Another Hoppity Hop :)

Hi there sweet peeps and hope you are all OK on this fine Saturday morning :)
Actually I’ve scheduled this so it may not be fine at all but it sounds fab as I’m writing it and we can live in hope!!!

So it’s time for another Lili Of The Valley blog hop and as our regulars will know, we choose one image and then we all make a project with that image so you get lots of ideas on how to use the stamp.

This month we’ve gone with

Milly Hello

as she is just sooooo super sweet!!

There are prizes along the way from ….

.... but where are they?

Ahh well that would be telling cos this time we’ve hidden them – ohh we are awful !!!

But all will be revealed next week so you won’t be in suspenders for too long (unless of course you want to be but that’s really none of our business, you saucy minx!!).

The DT taking part in this mini hop this month are:

Anne
Dawny  - moi!!
Fleur
Gretha
Lou
Pops

So  if you’ve arrived here from our lovely Anne's blog then you are going in the right direction!!

So this is what I did with Miss Milly Hello.

I coloured her with Copics is these colours -

Skin – E0000, E000, E00, E11, E13, R00, R02

Hair – C00, C3, C4, C5, C7, Black (oooooooooooohh it makes a change from me usual blondie or light brown doesn't it me loves!!)

The rest -  Boo, C00, C1, C3, C5, C7,  RV000, RV00, RV34, YG00, Black,

And of course, the very yummity papers are from the Lili of The Valley Bonnets and Bowties paper pad :)

 

 

A bow and button twine combi here.

The ribbon is 25mm Shocking Pink Candy Check Berisford No 72 and I’ve used black button twine and a Medium Black Polka Dot Button.

I made the border myself (smart ass) by gluing 1.5” punched circles along a strip of white card.
I really like the chunky scalloped look :)

 

 

 

Is it me or does this have sort of Japanese-ee feel to it?

Right, I won't hold you up with me chunterings any longer – on with the hop!!

If you want to take part, it’s as easy as ABC. All you need to do is to  -

a) leave me a comment

b) leave your name with old Linky at the bottom of the post

c) keep your fingers crossed that the Random Org chooses YOU as a winner xxx

So now it’s time to head on over to the luvverly Fleur's blog and good luck to all who enter.

As you are reading this, I will be enjoying myself at a fabulous class at Rosemary’s today. No I am not taking the class (although mine are a little bit fabulous I hope!!!). No, today I am doing one of the sweetness that is Debi’s classes. She makes the most beautiful stuff and today we are making one of ……………

…………. these.

You cannot see from the pic how gorgeous this is. It’s so different from my style and I want to give the old creative mojo thingie a bit of a shake up!!! I’ll post a pic once I’ve finished it so you can see how I get on if you promise not to laugh at my efforts!!!!

If you are interested in any of the classes up in sunny Frodsham, you can see the workshop schedules here

AND

if you aren’t doing anything next Saturday (22nd), why not come along because it’s

Crab Apple Crafts birthday,

wooohoooo!!!

We’ll be celebrating from 10am till 4pm and it’s FOC (even the drinks and cake are free, ohh yes they are!!!)

There’ll be demos by …..

Kay (owner of Indigo Blu)

plus Dorothy (from Woodware),  Debi (Crab Apple Craft’s  very own workshop tutor),  Dawn (that’ll be me then) and the one and only King of Crafts himself,  Nige :)

It promises to be a good day with lots going on, plus you can have a mooch around Rosemary’s shop which is full to the brim of  gorgeousness.

So I’m nearly done but because before I go I must tell you about the giveaway over at The Ribbon Girl Blog.

So if you fancy winning these fab things which include ….

Pack of 5 clear drop crystal stemsPack of 5 pink heart crystal stems
Pack of 6 Kort & Godt Cream Chrysanthemum Flowers
Bag of 26 Assorted Small Polka Dot Buttons
Pack of 5 silver butterflies
Pack of 6 Kort & Godt beaded swirls
A pearl and diamante round flat back embellishment
Pack of 6 pink diamante daisy flowers
Pack of 10 Lilac Baby's Breath flowers
20g bag of mixed lilac/purple buttons
10g bag of dried French lavender
(when you empty out the little buttons from the organza bag, you could add some of the dried lavender to the bag and hang it in your craft room)

… then nip over and check out what you need to do – it’s very easy peasy.

 So on that note I’ll beggar off (yes I really am going this time) and leave you to get on with the hop.

Huggiest of hugs to all xxx

ETA the dope here forgot to add Linky when this post first went out, so the first 11 comments aren’t in there but they will be added to the total number on Linky when I do the draw so they will be included – sorry peeps xxx

Snow Queen

 

Hi there peeps and hope you are all OK today :)

Time for a catch up and this is what I should have posted on Tuesday for this week’s Papertake Weekly challenge – oooh my, late again Miss Piggy!!

Our theme this week is

Anything Goes

with the option to use a non square base card, which is exactly what I did :)

We’re sponsored by Lili of The Valley so if you get a sec, nip and have a mooch – you probably have already cos I am soooo late with this  :(

 

I made my base card from a Go Kreate die and I used one of my fave ever ever ever LOTV images – Snow Queen.

I coloured the image with the following Copics -

Skin – E0000, E000, E00, E11,. E13, R00, R02

Hair – E31, E33, E34, E35, E39, E50

Clothes – B0000, B000, B00, B05, B93, C00, C2, C4, C5

The pretty papers are from the Frosty Christmas paper pads

 

Ohh some pretties here from Mary & Andrea over at The Ribbon Girl.

I made a bow with some Royal Peacock Seam Binding and added a Diamante 11mm Round Spacer topped with a 6mm White Pearl Flat Back.

There’s also a cheeky bit of 4mm pearl string and some White Crazy Mesh Fabric as well.

And it’s back after it’s time off – the good old Magnolia leaf and swirl die (well, the swirl bit is!!)

 

I also used some Ribbon Girl  10mm Pale Blue Tiny Pom Pom Bobble Trim – try saying that after a sherry or three!!!!

And there ya go – all done.

Please excuse the quickie again me darlins. I’ve got loads to do and time is a bit on the short side just for a change.

I’m just getting the prep done for my classes on Sunday at Crab Apple Crafts – we’re doing Christmas Pop Ups using some rather sweet lil Hobby House fairies. There may be one or two places left if you fancy coming along and also on Saturday it’s the Workshop preview afternoon where you get a chance to have a look at al the samples for the forthcoming classes (not to mention a good browse around Rosemary’s fab shop which is full of verry delish things) . The workshop schedule is here is you want a butchers – there are some amazing classes :)

So have a fab day and I’ll see you soon if not sooner.

Huggiest of hugs to all xxx

Lili Hoppity Hop

Good morning possums and a very happy Sunday to everyone :)

I hope that you are having a fab weekend.

It’s time for another mini Blog Hop with the Lili of The Valley girlies and this month we are all using the gorgeous

Basket of Roses

We have prizes from

and

But where are they?

Well that’s usually a secret but this week, as there are only 4 of us,  we all have a prize to give away – woohoooo :)

So all you have to do is leave a comment on each of the participating designer’s blogs (below). We will then choose our winners on Wednesday. Two lucky girlies will win a LOTV prize and 2 will win a  Which Craft prizes.

The DT taking part in this mini hop are:
Fleur
Anne
Bev
and moi of course!!

So good luck to everyone who enters :)

So …

.. this is what I did and 1 million apols for the pants pics peeps (fab alliteration there though !!!)

I used a  Which Craft Crackers card blank as a base and chopped off the bottom. I’ve filled it with something yummy for a friend but cannot say what cos she will read this and then the cat will be out of the bag (no there isn't a cat in there lol!!)

I coloured the image with these Copics -

Skin – E000, E00, E11, E21, R00, R02

Hair – E43, E50, E81

The rest – E43, E81, G99, R85, RV0000, RV000, RV02, RV34, YG00, YG03

and the papers are from Nitwits

The cute tag is from the LOTV set 24 sentiment tags set – LOVE these of course :)

And all the pretty trimmings are of course from The Ribbon Girl

I used ..

12mm cream picot lace, 4mm pearl string, 15mm pink tulle …..

   

… 15mm Shocking Pink No 72 Microdot Ribbon, cream tiny ric-rac and a pink carnation.

If you get a sec, please do nip across to the other girlies and leave them a comment and you may very well win a fab prize:)  Also there is another fabulous colour challenge over at  The Ribbon Girl Blog so head on over and check that out as well if you get a sec.

Now this weekend, I have, just for a change, been a bit busy!!! But NICE busy cos yesterday I did my first class over at Crab Apple Crafts which is of course Rosemary’s shop.

I had a fab day and you all made me so welcome, thank you xxxx. I felt  like I had been going there for years!!! Special thanks to Nova who helped me find my way around (and showed me where the loos were – VERY important of course!!)

My day was made even more special cos guess who came along ? …..

… yes it’s only our Katina my fellow PTW and craft mag  teamie :)

She is so lovely and I was of course chuffed to see her, even though we didn't get to spend as much time together as I would have liked.

And here’s a pic ….

… of the afternoon class busy working away ( I let them put their pens down for the pic, slave driver that I am -not!!) !!! But they did all work very hard and I hope that they love their Pro Markers a little more now.

Michelle – first on the left – should have come with her Mum but she was unwell so I hope she is soon feeling better xxx

Check out that pretty pink bunting – right up my street that was!!!

This is Joan, Rosemary’s Mum,  who really did make we feel at home there AND she kindly lent me her umbrella (ella ella ey ey ey) to nip over the road to grab a sandwich – God bless the British weather at the mo - grrrrr!!! .

So a lovely day indeedy, although I did miss my grandchildren so much because they didn’t stay over on Friday as they usually do. But I am going to get them in a tick and then we are all having dinner later, complete with kisses and cuddles in abundance – it’s practically the law in our house!!!  They won’t be staying over next week either because I am off to Peterborough to Sir Stampalot for the weekend. But I am hugely excited because at long last I am going to meet one of my oldest blog buds and one of the best crafters on the planet, the sweetness that is Claudia. More of that next week I’m sure.

So enjoy the rest of your day and I’ll see you in the week.

Huggiest of hugs to all xxx

PS - watch this space for more news,  but all I will say is keep 11th August free (ooh intrigue intrigue!!) xxx

The Wanderer Returns & Soooo Much To Tell :)

    

Hi there lovliest of peeps and I hope that you are all OK.

It feels like it’s been ages since I last posted so I’ll get the card bit out of the way and then we can have a good old gossip!!! But firstly, thank you for all your lovely e-mails wondering where I got to and checking that I was okay – how sweet and kind you are, bless ya little cotton socks, mmmwaaahhhh xxx

It’s a wet and windy Tuesday here today (nothing to do with me!!) but nothing like it was yesterday when we had a hailstorm with mahoosive hail stones, lightening and the loudest thunder I think I’ve ever heard.  Our house literally shook and so did I!!!  But wet and windy aside, it’s time to nip over and check out what’s been happening over at Papertake Weekly and this week we are

In The Garden

Well not literally of course – it is far too wet and windy of course :(  - but we want to see anything floral or to do with the garden included in your work.

We are sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps and there is a fab prize up for grabs so if you get a sec, nip and check it all out peeps.

So this is me card and I’ll run through all the stuff I used really quickly so I can get to the goss :)

The image I used is of course from  Lili Of The Valley and she is Milly Me & My Dog, I coloured her with the following Copics -

Skin -  E000, E00, E11, E21, R00, R20

Hair – E43, E50, E81

The rest – E43, E50, E81, R85, RV0000, RV000, RV00, YG0000, YG00, YG03

and all the papers are from Nitwits -  FQB Butterfly Kisses and FQB Confection collections.

 

Ohh I am LOVING these new LOTV sentiments – they are from Set 24.

You can use them to make up your own sentiments and there are 36 different ones in the set which makes them pretty darn good value in my book.

The bow was made using some gorgeous 15mm Shocking Pink No 72 Microdot Ribbon  which is of course from my fave Geordie girlies at  The Ribbon Girl (fab to chat today Mary xxx).

I topped it with a sweetheart blossom from Wild Orchid Crafts ……..

… and this little arrangement was made using various bloomage which was also from Wild Orchid Crafts.

Delish :)

So that's the old card done.

It's been a mad  couple of weeks putting it mildly. Basically I had a few problems with my router and therefore had trouble connecting to the Internet, but eventually it got sorted.

Then there was a real crisis here.

You may or may not know but we breed birds of prey here and this time of  year is our busiest as we have eggs and chicks coming out of our ears - not literally of course!!!   But there are eggs hatching all the time and chicks that need feeding. Then there’s  equipment that needs sterilising, food that needs preparing etc etc and on it goes.   Amongst all this last week,  we had two very poorly chicks and to be honest, we really thought they were going to die. We were up for two nights solid with them and of course we were both pretty knackered by the end of it.  I really didn't have any energy left to craft to be fair.

But the good news is that they survived. How they pulled through I honestly do not know, but they did and they are both healthy and strong, so a happy ending there – phew!!!!.  But as we have new chicks being hatched all the time, it gets a bit like Groundhog Day!!

So with all this going on, I didn't get chance to post anything on here really last week.  But of course the weekend before, we had the open weekend at Lili of the Valley and what a fabulous two days it was. I got to meet lots of lovely crafters, including some of my lovely blog buddies and I hope they will forgive me for not mentioning each of them by name, but they know who they are and it was fabulous to meet up with them all.

But the was one special crafter who I just have to mention because he just about stole my heart!!!

And here he is ……

… meet my little friend Bobby.

He is the son of the sweetness that is Tracy over at the Country Mouse blog and Tracy, I hope you don't mind me nicking this pic of him chick xxx   This kid is amazing, he really is. We chatted for ages about crafting and how he loves his Pro Markers (I think they are Mum’s really lol !!) and by the end of it I just wanted to take him home. I mean, how could you resist that little face!!! He is going to be a real charmer when he grows up for sure, and hugs to him from Aunty Piggy xxx.

And then last weekend we had  the craft fair at Port Sunlight.  As always, the show was really busy and again it was wonderful to see all the lovely crafters, even if we didn't really get chance to have a proper chat as we were sooo busy. I have to say that this is one of my favourite craft fairs,  and it has a special atmosphere all of  it’s own :)  It’s nice to see familiar faces there and of course, working with Richard from LOTV (Laila’s brother)  is guaranteed to be a good laugh cos he is soooo funny. And he is Liverpool supporter as well, yayyyy :)

In between the open weekend and Port Sunlight,  I  met up with  Rosemary Merry. You’ll know Rosemary  from Create & Craft and she has a gorgeous craft shop ( Crab Apple Crafts) in Frodsham which isn’t too far from here.

Well I have some FAB news to share cos I'm going to be doing classes at the shop, starting in July and I am soo excited. I’ll let you know more details soon as soon :)

Right well I think I’ve probably waffled enough but before I go, I have to say the biggest

THANK YOU

to everyone who has sent me jumpers for the babies.

I cannot tell you how thrilled I have been with the response. I expected a few but I think we are over 100 now. I will get around to sending out thank you emails but as per the above, the last few weeks have been crazy. I have lots of pics of them and I’m working out where to put them on here because I want to share them all. I didn't dream that so many of you would send them to me so I am a bit behind with me emails etc. But I will sort it and get them on here. Maybe I could put them in the sidebar (she says as a light has just come on in the pea brain – it is a shame sometimes!!!).

I’ll be back tomoz and thanks for bearing with me through this looooooooon post peeps. I’ll get off now and  leave you with a sneakie peekie   …….

… and all will be revealed in the morrow.

Huggiest of hugs to all and it is so nice to be back xxxxx