Sketchy Anya & Poorly 'Puter!!!

Oohh I've flippin struggled getting this post done this morning. My computer is seriously unwell and I am going to have to get the IT doc in first thing tomorrow.

But more of that in a sec.

As it's the last Sunday of the month, that means that it's time for another sketch over at Anyone For Anya. I used Dahlia - she is one of my faves - and this card is for a very special friend but I can't say who cos she will probably read this.

I coloured lil Dahlia with my PMs and gave her a bit of Glamour Dust sparkle :)

So this is the sketch - nice and simple, a bit like me lol xxx

And this is my take on it.

For a change, I raided my 12 x 12 box and the only thing I can tell you about this paper is that it had Craft Creations on it. So I am guessing that is where it came from originally but I think I got it from the sale I did ages ago!!!

And ohhh what joy!! Mr Postie brought me a parcel from a certain very special lady in the jolly old US of A and she has sent me 3 rolls of my fave ribbon!!

Woohoooo, no more nicking bits of other cards cos I have loads to play with again.

I won't name her but she knows who she is and she knows how chuffed I was with her gift.

Thank you my dear and wonderful friend- you are so kind xxxxx

The gorgeous centre of the ribbon (which sadly I haven't manged to capture properly) is a Prima Say It In Studs Crystal Centre which you can get from Tracy at Dies To Die For. It is so pretty and the sticky back is really good and tacky so it sits nicely. I am liking a LOT :)x

The pretty pink Bazzill card which you can just about see here is also from Tracy.

I don't know what I'd do without her xxxx

So that is my card and it is nothing short of a miracle that it has appeared.

I told you about this blank page problem last week? Well our IT guys had a look and there is a problem on the PC which they think it has caused. I asked them about using Chrome or Firefox and they are unable to recommend that for me for reasons I won't bore you wiht and as it is a company computer, I can't really argue. So I am for the moment stuck with IE and all it's foibles!!!!

It also seemed that my McAfee was not running like it should be so we got that going again and this was about 4pm on Friday afternoon - just as the IT boys were going home. Well it became obvious very soon after that that something is very wrong. I now cannot access my pictures folder properly, Photoshop is taking ages to open and sometimes it just crashes for no apparent reason, and the internet is, well, hit and miss to say the least.

So it has all been a bit stressful to say the least. I was seriously in danger of chucking it all through the window this morning but as I don't want to collect my P45 any time soon, I thought better of it!!!!

So this is a quick dart in and out today cos I don't want to push my luck. Hopefully it will all get sorted tomorrow and I will be back to normal (well as normal as I ever will be lol xxx).

Have the fabbiest of fab Sundays lovely peeps and see you soon.

Hugs to all xxx

A Little Christmas Magic :)x

I can't believe how quickly this week has gone. It only seems like a day or so ago when I did the Masking Ma-Tilda post.

I wonder if Leann is still singing it? :)))x

I have to say a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who e-mailed and left comments re my blank page thing yesterday - all very helpful and I am looking to get it sorted - I so appreciate your help lovely peeps xxxx

So it is Friday, the weekend is very nearly here and its time for another awesomely fab challenge over at Just Magnolia. This week it is a beautiful sketch by the loveliness that is Martine .....


And it's this one here. The DT girlies have as always produced some absolute stunners which are sure to inspire you so nip over if you get a sec and check it all out.

So this is my take on the sketch.

I was obviously still in 'masking' mode and these are 2 of the stamps I got from the NEC. But at least Tilda won't get her feet burned sitting on that gorgeous envelope (unlike the fireplace!!)

As always, I coloured her with the old PMs and Glamour Dust combi, and don't forget that you can get your very own bad boys from Tracy at Dies To Die For (as well as some Magnolia-tastic goodies)

The white centre panel has been Cuttlebugged with a Swiss Dots folder, and the brads are Basic Grey which I got from Simon Says Stamp.

The teeny sentiment is from the Pink Petticoat Tiny Tags Collection (have you seen the new Frilly Millies - gorgeous!!) and the ribbon is from a local floristry warehouse

The poinsettia is from Poppicrafts.

Oh yes, the doily punch is back (thank you Martha Stewart!!) and the papers are Funky Fairy's gingham and Liz's PP Stripes.

And that's the old card done!!!.

We are in prezzie wrapping mode today in an attempt to try and get a bit organised ready for Santa's visit!!! It won't work of course and on 24th at 11.30pm no doubt we will still be at it, but it's a start.

I so envy those peeps who serenely glide towards Christmas, with their prezzies bought and wrapped by October, the food all ordered everything sorted in loads of time. Me, I fly by the seat of me pants and I don't glide, I don't even jog towards it.

No, I run at full pelt shouting 'wait for me'!!

It's part of my scatty-ness I suppose and we always get through it without too many disasters (drunk drivers and thieving toe rags not withstanding - full story is here).

So Emma is on holiday today and Kyla's giftage is all out - as is Kyla, which his why we are doing it - as is the paper and then once it's done, it can all go away ready for the fat lad with the beard (no, not Richard, he doesn't have a beard chicksies, and don't feel sorry for him cos you should hear what he says about me lol xxx).

So on that note, I'm off to get some work done and then I can get stuck in and get wrapping.

Have a fab day peeps and see you soon if not sooner.

Huggiest of hugs xxxx

Just To Share & Also A Warning For You Peeps xxxx

So no challenge for this little sweetie bear, but I just had to share - it's a share bear lol xxx. I made it for a friend's baby for her first Christmas.

The image is just gorge and it is Christmas Teddy, of the fabbytastic Janet's over at Pink Gem.

What I loved about it - apart from the cutie-pie factor which it has shed loads of - is that you could use this for a girl or a boy and for young and old alike.

So this is what I did with it.

Verrrrry different for me cos there is no 6x6 base card !!!
This base was cut on the Cricut using the Wild Card cartridge. I coloured lil Ted with PMs and blinged her up a treat with some Glamour Dust.

Now that is not at all different for me cos I do it all the time lol xxxx

The paper is from Mad About Cards and the die cut shape is a nestie which I drowned in the blingy stuff!!!

nd check out those flat backed jewels - they are Svarowski crystals and I got them ages ago from Craftwork Cards.

Very posh or what :)))x

Bit tricky to get a shot to show the dimension but you can see it here just about.
So that's me card and it's one more ticked off the list!!!

Now I did say that I had a warning for you lovely peeps.

I have had a few probs leaving comments this week. What is happening is that as I go onto the blogs, my browser goes completely mad and starts opening lots of blank pages. It takes me ages to close them all down as they just keep on opening by themselves - very weird.

Now as you know, I am not at all techncial but I do think that this is due to some sort of digi nasty out there (sharp aren't I lol xxx)!! Has anybody else had this and if so, what is the best way tho get rid of it please peeps? I've run my anti spyware etc and fingers crossed, it seems to sort it, but I don't want to be doing this every five minutes. So any help would be greatly appreciated xxx.

On that note, I am off to do some work and then I have to go to sunny Birkenhead. Have a fab day and I hope it's stopped raining where you are!!

I'll see you tomorrow cos it's Tilda-tastic Just Magnolia day - woohoooo!!! Huggiest of hugs xxxx

Christmas Crackers :)

That's our theme over at Papertake Weekly.

I decided to use these little snowmen which I found during my move around. I had completely forgotten that I had them but I thought they went so well with the MME Colourful Christmas paper which I am sooo loving at the mo. The papers are all available from Tracey over at Dies To Die For .

But I am afraid to say that I had the snowmen for so long that I couldn't tell you if my life depended on it where they came from originally but I think you can still get them. They are Build A Jo by Imaginisce if it's any help xxx

So this is my card.
I'm afraid that due to my aweosme photography (not!!), you can't really see the full effect here.

I did a frame card which was a former PTW challenge a good while back, and I really liked it. The very lovely Claudia did a tutorial and you can see how to make them here - they are ever so easy :)

I stuck the snowmen onto acetate and then used silicone glue (that stuff has the most foul smell!!) to attach them to the card. What you can't really see is that they are both on sort of an angle and their arms are sticking out of the frame.

We've done the button / twine / cocktail stick thing again (yawn yawn!!).

I also used a Fiskars Threading Water punch to create a little frame to go around the aperture. I thought it balanced out the white of the base card quite nicely.

No arty farty angle shot today - I'm having a day off!!!

So that's me card done and if you get a sec, nip over and check out what the rest of the girlies have done with the challenge - loads of Papertake fabulousness for sure.

Have a fab day and I'll see ya very soon xxx

Faux Anya + My First Tiara :)

Hi peeps and I hope you are all having a fab Sunday.

Over at Anyone For Anya, we want you to Make A Fake for our challenge and the DT have some awesome cards to share. If you get a sec, nip over and have a mooch.

So I used Miss Rainy Anya - how fitting considering this rotten weather we are having and if anyone is reading this from Cockermouth or indeed Cumbria, I do hope that all is well and you are not one of the poor souls flooded out xxx

I coloured Mss A with the usual suspects and I've also given her lurex socks and glittery eye shadow which you might just be able to see.

My cheaty fake bits were the ribbon, lace (MSBP - 2 of) and the stitching.

The gingham paper is Funky Fairy and the image was from Dies To Die For. You can also get your Pro Markers plus a whole heap of other goodies from Tracy AND there is a special TGF stamps offer which you can see here, as well as a mega winter sale :)))x.


The blinged up blooms were all from Simon Says Stamp and the buttons were from my stash.

I coloured some stretch twine with a black PM and curled it round a cocktail stick again like I did on my Just Magnolia card in the last post.

You can see both the border punches here - bless Martha Stewart lol xxx

Add a bit of dimension and there you go!!!

So I went and made me a tiara yesterday, but poor Nik was unwell so she couldn't go. I really enjoyed the class and as promised, I took a pic. .....

.... what do ya think?

It might have look a bit better had I not have sat it over the join of the 2 sheets of white card I use for me pics - dope!!!! But it hasn't come out too bad for a first attempt and this is the very first tiara I've ever had in my entire life (ahh, sad isn't it - such a classy girl!!).

We could pick our own colours and I went for black and clear crystal and some pearls - all Svarowski and very very gorgeous. But I can see why these things cost because there is so much work in them. My poor hands and fingers are sore this morning from all the wire twisting and wrapping.

Now all I have to do is go somewhere where I can wear it!!
Sadly, I have a feeling that it will be in my wardrobe for quite a while before that happens unless I wear it with me pinnie while I'm cooking the Chrizzie dinner :)xx

And you know, I just might do that after a sherry or 3 lol xxx

Kyla fell in love with it!!
She is going to see the Disney Princess Ice Show with one of her little pals so she asked me if I can make them one each so they could be princesses (bless!!) Of course, I said yes (but not with crystals and me best pearls I won't!!).

On that note, I'm off to organise Sunday lunch.
Have a fab day and see you soon chickadees xxx

Masking Ma-Tilda :)x

Hooorraayyyyyy, it's Friday!!!
The weekend will soon be here peeps.

And as it's Friday, it's time for another beautimous challenge over at Just Magnolia. This week, we want to see a bit of masking.

I was sooo happy when I saw this challenge because it is one of my favourite techniques. I masked Tilda and the gorgeous little fireplace stamp which I got from the NEC. And as usual, I coloured and highlighted with PMs and Glamour Dust.

And this is what I did.

I kept the layout quite simple cos there's a fair bit of detail on the image.

The paper is Pink Petticoat's fab Fairy Lights and the holly leaves are a Sissix die that I forget I had. I'm glad I dug it out because it will come in useful, and no doubt you will see it again on here before long - ohh Mrs Predictability I sooo am :)x

The button was from my stash and I coloured a bit of bendy twine stuff (sorry for being so technical peeps lol xx) with a PM and curled it round a cocktail stick!!

The ribbon was from Costco and it's very verrrry nice :)x

I finished it off with a few gold stick on gems and some Flower Soft 'snow' and that was that!!!

Well I am settling into my 'new' office ok - still cannot find eveything straight away but I guess that was always going to happen. The craft room is getting there but is still not inhabitable at the mo. I am hoping to get it sorted once and for all this weekend, and then the flippin fun begins.

Sadly, I am not talking craft here, but rather decorating, because my dining room which has borne the brunt of my crafty ways for the last 12 months is in need of a lick of paint. But you know what it's like, you do one room then the next room looks grubby so you do that one.

And on it goes!!

It won't be this weekend though cos tomorrow, Nikkie and I are going to learn how to make tiaras - well you can't have too many can you lol xxx God knows what we are going to do with them once we have made them!! Maybe we can wear them for Christmas dinner and pretend we are posh lol xxx

I am assuming here that they will actually be wearable once we've finished with them - I'll take a pic and let you have a laugh!!

But it's something I always wanted to have a go at so we'll give it a bash and see. And then it's back to craft room central and more re-organising. I've got a bit of an embargo on buying any new stash until it's all sorted. It's probably just the sort of incentive I need to get my butt moving and finish it off.

So on that note, I better offski and get some work done - proper work that is - so I can crack on with it!!

Have the fabbiest of Fridays and see you soon.
Hugs to all xxxx

What A Palaver (Plus A DT Call Out) !!!!!

I was without my internet yesterday and I felt like my arm was missing!!
What a saddo - I should get out more lol xx

So I managed to get the PTW post on but not my own card. I'm a day late but better late then never I suppose, but what a flippin mither it all was - more in as sec!!.

Anyway, over at Papertake we have a sketch for you this week -

This is the one!!

And here's my card. We are sponsored this week by Peggy Loves Vintage, so all the DT girlies have used a vintage image. I thought these two little sweeties were so cute and although I didn't put a bad boy near them, I did 3D the bow on her knickers and the bottle in his pocket.

Ohh, and I did sprinkle a bit of Glamour Dust on her knicker lace as well!!!

The paper I used was one of the Magnolia papers which you can get from Dies To Die For. I thought it went so well with the stripes on the little boy's shorts, and it has a vintage feel to it as well.

And that's the finished card and art farty angle, which doesn't really show the 3D -ing, but it is there peeps,!!

And I managed to do another card while I was waiting for Mr BT to finish off what he was doing

How sweet is this little pupster!!

He is Sam and he's a Wild Rose Studio boy and he's one of the gorgeous Christmas stamps - I love him.

So I did a quick card which I thought would fit nicley with this week's Cute Card Thursday where they want you to 'glitter them silly'. Well I was only too happy to oblige cos I love anything sparkly.

He was of course coloured with my PMs and his stocking was blinged with plenty of good old Glamour Dust

And here's the card - dreadful editing once again, sorry chicks!!.

Very unusual for me, there is not a scrap of design paper here, but there is some beautiful textured card which you can get from Tracy at Dies To Die For.

I wanted to keep the background fairly simple in order to show off that snowflake ribbon. Ohh it is gorgeous - this pic does not do it justice. It's a Martha Stewart ribbon and once again, you can get these over at Dies To Die For.

I did mention in the post title that there was a DT call out, and so there is.

If you love Sam and his little pals over at Wild Rose Studio, and you fancy joining us on the DT, then lovely Dulcie wants to hear from you.

You can read all about it here.

These stamps are fab peeps, you get such a clean crisp image and they are a joy to work with.

The other bit of the post title is the palaver bit.
Well I tell you peeps, I was up the wall. So much so that I only went and posted Lorraine's PTW GDT card from last week on this week's post!! I think it all must have sent my head west!!!

Dozey flippin mare or what!!!

But it was all a bit stressful moving the office upstairs and the craft room downstairs. The office is now finished, but I had to re-paint it last night cos the walls were, quite frankly, minging!!! And then we had to lay some new carpet (thank you Richard xxx) cos the radiator had leaked all over the old one. Then this morning at stupid o'clock we dragged all the equipment up the stairs, and plugged it all in.

Now, my boss is on holiday and he always sorts out the IT bit for me cos I am truly hopeless!!! But he can't very well do it if he's 2 thousand miles away!!

So dopey Dawny , the world worse IT bod on the planet, had to do it herself!! And you know what - I did, and it worked. It is indeed nothing short of a miracle, but there was not one single glitch. I even managed to get reconnected to the virtual server at work.

I am still in a state of shock but not as much as my boss will be when he gets back and I tell him that I sorted it all.

So that just leaves the craft room and that bit is a little more involved ie 10 years worth of stash to re-organise. So I better get on and get it done!!

I may be some time peeps.

Have a fab day and speak soon if I ever get out of the mess alive!!!

Getting Round To It :)x

That's what we want you to do over at Anyone For Anya this week peeps.

You can use circles, buttons, a round shaped card or anything at all and as long as your card contains something round, then that's fine.

Well it was a bit of a struggle for me cos I really don't do anything round (apart from my stomach lol xx), but I have to say that the DT girlies have done some FABULOUS work - absolutely gorgeous.

I used my Dahlia stamp (again) seeing as I love it so much. I coloured and highlighted her with the good old PMs and Glamour Dust combi.

You can get a fabulous range of TGF stamps as well as PMs from Tracy at Dies To Die For and there are lots of other yumster things that she is adding all the time, so nip over and check it all out if you get a sec.

So this is what I did.

I ordered some of these half circle cards from Paula at Which Craft a while ago and then forgot that I had them!!! But I thought they would be perfect for this challenge.

The papers are a mixture of K & Co and Wild Rose Studio (Spring CD which I 'heart' so much)

Ohhh check out his bloom.
And 'scuse the grainy pic :(

It arrived on my doorstep yesterday morning from the loveliness that is Tracy at Dies To Die For. I just had to use it cos it's so pretty.It's a Prima Country Elegance bloom and you can see them here.

The little black stick ons are Hero Arts and they were part of my prize from Simon Says Stamp.

No dodgy angle shot today!!
I thought I'd show you the back of the card.

Well to tell the truth, I couldn't get the picture to look right cos round cards don't do dodgy angles that well!!! If I wasn't such a lazy mare, I guess I could have done something with the back of the sticky up bit as well - doh!!!!!

And speaking of getting round to it, I have a day of it today!!

My craft stuff is slowly taking over the house, cos I have all the jewellery bits and bobs now as well. I'm really lucky that I have a nice big office at home, but the craft stuff outnumbers the work stuff by a mile!!

So I have decided to move my office upstairs into the spare bedroom. Not only will this leave the nice big downstairs office free to house all my stash - :))))xxx - but it will be far more secure.

Now this is a great idea on paper but Mary Poppins I aint, so someone has to manually move it all, and I'm guessing that it's me :( As Mr BT is coming on Tuesday to sort out the phone lines etc I have only today really to get it sorted. So that will keep me out of mischief for a good few hours.

Emma is organising dinner, bless her, so at least I won't have to worry about that. I hope she does loads of roasties cos no doubt I will be ravenous by the end of it.

Yup, the last diet didn't last very long. Maybe tomorrow I can start again. And just think, all the running up and down the stairs to the biscuit / chocolate tin and fridge once I move upstairs is bound to do me good lol xxx

I hope you have a restful and fab Sunday and see you soon.

Hugs xxx

Here Goes lol :)x

Well firstly, I must just say a huge thank you for all the lovely messages and comments I got yesterday following my good news.

The Land of Blog is just full of the nicest peeps ever xxxxx

So for my very first Just Magnolia Challenge team card, I thought I'd use this sweet Tilda which I got at the NEC last week. I think she's absolutely adorable :)x

So our challenge (oohhh hark at me) this week is a fabulous sketch by the very talented and lovely Mina.

Here's the sketch.

And here's me card!!

The bad boys are back after their very brief rest - no room for slackers here lol - and of course, the Glamour Dust has been sprinkled with loving care!!!And of course, you can get yourself your very own bad boys and Magnolia stamps from Tracy at Dies To Die For.

The paper is from the new Pink Petticoat Fairy Lights collection - just gorgeous - and of course, I just had to use one of Martha's finest!!

The big snowflake was made using a mixture of the fab Dovecraft 3" Magna snowflake punch (which you can get from Dies To Die For - I covered it in bling) and a pale grey pearl Cricut snowflake from the Christmas Cheer cartridge.

The spacer bead and pretty pink velvet ribbon were also from DTDF, and the dangly is made up of a snowflake charm which I got from Simon Says Stamp, and some beads from my ever growing stash!!

The little snowflakes were punched and I added a bit of Dies To Die for bling.
Also I added a bit of faux snow aka Polar White Flower Soft

And that's it.

Please excuse the dodgy lighting here. I've been experimenting with a new light box. Well when I say light box, it's actually 3 sheets of white card and a daylight lamp!!

Still not quite getting it right am I :(
But I will eventually I guess!!! I am just pre-empting winter and dark nights and bad light etc etc, so this is my attempt at being pro-active!!!

Have a fab day peeps and see you soon, if not sooner, and if you get a sec, don't forget to check out the challenge and, as always, the absolutely stunning cardage from the rest of the teamster girlies.

Hugs to all xxx

FAB News - I Just HAD To Share xxx

How chuffed am I?
Well chuffed as chuffed could be to tell the truth.

Here's a sneakie peek and a bit of a clue!!

Well, you know that I'm this month's GDT girlie for Just Magnolia? Well the lovely Bev and Jacqui have asked me to join their team full time, so I am upgraded to a

fully fledged Just Magnolia DT member.

Wooohooooo!!!

You've no idea how pleased I am - I'm still pinching myself :))))))xxx
I have been dying to share all week and Bev told me last night that I could go ahead and spill - she's added me onto the blog already, so the sharp eyed amongst you might already know.

Ohh I feel better now that's out lol xxx

And I'd just like to say a huge thank you to each and every one of the JM girls for making me feel so welcome. I am so gonna enjoy working with you all xxxx

So I will be back tomorrow with my first 'proper' card - it's pink and sparkly as you can probably see from the sneak peek.

Well, you can't take the pink out of the piggy can you :)

See you manana and hugs to all xxxx

You Will Not Believe This :) xx

It's not at all like me but there is not a bad boy in sight here today.

Yes, not a single Pro Marker has graced my card for this week's Papertake Weekly!! Instead, I used some of the gorge Bazzill card and MME Colourful Christmas papers that the loveliest Tracy over at Dies to Die For sent me.

And as we are being sponsored this week by Heather at Digi Sparkle - fab prize, so check it out if you get a sec ) I used one of their lovely images

Ohh check out these gorgeous colours!!

Not often you'll hear me say this but I actually LOVE this.

So where's the image?
Well it's the tree of course, and I paper pieced it instead of colouring it. Our challenge this week is actually Digi Sparkle so we had to use something digi and add a bit of bling to it.

You can't see it but I outlined the tree with Glamour Dust - some things never change do they lol xxx

Speaking of which, there's a bit of Martha going on here.
Well I couldn't be too different could I lol xx

The fab little blingy stick ons are E-Line Pearls & Crystals which you can get from Dies To Die For and you can see them here.
Great value as well :)

I did the sentiment on the computer and the little clip is from Poppicrafts

I finished it off with some organza ribbon which I got from my local floristry warehouse, and that's that.

I have to say a huge thank you to Sarah for giving me this award as well - thank you hunny xxxx.

I am supposed to pass it on to 5 other lovelies but there is no way I can pick from so many fab peeps, so if you haven't got it and you want it, have it on me :)))x

So that's me done for the day.
Except to say that I am sitting on my hands and biting my lip to keep my trap shut cos there is something I am just dying to share but I can't.

Not yet, at any rate, but very very soon!!!

It's killing me of course, but there ya go!!

Right, I'm off to do a few more bits and bobs before the whirling dervish that is Miss Kyla comes home and chaos ensues.

Have a great evening peeps and I'll see you soon as soon.
Biggest hugs xxxx