliberately kept small to give the best possible value for money. So you will learn lots about these amazing pens and how to get the best out of the little blighters :).  

You can see all the deets on Wendy's webpage here

Enjoy your day peeps and see you tomoz.

Huggiest of hugs to all xxx

 

Gifts For You :)

Morning chicksies and hope that you are all OK today – it’s a bit grey and miserable here so I hope that you are having better weather where you are.

It's that time of the week when we head over to Papertake Weekly and see what the sweet DT have been up to and this week our challenge is

Creature Comforts.

So all you have to do is to include a little critter on your card somewhere and you will be in with a shout at winning this week’s prize which is sponsored by Wendy at

Digital Delights

So no prizes for guessing that my lil animal would be something cute from  Lili Of The Valley and today I’ve used another of the new releases and this time I went for Christmas Bear’s Bird Table.

I did the Copics and Polychromos thing and these are the colours I used -

BG0000, BG01, BG15, BG49, C1, C3, E35, E41, E42, E43, E50, R17, R46, YG0000, YG03

The papers I used today are all from Dies To Die For and they are First Edition Christmas Joy – the colours are so pretty and these crappo pics a la Miss Piggy here do not do them justice at all.

Also no die border today – shock horror!!!!

I used one of the ‘old faithful but sadly forgotten now  have the Tilda Lace Dies’  border punches and this one is of course courtesy of Martha Stewart. Its the embossed zig zag punch and I really don't know if it’s still available but I do know that Tracy is having a sale on MS Border punches at the mo so nip and grab yourself a bargain sweet peeps – you can see them here.

The snowflake die is Marianne Design Creatables - Snowflakes Style 1 who you can get from Dies To Die For as well and the little charm is one I made using a metal disc and glass cabochon from me jewellery stash :)

That pretty ribbon is  16mm sheer ruffle edge ribbon in Aqua and it is of course from  The Ribbon Girl – what a gorgeous colour..

So I’m done for today.

Is it me or has the world gone a little bit mad of late peeps?

I’m not meaning to have a rant, however I can feel one coming on lol!! I watched the news yesterday which was mainly about people breaking the law and being allowed to get away with it (sort of). Re the Dale Farm issue, I know it might not be politically correct to say this but if you and I broke the law or put up a house / dwelling / whatever on a piece of green belt land (whether we owned it or not), then I have a feeling that we might be in a spot of bother and at the very least have to remove it. Not so if you belong to the travelling community though. I have absolutely nothing at all against these people and if that is their lifestyle choice then who am I to argue.

But they really ought to stick to the rules I think.

I saw a lady being interviewed yesterday about this on This Morning  and she said that 20% of travellers were homeless. She was told that some council somewhere or other had offered them bricks and mortar property to live in but she said they couldn't live in houses because it was detrimental to their mental well being.

What??????

And when it was pointed out that if they were travellers, how comes they wanted to stay put in one place, she said that if you are born in China and then you come to live here, it doesn’t stop you being Chinese.

Now what can you say to that ????

It’s something quite close to us here at the moment because our ‘beloved’ council have allowed some of our beautiful green belt land to be converted into a permanent site for travellers. They released the proposals 2 days before you had to lodge your objection (can you smell the same rat as me??) and I don't think many of us in the village are happy about it.

Now if I wanted to go and buy some of this land to build my own home on, with money I had paid tax on etc etc I think I would be told to bugger off. Which is almost what I want to tell the council to do quite honestly. There was a meeting about it in the village but it seems that it is a done deal,  so that’s that.

When I worked for Castrol many years ago, a group of them set up camp opposite the building I worked in. Things started to go walkies which may or may not have been a coincidence  (you think???) and the mess that they left behind was so bad I cannot begin to tell you because it is disgusting.

OML I’ve just realised that while I have been ranting away, I've eaten nearly half a packet of McVities Caramel Digestives – what a snorter!!!!

I best go and out the few that are left away before they go as well :(

I’ll see you tomoz with some more cardage and until then, have the fabbiest of days and hugs to all xxx