Cartolinas from Lou Mac

A Teenage Dream at Pollycraft

2012-02-27T08:00:00.000Z

Good morning. Hope you're all well - thanks for stopping by today.

Today marks the first day of my week off work - oh how lovely it is. Shame I'll have been up since 6pm looking after my boyfriends nephews. Sheesh. I think a little cat nap will be in order once I've had my hair cut this afternoon!! I'm yawning at the thought of it!

Anywho, time for another theme over at Pollycraft Monday Challenge..

Sheena wants to see..

TEENAGE DREAM

The possibilities when it comes to Pollycraft cuties you could choose from. Luna, Casper, Sonny. You can check them all out over at the Pollycraft Shop!!

I've decided to use the uber cool Casper Silvermist - Too Cool for School

I followed the fab sketch over at Sketch Saturday this week - knew I wanted to try it as soon as I seen it, I think it coulda gone a little better - too much white but never mind.

I embellished using a little green button I recycled off a different card and a mix of Papermania and Doodlebug brads.

That's about all from me today. Please stop over the challenge blog and see what my other awesome teamies have got for ya! Much love.

Bestest Sentiment

2012-02-26T08:00:00.000Z

Wait until you see the picture - then you'll get the title. So funny. :) Makes me smile every time I look at it.

This is a Valentines card I made for my niece to give to her boyfriend on Valentines day. I've coloured the images to specification and used some yummy papers from My Minds Eye.

This is a sketch from Sketch Saturday they posted weeks ago now, and it's still one of my firm fave go to's when my mojo has done off.

Owl Hugs

2012-02-25T06:00:00.000Z

It's me. Again. :) Back with a little sweet treat from Pollycraft.

A little notecard/ money wallet type deal with the brand new Celeste Amberglow.

Here is a shot of the little set I made up. Love these little girls. Too cute.

I coloured the images using a mixture of Copics and ProMarkers and fussy cut them out. I then added them to some 4x4" notecards decorated using some gorgeous papers from Prima which were given to me by my lovely friend Tammy. :)

Enjoy your Saturday, whatever you get up to. Thanks for stopping by.

Rainbows at LLLC

2012-02-24T10:00:00.000Z

Morning! :) This is my second post for the day scroll down for some Tiddly Lovin' ;)

Today I've got a little La La Land Crafts inspiration for ya in the form of..

RAINBOWS

Now, I know you're gonna look at my card and be like.. I don't see no rainbow?! Uh huh, you'd be right. I've approached this a little differently, in the sense that I've used a rainbow of colours ;) Get it?! Orange and yellow and blue and purple and pink and green. HA!

I've used the adorable little Mermaid Marci - I thought all of those scales on her mystical tail would be a lot of fun to colour. I wasn't wrong! :)

ProMarkers;

Skin - Blush, Soft Peach, Rose Peach, Baby Pink
Blue- Arctic Blue, Sky Blue, Azure
Orange - Mango, Pumpkin, Mandarin
Pink - Cocktail Pink, Salmon Pink, Carmine
Purple - Orchid, Wild Orchid, Amethyst

I kept the layout of the card pretty simple, using papers from Echo Park Victoria Garden and adding a few embellishments from Wild Orchid Crafts and The Ribbon Girl as well as a gorgeous crochet flower I got from a lady on Facebook - I commissioned a bunch off her, so you'll be seeing these a LOT on up and coming projects! :)

That's about it from me - as usual, if you don't have a 'love' themed card, or a card all in pink - there are no challenges to enter!! Boo hoo!!

Take it easy, and enjoy your weekend whatever you get up to! :)

Tiddly Inks - Fabulous Friday

2012-02-24T06:00:00.000Z

Yoohoo, just me again. Bright and early. HA! My last day at work for a whooooleeee week. Although my week off is getting full fast!! Monday I'm getting my hair cut, Tuesday I'm sitting in with my boyfriend on his new tattoo, Wednesday I'm gracing Ikea with my presence.. see where this is going?! No doubt I'll be able to fit the cinema in there too, although I gotta tighten the purse strings - my car tax is due at the end of this month. Gawdddd!! I'm not a one for great timing.

So you guys are here for some inspiration for the new challenge over at Tiddly Inks, right? :)

FABRIC

Yip. Ribbon, twine, felt, wool, lace, tulle, crazy mesh. Can't wait to see what you guys come up with.
For my card I used ribbon, twine and wool.. in the form of a crochet flower!

Here is Wryn.. of course. :)

I've coloured her using a mix of Copics and Promarkers and cut her out into a panel, on which I've stamped my sentiment from Amy R stamps in Real Red ink. :) Fills up that blank space, KWIM?

I've used some yummy papers from Echo Park - For The Record collection.. which is apparently really hard to get a hold of now? *hoard alert* haha. I adhered it to the card at an angle and wrapped some bright red bakers twine around it, tying it in a double bow. I then threaded a yellow polka dot button with some yellow bakers twine and wrapped it around the knot.

As for another pop of fabric, I used a gorgeous little crochet flower I commissioned from a lady over on FB. LOVE these little things. To 'ground' that so to speak I added a little green leaf stick pin and a little aqua flower from Wild Orchid Crafts. :)

Another cluster of buttons and brads at the top of the card.. and that.. was that. :)

Please stop by the Tiddly Inks challenge blog and see what the rest of my amazing teamies have got for ya!! I am over the moon to be a part of such an fab team - hell.. they even inspire me!!

Big squeezes.

It's only LOLITA!!

2012-02-23T15:00:00.000Z

Good afternoon. Hope you're well? Thanks for stopping by today - unfortunately this is the last post for challenges over at Tickled Pink Stamps. Sadly, they just haven't been going the way everyone had planned, so earlier this month, Kellie decided to call is quits. A sad day, I'm sure you'll agree. That doesn't mean it's the last you'll see of Tickled Pink Stamps around blog land though - ohh no!! :)

So for the last ever challenge we want to see you break out those..

LOLITAS

You heard right. :)

I decided to use Lil' Lolita - Lilith. She seemed kinda fitting for this post.

A really different card from me this time. Decided to go all CAS on ya! ;) Betcha didn't see that one coming. I used a lovely minature chevron stripe type deal from Crate Paper as the back drop with a slice of Basic Black cardstock from SU! down the centre. I coloured Lilith using Promarkers and kept all of the coloured quite muted, apart from the pops of red.

I used some Cosmo Cricket alpha stickers to create a sentiment and attached the little tag to the card using some red bakers twine from The Ribbon Girl. That was about it. Oh, and the white doodling around the outside of the black cardstock as opposed to my usual brown.

Can I ask you to head over to the challenge blog now and see what the other amazing ladies have grouped together to inspire ya this week. We want you guys to help us make this the best challenge yet!!

I'd like to enter this card into these challenges:

Passion for ProMarkers - Black and White

Thank you for stopping by!!

Pink and Brown

2012-02-22T10:10:00.000Z

Morning. It's Lou here, checking in from a very windy, very rainy north east. Sorry for the late post, I totally forgot to get this typed up last night, was in too great of a rush to get to bed! Can't blame me.

Today I've got another creating using The Greeting Farm. Surprised?! Thought not. *big grin* Did you see my round up the amazing Mary J done for me? :) Was lovely to see all of my creations in one place.

Here is a cutie from Miss Anya Dressy. I totally love her outfit - super cute! I've paper pieced her dress, pockets and waist band using papers from My Minds Eye Madison collection - which I have used for the rest of the card too - although I can't seem to find it in the shop right now. So I'll encourage you to have a browse through the other My Minds Eye paper collections - including some new designs. All yummy! :)

Quick round up from me - gotta get my ass showered and ready for the day ahead. I've lazed about since half 8 doing absolutely nothing! LOL. Enjoy your day, and hopefully the weather is better where you are.

I'd like to enter this card into these challenges:

The Ribbon Girl - #16 Pink, Brown and Cream

Graphicat - #2 Sketch

Deep Ocean - Pink and Brown

Easter Hugs

2012-02-21T08:00:00.000Z

Morning everyone! :) How's your week started off? Well I hope. I feel like I've got a new lease of life now I have a car that is in full working order with new shoes!! Now all I gotta do is tax the bugger at the end of this month, then I can start saving my monies up again. :)

I had great fun over the weekend, rekindling my love for ProMarkers - which resulted in me getting a fair few images coloured up, now all I gotta do is get them onto some cards. I also ended up ordering a few more PM's and FM's to fill up some more blanks in my chart. :) Can't wait for those to arrive.

Here is the first image I coloured up using my new skin combo of Blush, Soft Peach, Rose Peach and Baby Pink for the blush. LOVE. I've ordered a few more orang-y PM's to try and create a little more depth, I'll let you know how I get on. I've used some papers from Basic Grey Origins collection - colours to match Week 5 of Sugary Sunday over on FB.

I followed the sketch over at Sketchy Challenge - love those girls. :) Some lace trim, gingham ribbon and mini bobble trim from The Ribbon Girl and a few roses from Wild Orchid Crafts, as well as a rolled rose. My new thing - got a lot of room to perfect my technique, I ain't gonna lie.

I also used the leaf from the set and die cut another slice of paper from the collection. These dies are a fab way to use up those little scraps of paper that, if you're like me, you hate throwing away. To finish off the embellishments I added a couple of Limeade Doodlebug brads. Yummy.

A quick shot of the inside of the card - again using a scrap of paper. That heart just happened to be in the perfect place :) I die cut another labels 18 and created a sentiment using alpha stickers and an Amy R stamp. :)

I'd like to enter this card into these challenges:

The Sketchy Challenges - #17 Bettinas Sketch

Dieing for a Challenge - Anything Goes

Alphabet Challenge - Animal Antics

Card Crafters Circle - Dies

Totally PaperCrafts - Ribbons and/ or Bows

Thanks for stopping by today - enjoy your day.

Ribbons and Buttons at Pollycraft

2012-02-20T08:00:00.000Z

My internet hasn't been playing ball this weekend, so if I manage to get this typed and scheduled, it'll be a minor miracle. TalkTalk are just wack, their customer service is piss poor to say the least, and to be honest, if it wasn't for Mother Goose paying the bill - I'd take my ass elsewhere. That aside..

It's time for another challenge over at Pollycraft Monday. Our lovely Lynsey has set the theme of..

RIBBONS AND BUTTONS

Perfection.

I decided to use the new cutie on the block - Celeste Amberglow.

This cutie is Heartstrings, she is avaiable in the Pollycraft Shop NOW.

I've been keeping my promise of using up stash, and here are some hoarded papers from My Minds Eye - Mabel collection. :) I've kept the layout pretty simple, adding a labels 18 die cut, some slices of ribbon and some ripped patterned paper which I've stamped my sentiment on.

I'm over the moon to say that not one Copic has touched this project. I've finally sussed a ProMarker skin combo that I'm happy with. Needless to say there is always room for improvement, so I've ordered a few more oranges to see if I can create a little more depth. Watch this space. So Copics.. in. your. face. No more sticky images and lids and stuff. :) Now all I need are some high contrast colour combos. Got my little colour book filling up quite nicely, and recommendations - swing them my way.

I often get asked if I decorate the insides of my cards, the answer is always yes - unless requested otherwise. So here is a little shot at the inside, decorated to match the front, but a little less complicated. Next step is to find some sentiment stamp sets which cater for both the front and the insides of cards :) Truth is, I probably already have some, need to sort my stamp drawer out again.

Best hit they hay. Thanks for stopping by my lovelies.

A Two Piece

2012-02-18T09:00:00.000Z

I know Valentine's Day has been and gone, but I've still got a couple of projects to share with you that I made for orders. :) I didn't realise the UK done Valentines so big - but I had a lot of orders for cards, so I had to take advantage. So you'll be seeing a few Valentines cards here and there on free days on my blog - just for a while. :)

I made this little set for my boss to give to her husband. I used to find it really difficult making male cards, as I really gotta restrain myself when it comes to embellishments, but the more I do it, the more I like it.

I used some scrap strips from My Minds Eye Breeze collection. The card is mostly blues and browns.. boy colours, right? With a few splashes of red, valentines, right?

I die cut two hearts using some Provocraft dies, added a strip of red sheer ribbon and a gorgeous crushed velvet ribbon in Ladybug from Doodlebug. I then hunted my stash for some red pearls and found those little beauties. So added a few of those. Finitio.

As for the little pillowbox, I used the same image, only cropped it so it would fit inside the oval nestie. I used more scraps to wrap around the box and a few more lengths of Swimming Pool bakers twine from Doodlebug finish it nicely. I decided to use acetate so the recepient knew what was inside. :)

That's all from me for today - enjoy your weekend.

The Great Outdoors at LLLC

2012-02-17T10:00:00.000Z

Hopefully, by the time this post goes live.. I'll be on my way to pick up my Rubix (206) from the garage. Please keep your fingers crossed! She's been very poorly of late. I feel like I've had an arm chopped off.. I know it's ridiculous to become so dependent on a car, but hell. It's hard not too when you live in the friggin' sticks!!

After all.. cars get you from A to B, wherever that might be. Perhaps a lovely country park? Or a rural walk in the woods? Or a day at the beach?! This leads me nicely onto the inspiration theme over at La La Land Crafts..

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

I've decided to make a little tag using two stamps..

Cheeky Monkey Marci

Stump

Skin - YR000, YR00, E11, R20
Hair - Cinnamon, Cocoa, Walnut
T-shirt - Soft Khaki, Ivory
Orange - Soft Peach, Peach, Mango
Green - Chartreuse, Bright Green, Grass
Blue - Turquoise, Marine, Petrol Blue

Pretty soon you won't see a Copic colour in sight on my colour list. :) I've finally sussed a skin colour with ProMarkers that suits me. So stand by for more of that. Totally in love with my PM's after the hassel I've had with bloody Copics over the last few weeks!!

I'd like to enter this card into these challenges:

I Love ProMarkers - Nature

Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge - Anything Goes

Thank you so much for stopping by. Head over to the LLLC Blog now to see what the rest of awesome Team Friday have got for ya!

A Red Head

2012-02-15T22:53:00.002Z

It's me. Lou. Good evening.. almost good night! HA. Perhaps some of you lucky people are already in bed. Early night and all. :) Sorry for the very late post.. I've been having major car trouble of late, and in my fluster this morning I totally forgot to get my post typed up before work. I apologise. I hope it's been worth the wait. :)

Today I've used another cutie from The Greeting Farm January 2012 Release.

Simply Anya

I've teamed her up with some yummy papers from Echo Park Victoria Garden collection and coloured her with Copics and ProMarkers to match.

Recognise the layout?! It's the new sketch challenge for February/March. Join in with us!! There is a £15 Quixotic voucher up for grabs!!

So I'mma wrap it up there and get myself ready for bed. Another ridiculously early start tomorrow.

My Tiddly Inks Debut..

2012-02-14T06:00:00.000Z

Dun. Dun. Duuuunnnnn!! You read right!! I've been trying my hardest to keep this quiet for the best part of a month and I honestly don't think I've done all that bad. Not that it was a secret as such, I just wanted to SURPRISE you guys. Did it work?! :) Apart from my little post introducing you all to Cowgirl Wryn.. which I think slipped under most peoples radars.. did any of you guys guess?! Heehee.

Christy and Melissa approached me way back at the beginning of January and asked if I'd like to be on the Tiddly Inks design team. Come on!! I'd have been stoopid to say no. So naturally I was like HELL YEAH!! I wanted to wait until my SOG term (sadly) come to an end so I could start a fresh giving my all to this amazing DT. So there ya have it. :)

So today it's time for a new challenge over at Tiddly Inks.We want to see those projects
SPARKLE..

I've used the adorable Wryn - New Wings on my card today - isn't she the sweetest?! Guarenteed to cheer anyone up! :) I've coloured the image using ProMarkers and Copics.

I used some left over papers from My Minds Eye Rosy collection as well as my last length of this yummy grosgrain ribbon for the cute little bow. :) Using stash. Using stash. I printed the matching sentiment and die cut it using an X-cut die - I then added some little Doodlebug brads to the ends and adhered it to the card using dimensionals.

As for the sparkly elements - I added Stickles to the cross on her little nurses hat and clip as well as the white Wild Orchid Craft roses at the top and botton of the image. I added some white pearls and some green and white moonstone brads. Sparkly and shiny! :) Glitter never shows up how you want it to on pictures!!

I'd like to enter this card into these challenges:
Make it Monday - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Anything Goes
Truly Madly Crafty - Ribbons and Bling
CES - Lots of Layers

I can't wait to see where this brand new adventure takes me! Hopefully you guys will stick along for the ride. More Wryns to come - that's all I'mma tell you right now. I love my Wryns. Heehee.

Reds, Pinks and Creams at Pollycraft

2012-02-13T08:00:00.000Z

Morning. It's Monday again, and that can mean one thing only.. a new challenge over at Pollycraft Monday.

This week we've had a fun, but tricky challenge set by our Arabella. It's a colour combo of..

RED, PINK AND CREAM

I totally stuggled with this but kinda like how my project turned out in the end. I decided to make a little birthday tag - they're always useless for that last minute birthday gift, right?

I sponged my tag base using Pretty in Pink ink from SU! and added a strip of paper from Cosmo Cricket along the centre. The last piece of red ribbon from The Ribbon Girl finished off the base nicely. I then attached some tiny white prima flowers using some red brads from Doodlebug (my new fave). The sentiment from Whimsy has been stamped in the botton corner with more Pretty in Pink ink.

As a last minute touch I added a little more pink using some bakers twine, also from The Ribbon Girl, as well as some little red and cream flower stickers from K&Company which I found when I was having a tidy up the other day. :) Using stash. Using stash.

I'd like eo tner this card into these challenges:

One Stitch at a Time - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by. I'll be back tonight with some exciting news - incase you guys didn't guess already.

Easel Cards at LLLC

2012-02-10T10:00:00.000Z

Good morning!! Had any more snow around your area!? We've been so lucky here in the north east - we've managed to avoid the majority of it, I just hope this luck continues. It's bad enough on the roads as it is.

Anywho, enough of all that. I have a happy, spring time sorta card to share with you today, for LLLC Inspiration Friday.

Easel Cards

This card is pretty similar to the card I made last week with Marci with Cat - but the girl is just too cute and I couldn't resist. Her hair is fabulous for practising the smooth blends and stuff that I'm after at the minute. :)

Why is it so freakin' hard to take a photo of an easel card?! No angle is flattering. Gahhhh!! This was like my 7th attempt. Hopefully you get the idea. I used more papers from Basic Grey Sweet Threads collection. Aren't I being good? :) HA!

I added a Whimsy sentiment alongside 'Mum' using Jenni Bowlin alpha stickers. My last Prima flower in that gorgeous shade of pink, some of my new doodlebug brads.. a new flower from WOC. Is it a baby's breath flower?! I gotta check that.

YR000, YR00, E11, R20
Cinammon, Cocoa, Walnut
Cocktail Pink, Salmon Pink, Carmine
Forest Green, Lush Green, Pine
Honeycomb, Ginger, Spice

I'd like to enter this card into these challenges:

Craft Us Crazy - Anything Goes

Hambo Hoedown - Brads, Buttons or Bows

Little Darlings - Favourite Embellishments

Best rush, got work all day today and I gotta go deice the car. Joys.

Adios.

Colour Combo at Tickled Pink Stamps

2012-02-09T15:00:00.000Z

Afternoon. :) How's your week spanning out so far?! It's almost the weeeekeeeend!! Can't wait. Me and the boyfriend are planning on going to the pictures to see The Woman in Black. We {heart} to scare ourselves silly. Heehe..

Anywho. You're here for the new TPS challenge.

We've got a COLOUR CHALLENGE for you all this week.

Blue, Orange, Beige and Yellow

Here's what I came up with using Lil' Fashionette 60's Ivy big head.

I've coloured her using Copics for her skin and ProMarkers for the rest of her. I tried a different technique on her hair.. I tried to make it all smooth with no hair strands and stuff. I kinda like it on this image, but I'm not too sure how it would work with others. I can only try, right?

I used a few scraps of paper from My Minds Eye Breeze collection and a slice of polka dot paper from SU! That gorgeous orange ric rac is from The Ribbon Girl. You know something? When I received this as part of the rainbow kit I ordered - I was like?! Really?! When will I ever use that?! Truth is, I only have a tiny piece left. It adds so much to projects. :) Might stock up on the orange as well as a few other colours, heehee.

I typed a sentiment in Word and die cut it using a fancy tags die from Spellbinders. A few clusters of WOC flowers and TRG buttons threaded with some Doodlebug twine. I then added some cream? yellow? felt hearts for some added texture, and that was about it!!

Thanks for stopping by today, be sure to check out the TPS challenge blog and see what the rest of the awesome teamies have got to inspire ya.

I'd like to enter this card into these challenges:

Sketchy Challenges - #16 Sandra's Sketch

Hooked on Craft Challenges - Hearts

Lollipop Crafts - Valentines Card

My Craft Spot - Valentines Day

Oh La La - Be My Valentine

Truly, Madly, Crafty - Ribbons and Bling

Best Friends

2012-02-08T08:00:00.000Z

Me again, popping in to share the second of installment of The Greeting Farm goodness from the Designed To Color magazine.

I've used another stamp from The Greeting Farm - Miss Anya Garland set. This time I coloured her little dress red, using ProMarkers. Caaa-ute!

I then paired Anya and her little red dress with some My Minds Eye - Rosy papers. I kept the layout pretty simple and used my scraps. I then added a sentiment from the new clear set from The Greeting Farm - Flutter Heart.

That's about it from me again.

Big squeezes.

Hey {Cow} Girl

2012-02-07T07:46:00.000Z

Gonna try and make this short and sweet before I head out to work. Let's see how well that goes.

Okay, so by now the cat is totally out of the bag! :) I've been tryna keep it a secret, but when Christy emailed the teamies with the new Wryn images I just had to get in on the action and get a sample made before my actual DT term starts!

I cannot WAIT to get started properly with this team! Awesome boss primes and awesome teamies alongside some of the cutest images out there. So glad I stumbled across Wryn on Pop's blog a while ago. She quickly became a firm favourite of mine. So today I have a new Wryn to share with you guys.

Cowgirl Wryn

I coloured her up using markers and tried to get a leather sorta look to her cowgirl hat and boots - not too sure how well that went, but there is always next time to try and perfect it. I used quite a lot of brown muted colours on this image with a few pops of green, yellow and red. Creates a sort of more.. uhhh grown up type card using a little girl image. I guess you could colour her up using pastel colours and achieve a totally different look. Okay, I'm waffling.

I used papers from My Minds Eye Rosy collection and tried to follow the new CLP sketch but failed. I totally wasn't feeling it. I decided to use some saddlestitch grosgrain I've had sitting about for forEVA to bring in just a little bit more brown!! LOL. The sentiment has been stamped in Soft Suede ink from SU! with some Studio G alpha stamps and die cut using a fancy tag die from Spellbinders.

A few WOC flowers, a polka dot button, a punched heart and some moonstone brads and pearls ties this all together. A lot of red going on, I know. Don't know what the hell I was thinking. But there it is! :)

Right, now I must go brush and dry my hair before it ends up in one big clump - that would not be attractive. LOL!!

Chill Out with Pollycraft

2012-02-06T08:00:00.000Z

Good morning World. Looking icy and white where you are? Truth is - the north east of England got off quite lightly compared to some parts that received like 5 inches over the weekend. Not a good situation for a Monday morning!! Stay warm.

Today it's time for a new challenge over at Pollycraft Monday Challenge.

CHILL OUT

You can interpret this any which way you like - you might even be influenced by that winter weather outside your window and make a dent into that Christmas card pile you got! :) I opted to go with a spring themed card with this Swinging Friends digi which is a firm favourite of mine.

I'ma be honest. The cutting out of this image took me three attempts - I mean.. you don't gotta be a genius to do the out of the box technique with nesties, right? It's not like I've done it 10 times before. It was just one of those days. Needless to say I got really mad. My second attempt got torn and scrumpled into tiny little pieces because I'd spent almost 30 minutes going around inside stuff with a craft knife (which I cannot do to save my life).. only to end up cutting the wrong bit out. I coulda screamed. Infact, I think I actually did.

So here is the third version, with her little paper pieced shirt and head band, with a brand new hair colour I've been waiting to try.. and the right bits cut out of the nestie shape. I couldn't quite believe it.

You're probably asking. Lou? Weren't you just complaining about those Sweet Threads papers the other day?! Now you're using them - have you lost the plot? You'd be right, in the fact that I was complaining about them. Although, I don't think I've lost the plot - not quite yet. I wanna get those papers used up!! Quick style. So I've been gritting my teeth and using them. Getting it done. You know what? The three cards I've made using the papers over the last few days haven't been all that horrendous. Plus, my pad is nearly empty. Win - Win.

So there ya have it. A load of random waffle from a real tired girl. It's currently 01:42 right now. I should have been in bed like.. 5 hours ago. You know how it is though, once you start you could craft all night. Wish I just had the energy to get started sooner. I've been cabbaged on the sofa most of the day after my delicious Sunday roast. Anywho.

I'd like to enter this card into these challenges:

Catch The Bug - Anything Goes

Allsorts - Free & Easy

I wanna see Kraft + Faux Stitching

2012-02-03T10:00:00.000Z

Hi everyone. This is my second post for the day.. if you're looking for my SCACD Blog Hop post just scroll down some. You don't wanna miss it! BRAND NEW Stamps from Sylvia Zet and Victoria Case :)

Today over at LLLC Inspiration Friday I am host of the BUMPER post.. head on over and take a look at what the amazing Monday and Friday teams have got for ya today using the theme

Kraft & Faux Stitching

Here is what I came up with using one of my fave images from the new release..

Marci with Cat

I used some papers from Basic Grey which are just awful. Really. I don't know what possessed me to even buy that pack.. but I did. I have a REALLY hard time using it. You have no idea. It just bugs the hell out of me. Today though, I think I broke the mold.. really like how this turned out.. even if I did only use three patterns! LOL.

Anywho, enough of all that. Rant over.

I paper pieced most of Marci's little dress and coloured the rest of the image using Copics and ProMarkers. I fussy cut her out and adhered her to the card using some dimensionals. I used a cute little stamp from Whimsy for my sentiment, stamped in Rich Cocoa and cut using an Xcut die. I attatched it to the card using some brown bakers twine and some thin grosgrain which I have no idea where from.. but it matched. So I'm all for it.

I then added a little more kraft in the form of some die cut hearts. Then.. a little punched flower, a huge Prima flower, some of my new doodlebug brads.. some WOC brads.. some WOC roses.. and a doily. Woah. Embellishment central right here!! USING UP STASH. USING UP STASH. *big grin*

That's all I got for ya today! :) Enjoy and thanks for stopping by.

I'd like to enter this card into these challenges:

Belli Challenges - Hearts/ Valentines

Divas by Design - Anything Goes

Fab 'n' Funky - Use a Digi

Paper Pretties - Ribbon or Twine

Inky Impressions - Pearls and/ or Bling

Crafty Sentiments - Punches and/ or Dies

SCACD Blog Hop

2012-02-03T09:00:00.000Z

Morning everyone! :)

Quickly dropping in with my post for the SCACD Blog Hop. SCACD Stamps are releasing some fantastic new stamps from artists Sylvia Zet and Victoria Case, and there's a fun blog hop to celebrate.

I kept my card pretty simple as this image is so large, and a lot of fun to colour.

Let me introduce ya to..

"Give Peace a Chance"

I've paired her up with some very busy paper from Basic Grey - Sweet Threads collection. I paper pieced her little pants using a paper from the same collection too. I coloured her using Copics and ProMarkers and die cut her using my largest circles nestie.

The sweet little sentiment is from Whimsy Circle Postmarks. I added a few buttons, a length of ribbon, some half back pearls and a WOC rose. That's about it from me.

Here is a list of all the blogs you wanna stop by. Do not miss out!!

Danni-   http://dannisdreamscrafts.blogspot.com/
Wendy- http://sugarpea-designs.blogspot.com/
Melanie http://paperblessingsbymelanie.blogspot.com/
Crystal- http://crystalkbk.blogspot.com/
Lorraine- http://craftingtokeepmysanity.blogspot.com/
Alex- http://paperandstring.blogspot.com/
Kim-  http://craftsbykim.blogspot.com/
Mary J http://maryjdesigns.blogspot.com/
Dianne-  http://mypaperhugs.blogspot.com/
Lou Mac http://lou-dot-mac.blogspot.com/ <---- You are here.
Donalda-  http://donaldas.blogspot.com/
Elaine-http://quixoticcards.com/
Lori-  http://mycomfortcottage.blogspot.com/
Suzanne-   http://scrapbitz.blogspot.com/
Anki-  http://bargman.blogspot.com/

All the new stamps can be purchased in the US from SCACD or in the UK/EUROPE from Quixotic Paperie!

Enjoy everyones designs!!

It's off to work I go.

Pippi.. just Pippi

2012-02-02T19:22:00.000Z

No frog friend. Because I totally cut him out of the picture. Literally. It's not that I don't like frogs, I do.. I think they're neat. Especially Pippi's little friend. BUT. Pippi's size just ain't conducive to the size of card I make.. not when I cut her out into a rectangle.. KWIM?!

So I thought.. hell! I ain't gonna let that beat me. I wanted to get this little cutie on a card. I just had to look at the image in another light. Here enters my nesties. Naturally. :) I coloured Pippi nearly entirely with ProMarkers.. :D Only her skin and (very) pink cheeks are coloured with Copics.

Here's the deal. I wanna get back on the ProMarker bandwagon.. Copics are fab.. don't get me wrong, but they're damn expensive to keep full!! The buggers don't last me five minutes, especially my base colours. Plus all of my darker values like the 7's and 9's are getting really sticky nibs and lids and it's just a mess and a faff I could totally do without. K?

So I bought myself a little book to keep my colour combos and stuff in.. ones that work.. ones that don't. Later down the line when I get a little time and build up my PM and FM collection I will try and do a comparison chart for the Copics I use the most and try and find a similar value in the PMs and FMs. If anyone is interested in seeing something like that, give me a shout.

So.. here's Pippi Longsocks. Love her. I've paired her up with some papers from My Minds Eye Madison Avenue collection. The sentiment from Whimsy has been stamped in Rich Cocoa ink and die cut using the Noteables die. I created a little circle tag using some new dies from Xcut (LOVE) and added '4' for more personalisation. Some Jenni Bowlin alpha stickers made up the little girls name.. and the rest of the embellishments are a mixture of WOC, Papermania and The Ribbon Girl. Yummity.

Here is a shot of the inside of the card using a cute little sentiment from Sweet November stamps which i die cut with another Xcut die. I die cut another circle and added a strip of scrap down one side. That just about covers it. Enough room inside for her mam to write her a little birthday message. :)

Off to get a few DT cards done then BED for work all day tomorrow. Boohoo! I would much rather just sit and colour. All. Day. Long.

Sending Hugs

2012-02-01T08:00:00.000Z

A nip and the punch for the first of the month. Can you believe it?! February already.. sheesh.

Anywho. Have you guys seen the brand new e-magazine?! All dedicated to our love to COLOUR. Check it out here. I thought I'd share a card with you all from that magazine using a stamp from the Janurary release of TGF.

This is one of the three stamps from Miss Anya Garland. How cute?! I've coloured her hair and skin using Copics and her dress, headband and tights using ProMarkers. I have paper pieced her little heart garland using papers from My Minds Eye - Breeze collection which I have used on the rest of the card.

As for the sentiment I used a staple (in my opinion) stamp from from Whimsy and the matching die - Whimsy Friendship Ticket Sentiments. For a little more added interest on the grid style patterned paper I used the hearts stamp from the Flutter Heart set too.

I think that just about covers it! :)

Have you joined in with our Sketch Challenge #3 yet?! Do it!! A random winner will receive a £15 voucher to use at Quixotic Paperie!!

More Favourite Things

2012-01-30T08:00:00.000Z

Last DT challenge for the month of January.. how quickly has the first month of 2012 flown?! VERY fast!! A lotta fave things have been happening this month over at Cartolinas. Good job I have a lot of favourite things I like crafting with, heehee.

This week over at Pollycraft we want you to make a project to showcase

YOUR FAVOURITE THINGS

We can't wait to see what kinda things you guys show us. So let's head right into it.

For my card I used the gorgeous Luna Bitterfrost - Hearts Rock. This girl (along with Sonny Honeycloud) is half the reason I fell in love with Pollycraft in the first place. Her and Chester had my heart from first sight. :)

Okay, so truth is.. I woulda gone with a brown and blue combo - as that is my all time fave. EVA. But there has been a LOT of that on my blog just recently, so instead I took my colour inspiration from my favourite paper pad right now. My Minds Eye - Breeze. Gahhh!! I could sit and stroke it all day, but instead I've been a REALLY good girl and I've cut into it with no holds barred. I think there are only 2 or 3 sheets left untouched. Seriously. :)

I coloured Luna with ProMarkers and Copics. The crown paper (pretty fitting, huh? ;)) has been cut using the heart circle nesties and distressed. I added some aqua seam binding underneath and tied a knot to the left of it. I layered up some tiny cream pom pom trim with a blue strip of paper and a punched scalloped border. I then adhered the 'you are so special' square, cut from a piece of the patterned paper over the top and added a blue moonstone brad.

I love letter stamps, wish I had more. I used my fave of all time to create the Queen of Hearts sentiment using Blue Bayou ink. I used a spellbinders banner die and adhered it at a jaunty angle. Some WOC goodness finishes this FAVE card off. :)

Join us over at Pollycraft. :)

LLLC CHA Release

2012-01-29T10:00:00.000Z

Morning guys. Hope your Sunday is off to a good start. Mine sure is. I made a good old mess at my desk last night, and now that I have everything in it's place and organised and stuff.. I got it tidied up in no time. Result. Ready to start the day all neat and tidy. I found a new Copic skin combo last night. That sorta works. At a push. It'll have to do for now, until I can pick my new fresh Copics up. So I used it on my CHA Release Showcase card for La La Land Crafts.

Meet.. MARCI WITH BUNNY

She comes with her own matching sentiment, shown here on my card.

Isn't she the sweetest?! She's perfect for Valentine's AND Easter, and her little cotton tailed friend is adorable.

I used some papers from Prima Madeline collection, and paper pieced her dress. I cut out the sentiment using the very edge of a labels two nestie. Not the straightest alignment you ever seen.. but it works. I followed the new sketch over at the Sketchy Challenges and added a few Prima? flowers both underneath and around my ribbon as well as a little clay doodad I forgot I had. The things you find when you have a tidy up! ;)

Skin - E50, E01, E13
Hair - E35, E37, E39
Shoes and waist band - R20, R32
Bunny - E44, E47, E49

Enjoy your day. Whether you're living it large at CHA (lucky people).. or chilling out at home. I'll be back tomorrow with my Pollycraft Monday card. Stay tuned.

I'd like to enter this card into these challenges:
The Sketchy Challenges - Kellies Sketch
Digi Design Challenge - Valentines

Squiggle Stamps - All Loved Up
Secret Crafter - Ribbons

Gothica

2012-01-28T19:29:00.000Z

Good evening!! What have you been up to today?! I can't believe half of the weekend is GONE already. See.. it always happens like this. I wait all week for the weekend, then BAM - it's gone and I've achieved very little. I feel like I've said this aleady. Today hasn't gone to plan to be honest. With the postman being the horrid man that he is and nicking off before I could even get to the door this morning, I gotta wait until Monday night for my copics and neenah to come home. Useless. So instead I was gonna have a day creating notelets and stuff which just involved stamping. Like the good old days. Before I discovered alcohol markers and image stamps.

Instead.

I got my craft room ORGANISED and CLEANED and TIDIED. Seriously. :) So next time I go up there I can make a big old mess again - and enjoy it!! The way I had stuff just wasn't working for me anymore. I had a tonne of stuff just sitting around.. collecting dust.. not being used.. and generally being forgotton about every time I went to craft. So it's all reorganised in such a way which works for me once again.. until my mind set changes! :) Truth is, I found a bunch of stuff I'd actually forgotton about. It's like having brand new stash again.. so I can't wait to tuck into that. Something else occured to me as I tided my drawers and stuff.. I don't have as much patterned paper as I used to think. Now that I have condensed all of my 6x6 pads into one place.. Christmas aside.. I only have like.. one drawer full. :) Doesn't mean I need any more though. Hell no.

So.. onto what this post is actually about. My latest wedding card commission for a school friend to give to another school friend at his wedding. Make sense? No. Doesn't matter. All you gotta know is.. the couple are totally gothic, and are having a black, white and silver themed wedding.

I ordered some delicious black 15mm roses from Wild Orchid Crafts especially for this card. Love the drama.

I also thought I'd try some of the new organza flowers from WOC too, love the little twisted bead deal in the centre and the petals are so lovely. They add a lot of texture and dimension to a piece.

I used some gorgeous white silk ribbon from The Ribbon Girl and used some black bakers twine too to tie a bow and arrow to the biggest silver embossed heart. As always I used my bow easy tool to tie the four looped bow and twised the tails of my bakers twine off in opposite directions. It's kinda like an OCD thing I got going on.

I typed up the name and the date in word and printed it onto some textured white cardstock. I then went around the embossed edges with a gelly roll clear star? glitter pen from Sakura to help tie in the two silver embossed hearts I created for this card.

Here is a quick shot of the inside of the card. I carried the same patterned paper and washi tape through from the outside for some continuity. You can also see the little display box which I made for the card to live in. I embellised that with a little LOVE die cut as well as another black rose and some washi tape.

Hope you like it. :)

I'd like to enter this card into these challenges:

Crazy 4 Challenges - Layer it On

Speedy Fox and Friends - At Least FOUR Layers

Thanks for stopping by. I'm off to watch Take Me Out with a cup of hot chocolate. Then up to the craft desk later to make a mess! :)

Love is in the Air over at LLLC

2012-01-27T10:00:00.000Z

It's FRIDAY!! I could not be any happier right now, unless of course I was heading to CHA.. which isn't gonna happen.. not for a long time. So I'll keep dreaming!! Last long day at work then I'm off. All. Weekend. Long. Yippeee. Roll on 6PM.

Anywho. Time for some Friday Inspiration from the girls over at La La Land Crafts. :) The theme this week is..

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

Kinda fitting, seeing as the next 'big' event is Valentines. Here's me thinking the UK doesn't really make a huge fuss about Valentines.. I was wrong. I've had over 10 card orders for V Day cards this month. I ain't complaining.

Anywho, I used the gorgeous Heart Balloon Marci and coloured her with my ever emptying alcohol markers. I got some more Copic markers on order.. the colours I use for skin tone run out unbelievable fast. Especially the colour you use for your base. It's madness. My ProMarkers have lasted me almost.. two years?!

I have gone with my fave colour combo again, adding only a few embellishments. Consisting of mostly turquoise. *heart* some striped turquoise ribbon from TRG along side some light turquoise and neutral roses from WOC. I kept the rest of the card pretty simple, seeing as Marci takes up a lot of space with the little cloud scene I've added around her.

The sentiment is from Hero Arts and has been stamped in SU! Blue Bayou ink with some more turquoise Prima gems either side to help it stand out. That's about it..

Skin - YR000, YR00, E11, R30, R32, R20
Hair - E55, E57, E59
Turquoise, Marine, Petrol Blue
China Blue, Midnight Blue, Indigo Blue

I sooo gotta work on my folds. They're poop. I need a couplea lessons from Irina, me thinks.

So there ya have it. Marci with her little paper pieced balloon all waiting for her sweetheart to come along.

Any of you lucky people heading over to CHA, please keep us poor folk in mind and take a TONNE of pictures for us to drool over when you get back. Okay?

Over and out.