Something Completely Different :)

Happy sunny morning loveliest of peeps and hope you are all OK today.
We’re promised another lovely day here in the UK and it’s such a nice change to wake up to sunshine. We are so not used to it really!!!

Anyway it’s time to check out what’s happening over the water at the Simon Says Stamp Challenge and we have one of your fave themes today because

Anything Goes

This week, the DT  are showcasing products from My Favorite Things and as always, you don't have to use them.  But if you do have some then we would love to see what you do with them :).

And as always, our lovely Heidi is giving away a humungous …..

… which our lucky winner will get to spend ….

.. right here.

    

So I thought I’d do something a little different – just for a change  - and I think it’s nice to get away from the usual image / papers /embellies every now and then. These ‘Anything Goes’ challenges are perfect for pushing your creativity a little further or maybe just experimenting with things you don't usually use etc.

The papers are all from a Basic Grey Little Black Dress  6 x 6 Paper Pack and I used Wonky Rectangles nesties and Spellbinders Rose Creations dies.

To make the flower I cut 2 of the next to largest dies, 2 of the next size down, 1 of the next size down again and finally 2 of the smallest dies.

Take the largest cuts first and curl both sides of each petal using a bone folder. Run an embossing tool over the centres  so that the petals start to curl upwards and then glue together, offsetting the petals.

Repeat for the next size down.

Glue these all together.

For the next size down, just go over with the embossing tool again and then add this to the bloom.

Repeat with the smallest sizes but really go over them with the embossing tool so that they are all but curled closed then glue them together and add to the bloom.

Pop a brad in the centre and you’re done :).

I used my new MFT Leafy Flourish die which I am so loving at the mo.

And there you have it.

It’s quite striking with these papers and I think if you used all white papers / elements etc,  you would have a very different look again. I am going to have a fiddle when I get a bit of time so I’ll share when I do.

Right I’m off as I have a list as long as yer arm to get through and barely enough time as per usual. Plus I have to get all the prep done for card club on Monday so I want to make a start today. It’s non stop sometimes at chez piggy!!!!

I’ll be back tomorrow with my usual format and a helping of fairy-ness but until the, have the sunniest of days and huggiest of hugs to all xxxx

A Sneaky Peekie Hop + This Week’s Blast From The Past :)

Morning loveliest of peeps.
I hope you are all OK today and welcome to the Lili of the Valley Designers Mini Hop!! 

This is a bit of a special treat because we are all using the same image so what better way to show you some different ways to use a single stamp. But that aside, it is also the very first sneakie peekie day for the March Lili of the Valley release.  So get ready girlies and make a note for 28th March cos that’s when the new release will go on sale :)

This release is filled with adorable bears, cute couples, and some very new and different designs which you will just love, so keep an eye on the DT blogs over the next few weeks for some more sneakie peeks.

So back to the hop and the image we have all used is called “Shall We Dance” – it is adorable I think.  

We are sponsored today by our very own  Lisa and Laila from Lili of the Valley but also joining is is Paula from Which Craft UK . Which Craft UK has the most amazing stuff including pre-shaped and scored card blanks – I used one on this post if you remember – and they really do make short work of creating a super special card as all the work is done for you :)

We LIKE that!!!
We like that a LOT :)

So what did I do with my shaped card and Shall We Dance image  then?

Ta-dahhhhh!!!

This is my blog hop card and I used one of the gorgeous Elegant Step Card blanks which I so love, and the sweet image was coloured with the following Copics -

Bears – E25, E42, E43, E50, E81

Clothes etc – B0000, B000, B00, B05, C00, C1, C2, C3, C4

The papers I used are from an Andrea Jayne Tulips paper pack which  got from Purple Butterfly Crafts last year. You can probably still get them if you do a Google search – they are really nice and have a linen texture.

Here’s a pic ….

…. and aren’t those colours rather yummy peeps!!!

Other stuff I used was -

Martha Stewart PATP Deco Fan Shells punches and MFT Leafy Flourish die – both from Simon Says Stamp

Vintage seam binding from The Ribbon Girl

So that’s the old card and there are 4 lovely jubbly prizes hidden along the way.

To be in with a chance of winning one, all you have to do is leave a comment on each of the participating designer’s blogs – simples :)  The 4 lucky winners from our mystery prize blogs will then be picked on Friday. 

So here is a list of the designers participating in this hop ….
Bev
Dena
Fleur
Anne
Dawny - me
Pops

…. and good luck to everyone who enters:)

Now the regular visitors to the old pig sty will know that Thursday is the day when we go back to the dark and distant past and have a look at something that was hip and happening back then. As it’s St Patrick’s day on Saturday, I thought that there could only be one band to check out this week  and of course it is the one and only U2 – Ireland’s finest export IMHO (Guinness aside).

I love this track and it has to have one of the best lines ever -  well the God I believe in isn't short of cash, Mister!!!  - and the vid is amazing too.

So enjoy and I think that next week we will really go back in time.

Have a fab day and huggiest of hugs to all xxxx

xxx

Dawny Has A New Toy :)

 

Hello there possums and hope you are all OK today - it’s a bit parky here at the mo so I do hope it warms up a bit soon.

It’s Papertake Weekly time peeps and today our theme for you is

For The Girls … or Mum

so it’s time to get the pretty stuff out and as you can imagine, I was loving this one lol!!

We’re sponsored today by The Stamp Fairy so if you get a sec, nip over and check it all out :)

So here’s my girlie card – it had to be pink naturally!!

The image I used today is called Blossom and she is as sweet as only a Lili of The Valley image can be. I stamped her onto a Nesties Label 18 from Simon Says Stamp and then coloured her with these Copics -

Skin – E000, E00, E11, E21, R00, R20

Hair – E42, E43, E50, E81

The rest – E41, E42, E81,  G99, R85, RV0000, RV000, RV00, RV10, YG0000, YG01, YG03

The papers are from Nitwits 

 

A pretty selection of bloomage from Wild Orchid Crafts don’t ya think :)

Oh and of course there is a strip or two of Tilda Lace as well…. just for a change :)

So here’s my new toy.

I saw this die and fell in love with it. It’s an MFT Leafy Flourish die and it’s available from Simon Says Stamp. It’s gorgeous so I expect it will be seen on here a fair old bit cos you know what I’m like!!!

I also added a pretty pink bow made from some pink vintage seam binding from The Ribbon Girl.

This is the inside – I’m doing that a lot lately :)

 

So there we are all done.

Ohh did you see DOI on Sunday night?
It might be me but was Chemmy getting a bit carried away with herself after Robin said he was favouring her? I did wonder if she sort of sealed her fate a bit cos she wasn't that popular to start with seeing as she had been in the skate off a fair few times. But I did like their routine.

And ooooerrrr, wasn't Louis a bit mean with the old marks for Jorgie? I thought it was gorgeous to be fair,  but what do I know eh (nowt, that’s what!!!).

So it’s nearing the end and then it’s back to getting a life on a Sunday night.

I picked Kyla up from school last night and we took some flowers up to the ‘crem’ for my Gran. It was 25 years years yesterday since she died and I can’t believe how the time has gone. Kyla loves looking at her name in the big book, especially now that she can read and she took it upon her self yesterday to explain it all to Richard!!!  Then she insisted on looking at all the funeral flowers that were left there – cheerful kid that she is!! They were so beautiful some of them,  and I just kept thinking of all the money that those people had spent on them and they were left just lying there. What a shame.

Anyway I better go.

I’m getting a bit peckish and want to grab some grub before I go and do the Makro run. Then I’m baby sitting cos Em is working late and Tim is off to the match. It’s the derby tonight and  we will of course be cheering for the red boys. We have all been Liverpool supporters in our family apart from my Uncle Ed who was a blue for all of his life, bless him.  I’m not as passionate about the footie as I once was though and see it now as 22 vastly overpaid men with large egos kicking a bag of wind around for 90 minutes!!!! But I still want Kenny’s boys to win of course!!

I’ll leave you with a little sneakie peekie for tomorrow ….

Enjoy your evening sweet peeps, see you tomorrow and huggiest of hugs to all xxx