Use a Charm, with the Crafty Friends

Good morning my lovely blog chums, hope you've had a great week....how are you getting on with your Christmas preparations? I finished my gift shopping on Friday, and settled down in the evening, with a pink gin and lemonade, and did the majority of the wrapping. Most of yesterday  was spent putting up the decorations....it's not that we have an excessive amount, but for whatever reason, the blummin' Christmas (a real one) did NOT want to sit evenly in its holder and with each and every light and bauble it got more and more lopsided......and the more it got lopsided the more stressed we got, I was in the verge of flinging it out into the dark and rainy evening, and hauling our 5ft artificial tree out of the loft......but we got there eventually and now it looks lovely

So, it's time for a new challenge  with 

Crafty Friends

Our theme is

USE A CHARM

and you can check it out here

Our lovely sponsors are

Who also provided the most adorable images for the team to play with. I chose "Two Little Mice". I use ProMarker pens to colour, I think the embossing folder used here was from Crafts too together with gingham card. To meet our theme I used a flower charm, which came from Hobbycraft, I attached it to a tag, to draw more attention to it.

This would be a great challenge to play along with if you are still making Christmas cards.....or just as fab for any other occasion, so I do hope that you will hop over and join in!

I would like to enter these challenges:

All Dressed Up - anything goes

ilovepromarkers - anything goes

Cute card Thursday - embossing

Anything But A Card.....at CWTC

Hello, my lovely blog chums......hope you've had a great weekend. I am still getting over a bit of a cough, which the hubby has now got too, so we pretty much hibernated for the weekend....but at least that has given me some much needed crafty time...woop!

So we have our new challenge starting today at

Christmas with the Cuties

and our theme will be
ANYTHING BUT A CARD

I know we get up to all sorts of different things at this time of year, so I can't wait to see your makes...I do hope you'll join us for this one.

Our lovely sponsors for this challenge are

who will be providing a gorgeous Digi Image prize for our lucky winner.

MY DT PROJECT

• Kraft Gift bag from The Works
• Benson and Betty Image from Crafty Sentiments
• papers from Nitwit
• pearls and lace from The Works
• Snowflake Die from Joanna Sheen
• fancy heart die
• snowflake border die

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Winter Layers, with the Cuties

Good morning to you my lovely blog chums, hope you had a lovely weekend. Don't think I have shared this news with you all yet, but  we have babies on the way in our family again....the younger of my two step daughter's, and her husband had been trying for some time to conceive, and had three failed attempts at IVF, but then in June we received the exciting news that they were "forth time lucky" .....and with twins too!!!!! How about that. Her pregnancy has been going really well, and it's looking like they will be delivered by C section at the beginning of January.  This weekend has been spent trawling the internet for cots, and we've now got  two ordered for them, and yesterday we went to her Baby Shower which was lovely. I will, of course, update when we have two new little arrivals to tell you about.

Anyway, we have a super New theme for you at

The Cutie Pie Challenge

and this is

WINTER LAYERS

So your card should either have an image that represents this theme or feature layers of papers or embellishments.

Gems, Pearls and Crafty Friends

Good morning to you my lovely blog chums.....hope your weekend has got off to a flying start, if you have exciting plans then I hope that you enjoy!

So it's time for a new Crafty Friends Challenge today, and we have a lovely theme:

Use Gems and/or Pels

Our lovely sponsors for this challenge are

 For my own DT card I am using "Love you bunches" , by Sylvia Zett.  Isn't she the cutest, I recently found this stamp in a Dr Barnado shop.....and I couldn't pay the cashier quick enough, lol. I have used a border die, spellbinders fancy circle die and an Xcut fishtail pennant die. The yellow gingham paperpapers, and the gems are stash oldies and the ribbon was from The Range.

We would love you to hop on over for a visit to Crafty Friends.....We have more great inspiration from the DT to share with you.

Wrap Up Warm.....you're not kidding me!!

Good morning to you my lovely blog chums! Based on my recent form, I am pleased with myself for managing two blog posts in a weekend......maybe my theory that I DO actually need an extra hour in the day is completely right, and maybe we can change our clocks back more often, lol!!!

Anyway, over at Christmas with the Cuties we are a week into the most adorable....and maybe the most aptly titled theme, given how chilly it is this weekend, 

WRAP UP WARM

Our lovely sponsors for this challenge are

For my own DT card  I am using a gorgeous image from Lee Holland Illustrations Etsy store. I got it, back in the spring with this challenge in mind, and I have been bursting to share it with you all. Image is coloured with ProMarkers, I think the papers are from an older Papermania stack, I have used Memory Box, Precious Mittens die, the sentiment is from a Crafters Companion set that I found in a Dr Barnado shop. Card candi and washi tape added as finishing touches.

Once again we have some fabulous inspiration from the DT to share with you, so I hope that you will hop on over for a little visit.

It's been ages since I entered any challenges, so here goes:

Winter Wonderland - colour it

The Holly & Ivy challenge - ag

Thank you again for visiting, enjoy the rest of the weekend xx

Circles.....with Crafty Friends

Good morning to you all, my lovely blog chums.....hope you have had a great week. For me it's been yet another busy one. The hubby and I went up to do the pre -Christmas visit to family in Scotland, and when we got home Tuesday night it was a simple case of, off to bed and up for a double shift at work the next day as it was our annual stock take. So I am happy now, that I have the weekend to recover and get back in a more settled routine.

Once again, I am a few days late posting this, but we have a fab challenge for you over at

Crafty Friends

Our theme is

CIRCLES

Our lovely sponsors for this challenge are, none other than

Lee Holland Illustrations

Lee's little characters are completely adorable, and I do recommend you to hop over to the Etsy store for browse.....you might as well get your bank details ready too, cos' I am certain you won't leave "empty handed" , lol

I used Piglet with flower, and this is coloured with ProMarker pens. The dp's  are from an old-ish Papermania stack. The doily is from Joanna Sheen, the sentiment from  LC design,and the acrylic dots from stash.

You still have a week to join us, so I hope to see you over there...We also have some awesome DT cards to share too xx

Going Girly with the Cuties

Hello, my lovely blog chums......I do hope that this post finds you well. 

When I started to prep this post, I was shocked to see how long it has been since my last post.........eeeeek, well over a month!! I just don't know where the time goes.

Anyway,  we have a super fun theme this month,  at
The Cutie Pie challenge
Which is
GOING GIRLY

Due to unforseen circumstances, we do not have a sponsor this time, but the opportunity to be one of our Top Three Picks, is still very much there


For my own DT card, I could not resist this adorable image from Lee Holland Illustrations  which are available from Etsy.

We have some amazing cards from the team to share with you, so I hope you will pay us a little visit

THE CUTEST SNOWMAN........

Good morning to you my lovely blog chums, hope that post finds you well!

So, it is a public holiday, here today, so if you are able to enjoy this day, then I hope you have a great time.....for me, it's back to work after two weeks off. If you do find yourself with time on your hands to craft, we would love you to hop on over to

Christmas with the Cuties

and play along with our new challenge, the theme is

THE CUTEST SNOWMAN

Our lovely sponsors for this challenge are

I have used a Bugaboo image on my card, which I coloured with ProMarker pens, and added Stickles glitter. The dp was an oldie, I think magazine freebie.

We have some fabulous makes from the DT to share with you, so I hope that you will pay us a visit very soon!

Animals, Birds and Crafty Friends

Hello there my lovely blog chums, thank you so much for stopping by here today!

So, it's time for a shiny, new challenge with Crafty Friends

and our theme this time is

Animals or Birds

Our lovely sponsors for this challenge are

who also, very kindly, provided the team with some adorable digi's to work with. Now I'm sure it won't come as a huge shock to you  that I am a huge animal lover.....it's not that I love huge animals as such, but I hugely love  lots and lots of animals!!! It was love at first sight for me and this Giraffe image.....how adorable is this!!!! As ever, I have used ProMarker 's to colour, my chosen dp comes from an oldish Trimcraft stack and the sentiment is my own creation. I haven't used my Xcut scalloped square dies for ages, so dusted them off for a change.

We have some really awesome cards from the rest of the team to share with you, so I do hope you will join us......Click Here

Sporting Cuties

Hello my lovely blog chums, hope very much that you are having a good week so far. So as per normal I am a few days late, but here nonetheless to invite to come on over and play along with us at the Cutie Pie challenge.......Our theme is

SPORTING CUTIES

and  I simply couldn't resist this adorable stamp from LOTV for my DT card.

Our lovely sponsors for this challenge are

We have some fabulous makes from our DT to share with you, so I do hope you will hop on over for a little visit......Click Here

Christmas with the Cuties......add some sparkle

Good morning to you, my lovely blog chums......and I very much hope that there are still some of you bobbing about here!! I was almost shocked to notice that I haven't blogged since the beginning of June....eeeeek!!! I have been going through something of a busy time, in the real world, I really don't want to bore you all with the in's and out's and stresses of my work and family life, suffice to say that I am happy to be writing this post now, and I send a huuuuuge hug of thanks if you have taken the time to visit me.

Anyhooo, we have a great New challenge kicking off this morning, at 

CHRISTMAS WITH THE CUTIES

Our theme is

Add Some Sparkle

this challenge is being sponsored by the Christmas with the Cuties team and we have a yummy bundle of goodies up for grabs for one lucky winner

for my own DT card, I used the completely adorable Christ-mouse Pudding from LOTV. The DP is from an oldish Forever Friends pack and my sparkle comes to you in the form of a few good squirts of Stickles, Glitter glues - red and frosted lace.

when it is soo  warm out, you're maybe not thinking too much about your Christmas cards yet, but with such a gorgeous, glittery, sparkly theme.....why not come over and join us!!!

Festive Furry Friends

Hello my lovely blog chums, thank you so much for visiting me today. Hope you're having an enjoyable weekend.

I am a few days late with this one but we have a fun new challenge at

Christmas with the Cuties

Which is

FESTIVE FURRY FRIENDS

Our lovely sponsors for this challenge are our good friends at

I treated myself to this adorable image from Di's.......isn't it gorgeous, it was a joy to colour too.

You might be thinking that it's a little bit too early to start your Christmas cards yet, but with such a fun theme and a great prize up for grabs, why not hop on over and join in!

Happy Birthday with Crafty Friends

Hello my lovely blog chums, hope this finds you well......it has been far too many days since I popped up here, so it's great to be here now. It's been a super busy time at work for one thing, and we also have our Megan home from Uni for the summer. Before she came home we had agreed to decorate her bedroom when she got home, so the last two and a half weeks have seen us painting, papering, carpet laying and putting together what has felt like half the contents of an Ikea store. Megan's 12 hour per week contract in the garden centre where i work, has morphed into 40 odd hours per week, so most of the decorating has been left to "good old mum and dad"

Anyway, we have a fab new challenge today at

crafty friends

and our theme this time is

Happy Birthday

We all need birthday cards from time to time, so what a great  opportunity!

Our lovely sponsors for this challenge are

Who have a lovely prize for the lucky winner

I chose to use Emma with balloon for my DT card. I remember having a dress just like this one when I was a little girl, and in this co!our green too......I didn't have the flowing locks though!!! I used ProMarker pens to colour and created my own sentiment using Zipty do font.

Hope you will hop on over and join in with us, I will be back with another card later 

A DT Double

Hello my lovely blog chums, hope that the week has got off to a good start......We had another weekend away with the caravan, and once again it rained!!! No camping next weekend though, as I am looking forward to watching the coverage of the Royal Wedding

So I have not one but two DT cards to share today, first up is for the Cutie Pie challenge

and our theme is

ADD a Butterfly

Our lovely sponsors for this challenge are our good friends at

My DT card features:

• James with flower from LOTV
• Coloured with ProMarker pens
• Papers are, eau du nil capsule collection from papermania together with a flowery paper from the works
• The cute little butterfly dies were a magazine freebie

I would like to enter these challenges:

crafty catz weekly challenge A.G with optional Cute

cute card thursday Flowers

Next up, is our latest challenge at 

sweet sketch wednesday

and here is my take on this...

Our lovely sponsors for this challenge are

My DT card features

• Fred the Giraffe from CAAB
• Coloured with ProMarker pens
• Collection of papers from Limetree crafts
• Flower die from Your Next 

I would like to enter these challenges:

Allsorts In the Pink

aud sentiments challenge Cute & with sentiment

So, there we are then.....would love to see your card for either of these challenges, so why not click on the links and join in!

Animals.....with Crafty Friends

Hello my lovely blog chums, I hope you had a great week, and you are able to enjoy a little sunshine on this bank holiday weekend.....I have been trying to ignore the weeds in my garden, but I don't think it's a task I can avoid for much longer, so that's my plan for today.  My musical accompaniment for this will most likely be the soundtrack from "The Greatest Showman"....which I am playing a lot at the moment, but must remember that as I am working outdoors today, that maybe I don't sing along quite as loudly as I would indoors......!!!!

Anyway, we have a terrific new challenge starting today with 

Crafty Friends

and our theme this time is

Animals

Needless to say, I was super excited about this theme as it gave me a perfect excuse to treat myself to a new digi stamp.....Scruffy Edward from LOTV

Our lovely sponsors for this challenge are

My DT card features:

• Scruffy Edward from LOTV
• Coloured with ProMarker pens
• Own sentiment featuring Unkempt don't
• Circular die and star die

I would also like to enter this card into  these challenges:

CAS on Friday Cute

cute card thursday A.G

craftaholics r us Baby cards

simon says stamp wednesday challenge Animal Magic

I do hope to see you joining us this time, why not hop on over Here

SSW2 - #135

Hello my lovely blog chums, I hope that this post finds you well!

Once again, you find me playing catch up! I am a wee bit late with my DT card for the current SSW2 challenge.....I had a fantastic plan to be super organised at the weekend, only for hubby to remind me that he had booked a short break, in Norfolk to celebrate our 18th Wedding Anniversary. We had many years of family holidays in Great Yarmouth, when I was a little girl, so this weekend was a lovely, albeit cold and wet!, trip down memory lane.

So anyway, back to the sketch.......and my DT card

is based on this fab sketch

This adorable image was provided by our lovely sponsors

I may be a see bit late, but there is still time to play along, so why not hop on over......Click here!

Christmas with the Cuties, Let it Snow!

Good morning my lovely blog chums, hope you all enjoyed  some sunshine this weekend.

So, it's time for a new challenge at

christmas with the cuties

Our theme this time is

Let it Snow

Our lovely sponsors for this challenge are our good friends at

Pink Gem Designs is based in Stourport on Severn, Worcestershire UK.

Began trading in Nov. 2008 to design cute and whimsical craft stamps in clear polymer.

As digi products became more popular Pink Gem Designs also started to produce digital stamps/Card Topper Kits and other digital products such as downloadable papers, clip art etc..

they are offering this lovely prize:

****2 "SINGLE" digi images OR  2 "Card Topper Kits of the winners choice. ****

(or one of each) no sets or sentiments

My DT card features:

• http://www.pinkgemdesigns.com/catalog/chilly-with-snowflake-digi-stamp-p-1536.html
• Cuttlebug embossing folder
• Stickles Frosted Lace
• The cute ribbon, was part of the wrapping of a gift  from a very special friend(and teamie!)
• Sentiment was an old magazine freebie, and  i did question afterwards, whether it was unfair on the snowman to offer warm wishes, lol

Ok, so you may not be thinking Christmas prep, yet.....and especially not with a snow theme, but we would absolutely love for you to join in, so why not hop on over xx

Sunny Greetings!

Hello my lovely blog chums, hope you're having a great week, Wow, what are difference we enjoying in the weather this week. As good fortune would have it, I had booked this week off from work ages ago, just to use up a but of annual leave. I had a vague hope of getting a bit of gardening done, but when we started to notice the promising weather forecast, hubby decided that it would be good for us....and our dog Nippy, to have a few days away in the caravan. We had just had a weekend away before we sadly lost our other dog, Daisy, and the last few days have been really cathartic for us all. Nippy had been so gloomy at home, and it was an absolute joy to see him running around and looking like he was really enjoying himself.

The card I am sharing today, is also linked to Daisy.....I had actually started making this on the Saturday afternoon, following us taking her to the vets. At the time it served as a distraction, but after losing her two days later, I almost chucked it away....I stopped myself though, and am actually quite happy with it after all!

I

This little darling from, Lee Holland is one of my favourite images at the moment....I have coloured with ProMarker pens, and mounted onto a Nellie Snellen die. The pretty paper is from a Trimcraft stack, the flower die is from Your Next Die, and this is also a big fave at the moment....the buttons are all from a local haberdashery store.

I would like to enter the following challenges:

passion for promarkers buttons and/or bows

crafty gals corner challenges use buttons

crafty calendar challenge buttons and/or bows

di's digi designs hand coloured images

Before I go,  I just wanted to share a photo of our lil boy having a lovely mooch around the Lower Leas Gardens in  Folkstone. As cute as he looks I am also intrigued by a plant in the background......it's  the really vibrant green one, and i would love to know what it is called.....so if anyone has any idea????

Delightful Digi's with The Cutie Pies

Good morning my lovely blog chums, hope you had a lovely weekend. I am using up a bit of annual leave this week, so hubby and I decided to have a few days away in the caravan.....hope the weather will be kind to us!

It is A Little Extra Cutie-ness day, which is is little bit more inspiration from the Cuties....Our current challenge theme is 

Delightful Digi's

We have already seen some gorgeous entries, but there is still heaps of time to play along, so we hope you will join us!

Our lovely sponsors for this challenge are our good friends at

So if you wanna be in with a chance to win a bit of digi shopping, you know what to do, right!

My DT card features:

• Marley-Blooms
• Coloured with ProMarker pens
• Mint coloured paper is an oldie from stash
• Pink gingham from Limetree crafts
•  Doily and ribbon from stash
• Flower die was magazine freebie
• Enamel dots from MME

I would also like to enter:

little miss muffet challenges #186 anything goes

as you like it challenge favourite colouring medium would have to be ProMarker pens....yummy choice of colours and really used friendly

moving along with the times Spring

Passion for Promarkers Blooming Days

• 
  

SSW2 #134

Hello my lovely blog chums, hope this finds you well!

Just a very short post from me today, haven't really been feeling tip top since the events of last week and now I have a rotten cold! I am full of snot and feel like I am single handedly keeping Klennex in business.

We have a fun and somewhat thought provoking brand New sketch to play with at

which is

and this is my DT creation

Our lovely sponsors for this challenge are

I do hope you will join us!

I do apologise for the shortness of post here, I 'm sure I will be firing on all cylinders again soon xx

Sending hugs!

Hello my lovely blog chums.....Hope you're having a great Sunday, or whatever day It is when you are here!

So I made this card a couple of weekends ago, but hadn't got around to sharing. I'd had a great time colouring this image, as I do have a tendency to opt for more pastels or subtle shades when I am colouring clothes, but I do have a fondness for red with white polka dots so decided to go a bit bolder here.....

My card features:

• Pig tail girl from Bugaboo Find me here
• Coloured with ProMarker pens
• Sakura white gelly pen
• Own sentiment featuring Baby Lexi font
• Scalloped border die
• Dotty paper from snippets box!

I would like to enter these challenges:

catch the bug  - anything goes

di's digi designs - hand coloured images

Just us girls - Bold

cute card thursday - anything goes

Anyway, once again, the ironing fairy has failed to show up so it looks like I'm just going to have to suck it up and attack it myself....have a great day, and thanks again for taking the time to visit xx

Share your favourite colour with Crafty Friends

Hello my lovely, lovely blog chums..... I need to start with a huge thank you for your words of comfort on my previous post. It has been a difficult week, and very slowly we are adjusting to life with one less set of paws running around the house. But, life has to go on.....

We have a new challenge with Crafty Friends

and our theme this time is

FAVOURITE COLOURS

I did struggle to choose a favourite, favourite...but in the end, it had to be Yellow, so bright and cheerful...... it is also the title of my favourite Coldplay track!

Our lovely sponsors for this challenge are

Who also provided this gorgeous image, which I couldn't resist paper piecing......It looks so much prettier than our own caravan!!!! The papers are from a very old Papermania stack. I have made my own sentiment and used enamel dots to create little detail.

We do hope that you will come and play along with us.....you can find us Here

Till we meet again, Daisy

Our beautiful girl, Daisy became poorly on Friday night when we noticed her having convulsions/tremors. In the early hours we phoned the vet and rushed in with her. Tests showed her blood sugar levels were incredibly low and she was put onto a glucose drip, but despite the best efforts she showed little sign of improving and they diagnosed her as having a Pancreatic Tumour. We were called in yesterday, and had to make the decision to let her go peacefully. When we got there the Vet was busy with another patient but the nurse brought Daisy into the room with us, and at first you wouldn't have believed there was anything wrong with her, she wandered around and sat with us all but before long she began to really tire, despite being hooked to an IV  of glucose. We all agreed afterwards how lovely it was to have that special bit if time together. Then, after the discussions with the Vet, Daisy went to sleep surrounded by a family that loved her very dearly.

Daisy had only been with us for about five years, when we decided to find a companion for our Westie. We visited a dog rescue place one afternoon, ideally looking for another Westie, and we actually hesitated at first when they started telling us about a Jack Russell cross that had been brought in by the dog warden - then we met her, and fell in love instantly. She was a nervy, timid little soul when she first moved on but  with time and lots of love, she came out of   herself, and became what we often described as a "bustling busy body" of a dog, and she brought great joy and happiness to our family. She was incredibly loving and just appeared to look happy all of the time......and you've never heard a dog snore like she did, lol.

For now, our hearts are broken, and we are so sad to have lost her so suddenly but we know that we have so many happy memories to comfort us.