Merry Christmas

I would just like to wish all my followers a very Merry Christmas. I am soo grateful to all of you that leave me comments.. it certainly makes blogland one of the best places in cyberspace. Look forward to seeing you all in 2010 xx Clare x

MAWTT Challenge #26 - Nicki's Sketch

Boy am I behind this week!!!! So without delay this week's sketch has been created by the lovely Nicki & we have used the gorgeous digistamp that Helen at Ellephantastic has offered up as her prize this week.


I decided to leave the stamp black & white & added the grey paper which was printed off my new Debbi Moore cd that I am now stocking. The paper with the bears on was from a set bought a couple of years ago. I have added loads of gems.
Sorry for the short post but hubby's birthday is tomorrow & I have loads to do. x Clare xx

New Candy

New Blog Candy over at Fussy & Fancy Friday Challenge. You have until Dec 31st to enter via Mr Linky xx Clare x

This Week's Challenge - MAWTT#25

This week is the first sketch by our newish DT member Susie Sunshine. She has created a fab sketch & the DT have loved creating their cards. There is beginning to be a real festive feel in the air now & if the weathermen are correct England should see it's first winter snowfall this weekend. What better excuse to stay cosy & warm crafting lol!!!!

We need to say a huge THANK YOU to our fab sponsor last week - Digital-Ink Co who gave the DT the most brilliant sesigns to work with ... & thank you ladies for stopping by our blogs to comment on our cards xx

Right this week's challenge has an open theme but Christmas is still on everyone's minds & my card is no exception

The image is Winter Mimi by Pink Gem Designs. These stamps are gorgeous. Due to restrictions I can't sell these stamps through my website but if you would like a catalogue send me an email. I have added Star Dust stickles to her buttons, ear muffs & boot pompoms. I have sat her on MME papers & added some BG Eskimo kisses as the main background. The other papers are from my stash. The flower is a combination of a Craft Works flower & a white flower from Dunelm Mills that I coloured using Copics.

Here is a close up of Mimi

I have taken the 2 elements of the sketch & used them to decorate the inside of the card.
xx Clare x

Pens Used :
Copics : C-3, E00, B00, E29, E37
Promarkers : Ivory, Blush, Vanilla, Denim Blue

It's Viv's Birthday!!!!!!

Pop over to Viv's now & help her celebrate her birthday. While you are there take a peep at her gorgeous cards & possibly leave a comment or 2 xx
Clare x

Allsorts Challenge........ Buttons

I decided I would make some Easel cards to send to my Brother & SIL & her family in Australia. Now I am normally trying to get these made with a week to go before Xmas so they might actually get them on time this year lol!!!



All 3 cards were made using Diecut Xmas Flowers from Cardcraft Plus. I think I bought these back in about August. I added Star Dust Stickles & white brads dipped in Twinklets Diamond Dust. The papers are MME Winter Wonderland Glitter Stack & BG Eskimo Kisses. I have added buttons (this ties in with this week's challenge at Allsorts), gems, ribbon & peeloffs. The sentiments are all from my DHP Xmas Kit xx Clare x

MAWTT Challenge #24 - Heidi's Sketch

Hi Everyone

Hope you are all beginning to get into the Xmas spirit. I for one am struggling this year. I am usually running round doing Xmas Fairs at this time of year but decided not to this year.... well it definately is not the same.
Thank you all for your lovely comments last week regarding my sketch... it is so nice to know that I am able to inspire people. We wish we could have given you all a prize, but we did choose Marianne as our GD for the next couple of weeks.
We have some exciting news this week...... we have the lovely girls at Digital-Ink Co sponsoring us & they have given you 2 fab digistamps as this weeks prize. The DT were lucky enough to have been given the same stamps to make our cards with this week & all the girls have done it again with their gorgeous creations. We have to say a big thank you though to Heidi as we had her fabulous sketch & theme of a hidden message to help us along.
Please, please stop by & let the girls know how much their hard work is appreciated.

My card this week has been made using the image Guess Who which is available from Digital-Ink Co. I have coloured her using a mixture of Copics & Promarkers & used Stickles to her hat & liquid pearls to her collar. I used my rectangle Nellies to layer her. In the corners I used flat back pearls, 4 white & 4 coloured with Marsh Green Promarker. The papers on this part of the card are BG Eskimo Kisses. The base of the flower is from Papermania & I edged the petals with Twinklets Diamond Dust. I am so in love with this stuff!!! The centre of the flower is a Prima Pearlescent. The With Love is from my DH Xmas Kit, edged with Stickles. This has all been created onto an acetate cover.

Here is a close up of the flower & image

To create the hidden message the next part of Heidi's sketch has been put onto the main card. The papers are from MME Wonderful Winter. The message is from a HOTP TSV & I used my chalks to colour it. The " 'twas the night" sentiment is again from my DH Xmas Kit.


To finish off the card I added another image to the inside & used the papers from the 2 fronts. I punched 2 holes through the acetate & card & threaded a needle with organza ribbon to tie the layers together. xx Clare x

Pens Used :
Copics : E00, E21, R29, Y00
Promarkers : Ivory, Vanilla, Blush, Pastel Blue, Denim Blue, Marsh Green, Cardinal Red

1 Card....... 3 Challenges

I have finally got a card done this week. I seemed to wipe myself out a bit doing the invites, then yesterday I needed to catch up on some h/w. So my cardmaking has taken a bit of a back seat. But I made sure I got one done today.
My card as the title says covers 3 challenges...

Cute Card Thursday...Snips, Snails & Puppy Dog Tails
Stamps & Smiles...SASSC42
Secret Crafter...Christmas Trees

So without delay here is my card



The papers are MME & BG. The image is from Penny Black. I have coloured with a mix of pens which are listed at the end. I added stickles to the star, tree, snow & brads. I used my new Nellies to cut round the image & layer. The brads are from my stash. I cut the snowflakes from blue glitter card using the Create a Flake1 die. The sentiment is from Cuddly Buddly.

Here is a close up of my image

As the card is meant for a younger boy I thought I would leave the inside fairly simple. x Clare xx

Pens Used:
Copics : B00, E00, E21, R29, Y06, Y17
Aqua Promarkers : Sepia
Promarkers : Ivory, Burnt Umber, Marsh Green
Tombow : 977

Awww Another Award

Wow I can't believe I have received another award. This time it has been given to me by the lovely Marianne. Thanks hun xx


As always there are some rules to follow when you receive your award.

These are the blog award "rules."

1. Copy the award to your site
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award
3. Identify seven things about myself.
4. Nominate 7 other bloggers
5. Link to those on your blog
6. Leave a message on the blogs you nominated.


Well here are the 7 things... see if I can find something a bit interesting rather than the usual stuff lol!!!

1. I am only 5ft 2 in tall
2. I love listening to 80s music
3. I adore Buffy & Angel
4. I have a 5 year old Easter Egg unopened
5. I hate Melon & Grapefruit
6. My fave film is Top Gun
7. I am a terrible Hoarder


So now for the fun part... here are the 7 people I will pass this award on to

Viv Debbi Debbie Sally Hazel Clare Nikki

Hopefully will be back again over the weekend with some cards xx Clare x

2nd Post Today

As promised here is the 2nd post of the day..... & the reason I have got nothing done so far this week. Every couple of years the school Julian attends holds a mock wedding to raise money for the local hospice. It is all part of their RE topic. This year it is Julian's class that are involved & he very kindly asked me a few weeks ago if I would like to make the invites. Well I agreed & sent in a sample that I made & I was going to be contacted to let me know when they would be needed by & if anything needed changing.
Well on Monday he walks in from school & announces that they need to be made for his RE lesson on Thursday.... so I had 2 days plus a few hours to get 50 invites created!!!!!!
Needless to say there was a quick trip to Hobbycraft & The Range but all 50 invites went with him to school this morning & here they are....


The corners were stamped with a Papermania stamp that I have to say I removed from the block & cut in half as I only needed part of the stamp. I added gems to the flowers in each corner. The middle piece was edged with gold ink & I stamped the centre using the Wedding Wishes stamp. I added the gold bow & stuck down.

Here is a close up

I added the details to the back of the invite but haven't taken any photos as it included names etc xx Clare x

MAWTT Challenge #23 - My Sketch

Well I have had a really hectic week so far & I don't think it is going to get much better. Its funny we all have 12 months to get ourselves ready for Xmas & yet we never do.......

Thank you to everyone that took part in last week's sketch & a big thank you if you have visited here recently & left a comment on one of my creations. I do appreciate each & every one of them.

This week it was my turn to create the sketch for MAWTT & I have created a fairly simple one with lots of room for tweaking lol!!!! I have also added the theme of animals so there should be plenty of cuteness around this week lol!!!! The prize this week is a chance to be a Guest Designer at MAWTT for 2 weeks so get your fab creations entered.


I turned to my DHP Xmas kit again for the main image on my card & also the holly border across the bottom. The bps are from the scrummy MME pad that I won in my fab blog candy from Debbie. This is the first time I have used this range of papers & I think I am in love. They are just so classy. Poor hubby is having kittens!!!! The flower is a Papermania one that I coloured with my Cardinal red promarker & I added the Prima Pearlescent again from my scrummy candy win. The gems are from my stash.

The DT girls as ever have come up with some fab creations this week so if you have a few minutes to spare pop over & have a look. Will be back later with another post for you so see you all then xx Clare x

Card For An Order

I thought I would post a card today that wasn't made for any challenges. Yes I can hear you all gasping with horror lol!!!!

Firstly though I have to show you a couple of piccies of the help I was receiving from one of my babies.

This is my little girl Cassie. She is 4 years old now but we have had her 2 years. Isn't she a darling.

As you can see in the picture I dusted off my robo to make this card. The card is for an 80th birthday.

The front card design is from a template I got from craftrobomegastore when I first got Robbie. I tend to use this template more than any of them. The decoupage is from a friend of mine called Penny. She does some of the most amazing decoupage & teabag tiles for free. I decorated the corners using flat backed pearls that I got from Sam. I also added gold gems from my stash. I edged the card & the diamond with glitter peel offs that I coloured with my Terracotta promarker.


The inside of the card is an insert I cut from a sheet of BG from the sugared collection. I added a diamond from one of my failed attempts at cutting on Robbie. I again edged with peel offs. The 80 was cut from my Sizzix dies & I again used my Terracotta Promarker to add some colour to the edges.

In the centre of the insert itself I downloaded a verse from the net, not sure which site, & printed onto cream paper. I again edged with the peel offs. x Clare x

New Award

Awww I have received a new award this morning from the very talented Natalie . I love visiting Natalies blog as she is just brilliant with her Promarkers. Try & pop over soon & see her fab cards. Thanks hun.

The award comes with a few rules, which are :- Pass this award on, post on their blog to let them know you left this award and then answer a list of questions in one answer.

1. Where is your cell phone? Sofa
2. Your hair? Brown
3. Your mother? One of A Kind
4. Your father? Hardworking
5. Your favourite food? Cheeseburger
6. Your dream last night? Wierd
7. Your favourite drink? Whiskey
8. Your dream/goal? Contentment
9. What room are you in? Living Room
10. Your hobby? Cardmaking
11. Your fear? Snakes
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Successful
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. Something that you aren't? Strict
15. Muffins? Blueberry
16. Wish list item? Talent
17. Where did you grow up? Surrey
18. Last thing you did? Dishwasher
19. What are you wearing? Nightie
20. Your TV? Naff
21. Your Pets? Cats
22. Friends? Loyal
23. Your life? Better
24. Your mood? Optimistic
25. Missing Someone? Hubby
26. Vehicle? Escorts
27. Something you’re not wearing? Socks
28. Your favourite store? Wholesalers
29. Your favourite colour? Blue
30. When was the last time you laughed? Yesterday
31. Last time you cried? Wednesday
32. Your best friend? Rich
33. One place that I go to over and over? Tesco's
34. Facebook? Sometimes
35. Favourite place to eat? Bluebeckers, Gomshall

I would like to pass this award onto Caroline , Heidi , Sue Marianne

MAWTT#22 Hazel's Sketch

Hope everyone is well today & are up for a new challenge at MAWTT this week. We have a brand new sponsor this week called Helen (Ellephantastic Cards) who has recently opened her new shop. She has kindly donated 4 digistamps to the lucky winner of this week's challenge.
Helen was also kind enough to let the DT have a couple of images to use on their cards. These have combined with a brilliant sketch created by the lovely Hazel.

I have used my Lilac Snow card & layered some of my double sided 12x12 paper onto some glitter film. The image is Meowy Christmas by Whipper Snapper Designs. I have coloured him in & added Star Dust Stickles to his hat & red Liquid Pearls to the Holly Berries. I have added ribbon from my stash & snowflakes left over from making my tin. The Santa is from Helen, which has been coloured & stickled.


Here is a close up of my image.

Don't forget to check out the other DT cards & gifts that have been created. I'm off now to Oooh & Aaaah at the fab blog candy from Debbie that has just arrived. Thanks Hun x Clare x

Pens Used :
Promarkers : Orange, Marsh Green, Denim Blue, Blush, Pastel Blue, Cardinal Red
Aqua Promarkers : Cadmium Red, Lamp Black, Gold Ochre,
Tombow : 977, N55,
Whispers : Red
MLPII : 72,

One Altered Tin........4 Challenges

I have to say I am soooo hooked on pens at the moment. I have a small selection of Promarkers.... & thanks to the wonderful Debbie at Passion for Crafts I have a set of Copics winging their way to me in her wonderful blog candy.
I have created an altered art tin & I have managed to fit it into 4 challenges... just. Here they are.....

Pollycraft Challenge#28... No Cards Allowed
Cute Card Thursday Challenge #86...Glitter Me Silly
Secret Crafter #58... Four Seasons
Allsorts Challenge#27... For A Child

This is only the 3rd proper Altered project I have tackled & I think it is going to be interesting to see how long it is before it starts falling to bits lol!!! I am afraid there are quite a few piccies but here goes.

This project started out as a plain metal cappuccino tin. I used the Thomas with Puppy image from Pollycraft along with a Christmas Tree freebie that Paula put on her blog a few weeks ago. I did a little magic in Paint Shop Pro to bring the 2 images together. This was coloured in mainly using Promarkers but I did have to cheat with a couple of other pens thrown in.

The backing paper I have used is Princess Snowflakes. This is one of the Sandylion Disney range. I added ribbon & gems around the top & bottom of the tin.

The snowflakes are cut from glittered card using a new cuttlebug die that I bought from Secret Crafter. It is called Snowflake #2. Each snowflake is made up of 2 snowflakes & I have stuck them together using glue gel to give a bit of dimension.

I am not sure if you can se it properly but I have used Star Dust Stickles on the trees & the snow & Turquoise Stickles on Thomas's hat.

On the lid of the tin I have edged the lid with lilac ribbon from my stash & added a circle of Princess Snowflakes paper. The flower has been created by 3 leaves that were left over from some buttonholes that I made earlier on in the year, a white Papermania flower that I coloured with my Denim Blue Promarker & a Prima Camelot Rose from the Vanessa set.

Well take care everyone & pop back tomorrow to see what I have created for this weeks MAWTT challenge x Clare x

Pens Used :
Aqua Promarker : Sap Green, Gold Ochre, Cobalt Teal
Promarkers : Burnt Umber, Denim Blue, Marsh Green, Pastel Pink, Pastel Blue, Blush, Ivory, Cardinal Red, Apricot
Tombow : 977
MLPII : 82

MAWTT Challenge #21 DT Call Result & Challenge

I hope you are all surviving this yucky weather we are having.... a good old British Winter looks to be coming our way.
Apologies to you all for my post being a day late..... I have finally got my internet back up & running woohoo!!! no more dial up but my cold seems to have come back for another go. I am hoping it will now disappear once & for all.
Huge thanks to everyone that took part in the DT Call over the last 2 weeks. It is such a shame that we could only choose 2 winners as there were a lot more of you we would have liked. It is great to see so many of you wanting to join our little team. The 2 new girlies we have chosen though are as follows........

Susie Sunshine
&
LittleTed62

We hope you both have a great time with us & stay for a little while.

Now onto this week's challenge. I have been asked to sponsor the challenge again this week & have donated a pack of handmade papers & a pack of plastic pony beads. SO good luck to everyone that enters.

This week's sketch has been created by the lovely Clare W & she has decided on an open theme.
Here is my card....


I have definately fallen in love with this set of stamps from Design House Papercrafts. The set is called Woodland Capers & you get 48 stamps on one sheet. Amazing!! I have added the 2 butterflies which are from the same set. The flower paper is a magazine freebie & the blue, pink & green are all from a scrapbooking set my sister bought me for my birthday. I have added a peach ribbon which is available from my shop & the ribbon rose is from a set of goodiesmy Mum brought me back from Oz... thanks Mum. The BABY sentiment is again from the scrapbooking set & the gems are from my stash.

Here is a close up of my mouse & butterflies.

I took the papers through to the inside of the card & added a baby text paper again from the scrapbooking set just to round off the baby theme.

I hope you will join us this week in our challenge. You can enter by email... just click on the link in the sidebar on our blog. The challenge closes on Weds 18th November at 8pm UK time. x Clare xx

Pens Used:
Aqua Promarkers : Permanent Green, Light Sienna, Naples Yellow, Violet Hue, Sap Green
Promarkers : Blush, Blossom, Pastel Pink, Coral, Apricot, Pastel Blue
MLPII : 66, 81
Tombow : N55, 623

We Will Remember Them

To all the troops that have served past & present. It is time for us to put our differences aside & support the troops that are still giving their lives so we can live without fear. I found this image on the Canadian War Museum website. x Clare x

My First Attempt - Promarker Challenge

I am finally beginning to accumulate some promarkers so I thought it was time I took the plunge & enter the Passion for Promarkers challenge. I am still having to mix mediums at the moment to get the best look but I am getting there. The challenge this week is any colours but they have given a sketch to follow. I decided to combine it with the Digital Ink.Co challenge which is to use a quote. Well I have a box full of quotes & phrases from a K&Co TSV that I bought a couple of years ago.

I used a couple of Papermania Xmas papers from last years collection & cut the circle from the white glitter paper that I had put through my Swiss Dots folder. The image is from Digital Ink.Co & is just adorable. The flourish is a Sizzix flower that I just use the stem from. I have added gems to give it a touch of bling. The quote is on a layer of white card that I chalked & then bugged. I chalked round the quote & added some more gems. The flower is made up from The green leaves & white petals of a Papermania poinsetta & I added a red flower that I got from a pack the last time I was in Dunelm Mills.

I added a block of white glitter paper to the inside with another flourish. The other side has a sheet of HOTP with a piece of white paper that I took my corner punch to. x Clare x

Pens Used :
Tombow : N55
MLPII : 21,82
Aqua Promarkers : Light Sienna, Cadmium Red
Promarkers : Denim Blue, Cardinal Red, Ivory, Grass, Pastel Pink

Pollycraft Challenge #27 - Paula's Sketch

I am normally a right stickler for getting these sketches bang on but I just couldn't get all the elements to fit on my card this time but I love the result anyway. Paula's sketch was just lovely & I decided I would use my Sharing Sherbert stamp & make it into a Xmas image.

I used a Papermania Xmas tree paper from last year & added a circle of Rusty Pickle's Mittens & Snowflakes. I chalked a piece of white hammer card with blue chalk & layered my Sharing Sherbert image onto this. The flower is 2 Prima Painterley Petals with a opal brad which I have added Star Dust Stickles to. The ribbon is some burgandy organza & I attached a Dovecraft Jewelled Charm to it.I think I will be doing this a bit more often as it makes a nice change from adding a bow. The sentiment is from the DH Xmas Kit. I have added some stickles to the wings, the top of her socks & around the sentiment. The star has a little Bling gem added to it.

Here is a close up of the image.

I only had one sheet of the 8x8 christmas tree paper so I cut down a sheet of the 12x12 version for the inside of the card. I added some Glitterations & gems to the right of the card as the corners needed "something".

Pens Used :
Promarkers : Blush, Cardinal Red, Denim Blue, Pastel Pink, Ivory
Aqua Promarkers : Gold Ochre, Light Sienna, Prussian Blue, Sap Green, Cadmium Red

MAWTT#20 & Extended DT Call

Hi Everyone

Unfortunately Clare & I are on our own this week on the DT. Hazel has still not got any internet & poor Heidi has gone down with this horrible cold/flu bug & is in bed. So I hope you will all come & support us this week.
Due to these problems we have decided to extend the DT call for another week. So please keep spreading the word.
We decided this week to not give you a sketch but get you to choose your favourite sketch from previous challenges. However we would like you to use the theme.... Remembrance, in honour of all our armed forces past & present.

I decided to use a previous sketch I had created for Challenge #15. I had to add another square to the card to get the 3 bears in but apart from that stuck to the sketch. I used the Military Bear set available from Cuddly Buddly to create this card & just added gems, ribbon & the sentiment from my stash. x Clare x

Bev's Mini Candy

Be quick to enter Bev's mini candy. She is giving away a Gillian Roberts stamp. Ends tonight xx Clare x

Sunday Sketch & Stamp #14

Evening Everyone

Hope you are all keeping warm while watching the fab fireworks that are around tonight. As you can tell I am at home. Hubby has come down with a migraine so is in bed with a bowl of Chicken Soup, poor thing.
The sketch over at Sunday Sketch & Stamp has been created by Ger. It is a great sketch as it's simple yet effective. I have used it to create a plate card tonight.

I cut the main circle from some Bazzil card that has a bit of glittery effect to it but I am not sure of the name as the label has been cut off from previous use. The green paper is a Disney paper called Tinker Bell in flight & the blue paper is Blue Meadow Stripes by Craft Creations. The green wavy ribbon paper is from.... yes you have guessed it.... my Design House Xmas Kit. The hedgehog... don't you just love him is from a set of stamps by Design House called Woodland Capers. These stamps are just such great value for money. You get about 48 stamps on one sheet for £14.99. Here is a close up of my little hedgehog. I have coloured him in using a mixture of pens that I have listed at the bottom of this post. The 3 gems are from my stash. x Clare x

Pens Used :
Aqua Promarkers : Sepia, Light Sienna
Tombow : 977
MLPII : 18, 72, 82
Whispers : Yellow, Brown, Skin Tone

Allsorts Challenge........ Weddings

Hi Everyone

Hope the weather isn't too cold where you are today. The sun is shining here today & we are hoping it won't rain. This post is a bit short & sweet this morning I'm afraid.
I thought I would get a card done for the Allsorts Challenge this week. Having been in both Christmas & Halloween mode it was nice to tackle something different. There challenge this week is to make something for a wedding. Well this has come at the right time for me as my son's RE class are holding a pretend wedding next month & guess who he volunteered to do the invites lol!!! Well I didn't make an invite for this challenge I made a card but it should get me in the right frame of mind.

I have used Ann's Paper Art pattern a445 which is available from Sam. The decoupage is by Craft Creations & will be available from my shop soon. I added a touch of Star Dust Stickles to her veil. I have left the inside of this card blank as I will decorate when I have someone to send it too x Clare x

Sketch Saturday - Sketch #75

Well I managed to get a card made over the weekend but had to wait for some sunlight to get a decent piccie today. I am still suffering from tiredness after this cold so I am struggling to get things done at the moment.

I used the sketch to create a Xmas card for a friend who has asked for 15 to be made. I make them for her every year so she can send them to her family & close friends. She has been a crafter all her life but now suffers with arthritus so can't do much now.

I rotated the sketch & created a waterfall using my Xmas Kit. The backing paper & sentiment are also from the kit. I have backed the waterfall onto white glitter paper . The green paper is from HOTP & the gold & green ribbon are from my stash, as are the snowflakes.
I haven't decorated the inside on this card as I will be adding a printed insert x Clare x

MAWTT Challenge #19 - My Challenge & DT Call

Hi Everyone

I am sorry for posting this a day late but I am having an absolute nightmare with my internet. I am running my mobile phone as a modem as I haven't had any broadband for a week now aarrghh!!!! Anyway this week is my turn to create the sketch & challenge & I have to say the girls have come up trumps yet again. I have included the theme of embossing. The prize this week........ wait for it..... is 2 Design Team spots. So what are you waiting for.......

Here is the card I created

I have used some new goodies that arrived in my shop this week. They can all be found here The image, backing paper & sentiment are a set called Tumbling Tizzy. I have layered a sheet of white glitter paper between the two which I ran through my bug using my Floral Fantasy folder. I added acetate to the centre. The flower was created using a Prima Painterley Petal, a Papermania flower & a rose from my stash. I added a brad behind the rose to attach the jump rings & the charm is off a kiddies charm bracelet that I found in a pound store. The glitter flower is from my stash & I have added a couple of flat back pearls. You can find these here
The inside of the card have again all come from the Tumbling Tizzy set which I am sure is going to used again & again x Clare x