Back In The Land of the Living !!!!

     

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

We are fully functional again following my mishaps with me camera so it’s all systems go. And I haven’t been idle while I’ve been waiting for some dosho to by me a new ‘un.  Oh no indeedy I haven't :)  Cos I’ve been busy doing amongst other things some prep for the forthcoming Open Day  and workshops over at Lili of The Valley.

The next Open Day is going to be very special because it’s also a celebration - wooohooooo. Here, have a butchers at what I’ve nicked from the LOTV website …..

LOTV'S 9TH BIRTHDAY PARTY AND OPEN DAY!

SATURDAY 2ND MARCH 2013, 10AM - 4PM AT LOTV HQ!
It's our Birthday! Come and celebrate LOTV's 9th Birthday at our next Open Day on Saturday 2nd March.
Can you believe it's 9 years since Laila started Lili of the Valley in 2004?!
We will have special offers across all ranges in store, a goody bag, free demonstrations and workshops too. You will be able to sample a wonderful selection of refreshments, enter our free competition to win a fabulous birthday hamper and be inspired by our Spring displays, so come along and join the party! After the success of our Virtual Christmas Party on Facebook, we will once again be inviting everyone around the world to join us for our cyber birthday party too!

I know I’ve said it before but if you have a few hours spare, do try and pop along because the shop is just overflowing with inspiration and ideas as well as lots of nice things to buy. And it isn't just stamps and paper because there is a fabulous range of dies, ribbons and blooms as well as pens and inks.

And I’ll be doing some workshops as well. So if you fancy spending a couple of hours with el piggy wiggy getting crafty,  you’ll be very welcome and you can check out the workshop programmes here.

…………………………………………….

So slightly later than usual cos yesterday went by in a pancake sodden haze, it’s time to head on over and check out what’s happening over at Papertake Weekly challenge and this week it’s all about

Hearts & Flowers

We have 2 fab prizes up for grabs so if you get a sec, do nip over and check it all out (you probably already have seeing as I am Latey McLate this week, doh!!).

So ….

… here’s what I did.

I used Close Your Eyes (soooo sweet) and I coloured these 2 little cuties with these Distress Inks -

Skin - Tattered Rose & Vintage Photo
Cheeks - Worn Lipstick & Tea Dye
Hair – Antique Linen & Walnut Stain
Clothes – Peeled Paint, Shabby Shutters, Spun Sugar, Brushed Corduroy, Antique Linen

And the papers are from one of the new LOTV  8x8 paper pads and the pad I’ve used is Perfect Pair – aren’t they pretty :)

 

The sentiment is from LOTV sentiment Set 26 – Simply Sophisticated.
You've probably noticed that I’ve gone a bit bananas with the old edge inking as well.

 

I got these blooms from Purple Butterfly Crafts yonks ago but I thought the colours went nicely with the DI colours.
The leaves were cut using a  Memory Box Lavish Branch die which I got from LOTV

 

 

More Memory Box dies – these are Spring Border and Francesca Border.

The ribbon is  25mm Brown/Cream Rustic Gingham Berisford No 25, and it’s topped with a Pale Lime Green Small Polka Dot Spotty Button and some pink button twine – all from The Ribbon Girl 

 

 

So that’s me done but not for today cos I will be back later with a bit of cardage for this week’s SSS challenge, so I’ll waffle on no more and see you later :)

Huggiest of hugs to all xxx

Fab Fab Fab :)

Just to let you know that they are now on sale ……..

…. yes,  these are the very chaps here :)

So you can go and get them, woohooo :)

And not only that, there are some special offers on right now  to celebrate the new launch -

All 5 new paper pads for £35

The 9 new Spring stamps for £36

The 6 romantic couple stamps for £24

15 die cut/mini masterpiece sheets for £10

So peeps, go and get em!!!

And the winners of our blog hop can be found here – hugest congrats girlies, I bet you will have some fun with your prize :)

OK that's me done – BFN and hugs to all xxx

Lorry Loads of Love :)

 

Hi there sweet peeps and hope you are all OK today.

The camera is still out of action but luckily I did this card at the weekend, so without further ado, let’s nip across the pond and join our friends over at the Simon Says Stamp challenge and this week our theme is

Anything Goes

so time to get creative and have fun :)

The DT are using Penny Black products this week -  you don't have to of course, but if you have them we would love to see them :)

As always, our lovely Heidi is giving away a fabulous …

… for one lucky winner to spend …

… right here :)

So ….

 

.. this is what I did (I love this colour combi).

The image is from the Penny Black Clear Stamps LOADS OF LOVE  transparent stamp set.
It’s a nice big image - the card base is 6x6 which may give you some idea.

 

 

I coloured it with Distress Inks and these are the colours I used -

Antique Linen, Tattered Rose, Worn Lipstick, Pumice Stone, Black Soot, Peeled Paint, Shabby Shutters, Fired Brick & Barn Door

 

The papers are from a Fancy Pants 6 x 6 THE GOOD LIFE Paper Pad (love these papers) and the XOXOXO border was made using a Wplus9 XOXO BORDER Designer Die.

I popped some red gems in the ‘O’s – I am such a messer!!!!!!

 

STILL loving this die – it’s a  Simon Says Stamp Exclusive and this is Simon Says Stamp STRING OF HEARTS Craft DIE

You can maybe see better in this pic that I over - coloured some of the hearts on the image, and quite shoddily it would seem lol,  with Ranger STICKLES CANDY CANE Red Glitter Glue

 

   

The sentiment is from the stamp set as well – it’s perfect for this image :)

 

So that’s the old card done for today.
Right I better go and get on and I’ll see you soon if not sooner – ie once I can get the camera to open – but till then, have a fab week and huggiest of hugs to all xxx

And The Gorgeous Giveaway Winner Is …….

Hi peeps – hope you are all OK today xxx

I’m afraid I’m having a few probs with me camera today. I had to recharge it but now it seems to be ‘stuck’ so bear with me and I’ll get the old card on here soon as soon.

But in the meantime, I thought I‘d do the winner from last week’s  Ribbon Girl gorgeous giveaway and that lucky girlie is ….

… you Jane from Jane’s Journal

Congrats to you hunny and if you email me at dawnyp123@hotmail.co.uk, I’ll pass on your deets to Mary and she will arrange to get your beautimous prize off to you.

Thank you to everybody who entered and be sure to check back next month as there will be another giveaway then. I’ll be  back  later to let you know who was the winner of  yesterday's  LOTV sneakie peekie blog hop.

And talking of which, here’s a bit of a sneaky peeky of what’s going to be on here tomorrow …

… I knew I should have done all me cards for this week at the weekend!!!

Never mind, enjoy your day and I’ll see you later.

Huggiest of hugs to all xxx

 

It’s Hoppity Hop Time :)

    

 

Good morning crafters, thanks for stopping by!

Today we’re holding a Lili of the Valley

sneaky peek blog hop

to celebrate the launch of the gorgeous new Spring stamps!
The first 6 were released last week and the remaining 11 will be available on the 30th January. There are 9 more super cute rubber stamps and also 2 new clear sets (an alphabet and some stitching borders).

You will be able to buy all the stamps on the Lili of the Valley website from midday on Wednesday 30th (UK time) and you will also be able to get them at their showroom in Leeds if you are near enough to visit

The fantastic Design Team are all taking part, you just need to ‘hop’ from one blog to another following the links and leave a comment on each card.  We hope that you will pick up lots of ideas and inspiration along the way.

We don’t know where the prizes are so make sure that you visit them all. We will let you know tomorrow evening which were the ‘lucky’ blogs and 2 winners will be drawn at random from all the comments that were left on those 2 blogs.

Each winner will get the 2 sets of clear stamps and also 6 rubber stamps of their choice from the new designs :) 

So, what did I do then?

…. it’s this card here. I used

Watering The Flowers

and I coloured it with Distress Inks in these colours -

Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, Worn Lipstick, Fired Brick, Barn Door, Peeled Paint, Shabby Shutters,

- and then I outlined the image with Glamour Dust.

An arrangement made up of  Ribbon Girl and Wild Orchid Crafts blooms with a punched heart and a little pearly star.

The papers are all from Nitwits – the FQB Perfect Pear Collection – and these are soon going to be available at Lili of The Valley as 8x8 paper packs.

The bows are also from  The Ribbon Girl  - 15mm Shocking Pink No 72 Small Check Gingham – and I topped them with a pale lime green small spotty button and some natural button twine.

 

Ok now back to the hop and here's a list of all the blogs taking part  ...

Ideas To Inspire
Anne
Bev 
Dawny P (me!!)
Dena 
Elise 
Fleur 
Gretha 
Lou 
Mindy 
Moni 
Pops

… and remember you will need to visit them all to have the best chance of winning. Good luck to everybody who enters and we hope that you have enjoyed the sneak peeks and cards today :)

I’ll be back tomorrow so until then, have a fab day and hugs to all xxx

Calling All Tilda Fans :)

 

Hi sweet peeps and hope you are all OK and not under 6 feet of snow – blimey it came down heavy last night didn't it!!!

Well today is a very special day because it’s the very first one of these ……..

…. how fab.
Ribbons and Tilda – could you get a nicer combi, and I just have a feeling in me water that this is going to be a brilliant challenge :)

So let’s get straight in and for our very first week, our theme is

Ribbons & Lace

and there are 2 prizes up for grabs ….

 

… a sweet Magnolia Stamp 'Love is in the Air' and a £10 voucher towards a shopping spree in the Ribbon Girl online store.

So …

    

… this is what I did.

The image I used is Tilda Catching Stars from the Princes & Princesses 2012 collection.
I coloured her with Distress Inks – I can see an improvement here so I think that I’m starting to get somewhere with them.

The colours I used are -

Skin - Tattered Rose & Vintage Photo
Cheeks - Worn Lipstick & Tea Dye
Hair – Antique Linen & Walnut Stain
Clothes – Dusty Concord, Milled Lavender, Mustard Seed, Wild Honey

The papers are all by Nitwits and they are from the FQB - Life's Little Lemons Collection and Promises Collection.

 

 

Two bows made from 16mm Yellow/White No 106 Berisford Pencil Stripe and 15mm Orchid No 910 Microdot Ribbon and topped with an 18mm Sparkly 2-Hole Button which has been threaded with some natural button twine.

 

 

 

Oh my I am loving these roses :)
They are Ivory Rolled Paper Roses and they are so delicate – I could never make them with such fine paper. I added a pearl and some leafy things made with a Martha Stewart BRANCH Craft Punch M230367 (from Simon Says Stamp).

You can just about see the  Francesca Border Die which I topped with some 5mm Lemon Cream Loopy Trim

 

 

Another Cheery Lynn die – this one’s Cheery Lynn French Pastry Doily Die

I’ve linked these dies to Sir Stampalot cos Jan has a fab selection there, but if you are ever over at the Lili of The Valley shop, there is a mahoosive selection there as well :)

 

 

So that’s my card all done.

Well it is a quiet old weekend here peeps. My lot have gone to the Cotswolds so we are grandchild-less. It’s one of those things that looks fine on paper but the reality is different and we are soooooo missing them. The house is nice and quiet (and tidy) though so I guess we should enjoy it while we can …. as long as it doesn’t happen to often lol!!

Right, enjoy the rest of your Sunday and don't’ forget to nip over and check out the challenge. Also I still have my gorgeous giveaway and it isn't too late to enter – you can read all about it right here.

Take care, stay warm and safe and see you tomorrow (yes I will be back but I can’t say why!!!)

Huggiest of hugs to all xxx

A Krafty Old Bit of Paper Piecing :)

 

Hi there sweet peeps and hope you are all OK today.

It’s another cold one here today and it has been snowing earlier but nothing has really stuck.

Anyway, without further ado, let’s nip across the pond and join our friends over at the Simon Says Stamp challenge and this week our theme is

Paper Piecing

The DT are using products from Lily Bee this week -  you don't have to of course, but if you have them we would love to see them :)

As always, our lovely Heidi is giving away a fabulous …

… for one lucky winner to spend …

… right here :)

So ….

.. here’s what I did.

I did the kraft card thing again – love love love kraft card – and kept it fairly simple.

The papers are from the Lily Bee Head Over Heels paper pad I used them to paper piece the flower from a Hero Arts Clear Stamps To and From Petals stamp set (the leaves are also from that set).

The centre circle was made using one of the stamps from the Hero Arts Clear Stamps Many Dots set

   

A sweet little rolled rose made with paper from the Lily Bee paper pack plus a bit of string that was handy :)

 

 

There’s only one thing better than a bit of Tilda Lace and that’s three lots of it  - and all of it inked :))))

The sentiment is from a Hero Arts Clear Stamps Live and Laugh stamp set.

 

si

I do quite like simple cards, even though they are sometimes a bit more tricky to make.

Right well that’s me off for today. Don't forget that there is my gorgeous giveaway which is open until next Tuesday – you can see it here if you haven't yet entered.

You gotta be innit to winnit!!!!

Just before I go (Colombo mode yet again lol),  I get quite a few emails asking about the way I do my pics so I thought it might be an idea if I do a little bit of a tutorial – keep watching and I’ll get onto it asap – hope that will help.

See you soon as soon sweet peeps and stay warm and safe.

Huggiest of hugs to all xxx