New Monthly Challenge

Oh my, is it really the 1st December?!!  PANIC!!  When on earth am I going to find time to get my Christmas shopping done!  Oh well I managed to find time to get my card made for this months Crafter's Companion Monthly Challenge.  As always there's a sketch with an optional element of Christmas.

I turned the sketch 90 degrees.  This is the fourth card I taught at Craftaganza, so I'm hoping to see lots of entries this month, even if they're all very similar or exactly the same as my card.  Remember the winner is a random draw, so everyone has a chance of winning.  The fabulous prize this month is a £50 voucher for the Crafter's Companion website.  I think Sara is feeling extra generous because it's not long until Christmas.

Supplies used:

CD- Popcorn Cosy & Warm

Popcorn die cut decoupage

Die cuts - Nestabilites

Punch - Martha Stewart

All items available from Crafter's Companion.

If anyone is unsure on how to enter the challenge then just leave me a comment here and I'll help you out.

Have fun and I look forward to seeing your cards or projects.

Here's today's snow update.  There's still loads of it and it's been snowing again this morning!  My card is still on the and will need to be cleared before I can go anywhere!

One more card for you today, it can also be seen in Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine.  I love the colours on this card, it's what you need to brighten the day.  I'm entering this into the challenge over at:
Moxie Fab World - the birthday card challenge
Fab 'n' funky - birthday - happy birthday girls x

Supplies used:
Echo park -  walk in the park
Plus some bling and twine

Keep warm.
xxx

Challenge Time

I can't believe it's the first of the month already!  This year is flying by at an alarming rate.  But as it is the first of the month it's time for the Crafter's Companion Monthly Challenge and we have a fabulous sketch for you this month, kindly supplied by the lovely Leann.  We'd love to see your creations, so please come and join us.  It's even easier to join in now as you can use any products in your card but you get a double entry for the prize if you use a Crafter's Companion image.

SARA HAS KINDLY DONATED A £30 VOUCHER TO SPEND ON THE CRAFTER'S COMPANION WEBSITE FOR THIS MONTHS PRIZE

As it's nearly back to school time I decided to get Popcorn School Days stamp set out, with the papers to match from the Popcorn Kids CD.  He's so cute with his little satchel and I'm loving how the pastel colours worked. 

I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:

Colour create - pastel lilac, yellow and mint

Stamp something - back to school

The Crafty Pad - Simply Pearls

Creative Card Crew - back to school

Papertake weekly - Just the one - button
The ABC challenge - C is for charm

I've even remembered to note down which Copic Ciao pens I've used:

Popcorn - C1, C3, C5

Bag - BV000, BV02

Blanket and apple - YG000, YG03, G000, Y000, Y02

They're all available here

I'm going to try and do this much more often as it's a great reminder for me as well as sharing this with anyone that pops my by blog.

Other items used include:

Nestabilities standard circle

Nestabilities scallop circle

Tim Holtz brackets on the edge die

The ribbon, adhesive pearls and button are from the depths of my stash!

I'd love to see you what you do with this sketch so please come and join us at the challenge blog just click HERE

Thanks for popping by.

xxx

The magical interweb

From my little grrrr's recently you may have realised that my internet has been a little bit tempramental.  However I got round to phoning BT tonight and a lovely chap seems to have sorted it out for me.  Happy days - well hopefully!

So to keep me calm whilst the internet was a little wobbly I made a couple of cards.  This first one is the gorgeous Souffle and was inspired by the challenge at:
Charisma Cardz - watch the birdie

This next card was inspired by challenges at:

A Passion for Papertrey - summertime - cherries just scream summer to me

Papertake Weekly - sketch challenge

I'm not sure where this week has gone to, it's just flying by!
xxx

Meetings and makings

I headed into Manchester first thing this morning for a meeting, which was a good way to start the day.  I also manged to track down some gold leaf that I need for a project I'm working on this weekend.

As for what I've worked on tonight.  Just one card but it is a whopper.  I thought I'd use some of the A3 card I've got to make a large card!  The papers and the box frame are printed from the Popcorn Platinum CDs - florals and men's.  The card was inspired by challenges at:

Allsorts challenge - create a scene

Tuesday Taggers - make a scene

2 Sketches 4 You - Kazan's sketch 56

I bought my sister a few presents for her birthday but tradition now dictates that one has to be some sort of mini scrapbook item that's a summary of the last year.  I'm over the moon with the way this one turned out and I know she loves it as she phoned me up whilst she was still a little bit misty after opening it up.

Inside the box (thanks to Lida deWitte for teaching us how to make the box and flowers at the Inspired Retreat back in February) were 4 mini books with photos and snippets.  One book for friends, one all about Jo, one about her and Ian and one about sisters.

You'll be glad to know I'm not going to bore you with each individual page of the books!

The whole thing was made with papers, chipboard and stickers from Prima - so beautiful and easy to work with.

Now to catch up on some sleep from the weekend.

xxx

Here comes Popcorn

Popcorn the Platinum collection launched tonight at 9pm.  Popcorn is a beautiful Platinum monochromatic colour, surrounded by elements of vibrant colour. The new range comprises three CDs, Popcorn Platinum 3D Builder and 6 co-ordinating A6 stamp plates. Each CD includes two themes CD1: Baby & Birthday, CD2: Kids & Floral, CD3: Men’s & Romance. The CDs are available individually or as a Collector’s triple box set.  Wow, wow wow!

 I've been lucky enough to have these for a few days and have loved playing with the CDs and the stamps.  As I'm a stamper at heart, I love the CDs for my backgrounds and then being able to add a stamped image and make it whatever colour I like.  So Popcorn can be grey or brown or even pink if I want him to be :)

So here he is in one of the box card frames.  Then the little bear is stamped and then coloured in with my beloved Copics (it's true, I do love them).  It means you can make his football kit whatever colour you want too.  This card was inspired by challenges at:

Stamp Something - colours of your flag - red, green and white from the Welsh flag - yes I really am Welsh

CardPatterns - sketch #71 - I flipped in 90 degrees

Cupcake Craft Challenge - world cup wonders

Daring Cardmakers - rubies for July - I've gone ruby red

Also I thought I'd share the card I made for my sister for her birthday.  As it was quite dimensional I made a co-ordinating envelobox to go with it.

Just one more thing for today - why does your boyfriend always steal your Green & Blacks Butterscotch chocolate out of the fridge!!  grrrrrrr!!

Swinging Sunday

What better way to get those aching legs moving than a walk.  We decided to stay local today and just walk up to the headland.  It's deceptive as it looks quite close and doesn't look too far out to the end of the headland but it's definitely a good walk.

So what do you need after a good walk?  A good pub of course.  Being with Big Pete and Paul that's par for the course, and I'm just easily led.  The local pub was great and we were made to feel very welcome - 2 cloudy (or as I call it rough) ciders welcome!  When we asked if they did food they said no but the place up the road did and the landlord even phoned through and made us a reservation.  Brilliant service.

On the way back from our walk, Paul, Pete and I decided to look in on the band that was playing in the afternoon - The Gents.  We didn't think we'd stay long as they're harmonica led which isn't our favourite but they launched onto a fast tune.  So Pete and I kicked off our shoes and hit the dance floor to dance in our socks.  I know we weren't the best dressed on the dance floor but I think we had the most fun - I think the cider helped!

The Little Mermaid?

Sue & Pete finding a way down.

Homemade meatballs at the Castle for lunch

Just one more cream tea!

Just one little card today with Popcorn teamed with some October Afternoon papers.  This one was inspired by challenges at:

CPS - sketch #174

One stop craft challenge - distressing

I also made a box for another card to give to our waitress Justyna that had looked after us so well during our stay.  She didn't even open it and she was over the moon.  Doesn't making someones day make you feel warm and fuzzy?

Lots of people at the weekend looked their best, including this chap on his way to the dance.  The setting for this camp is ideal as the chalet blocks have that 1940's/50's look although they're pretty nice inside.

Suzanne, looking beautiful and impeccably turned out as always.

The last two bands of the weekend - Swing Cat Club from Germany.  Another great fun band.

King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys

Thank you to Tania for being a great roommate, Sue, Pete and Paul for lots of adventures and booking for next year.  Alan, Richard and Marilyn for being great company at dinner.  Most of all a great big thank you to all the great leads that I danced with this weekend.  I've had a fabulous time.

xxx

Just down the road!

Well that's what my friend Paul would have us believe!  He said he knew of a great walk that was less than an hour away in the car - try over an hour and a half away.  So the question is, was the drive worth it ... most definitely.  We walked from Withypool to the Tarr steps which are a prehistoric clapper bridge across the River Barle in the Exmoor National Park.

It's a beautiful 4 mile walk with a great treasure at the end.  Not only the Tarr steps but the Tarr Farm Inn that does a great ploughman's lunch amongst a fabulous menu and as we were in deepest darkest Devon we were forced to have a cream tea too!

Pete, Paul and I outside the pub

Isn't being outside wonderful.  I love walking and seeing the countryside.  Here's just one of the beautiful flowers we saw on our walk.  We also shared our walk with sheep and slightly less comfortable a field of bullocks - luckily they let us through!

 

Just one quick card to share with you today before dinner and dancing.  Another sneak peak of Popcorn Platinum, with inspiration from:

Secret Crafter - Saturday Challenge - Water

Sweet Stamping Challenge Blog - pearls and pins

I love Popcorn and his girlfriend, Coconut, sheltering from the shower under their pretty umbrella

So then it's time to go out  I had a great night but didn't dance quite as much as Friday night - note to self must try harder on Sunday night.  I've done plenty of steps today though - over 30,000.  That should walk off some of the cream tea!

We missed the band in the afternoon with our walk but danced to two great bands tonight.  The first one was Numbers Racket

The second band of the evening and one of my favourites from the weekend were Five in Love from Austria.  They played great music and had lots of fun on stage too.

So I'm off to bed with great tunes still swinging through my head.  A glass of wine will help to relax me.
Sweet dreams
xxx
Happy Birthday Joanna
xxx

 

Wonderful Wales

I've had a great day in Wales today.  I was doing a demonstration at Carole's Craft at Pugh's Garden Centre.  It was great to see the lovely Debbie, Mandy, the other girls and their fabulous customers.  This is my third visit to this shop and I always get a warm welcome and it's so nice to see friendly faces.  One of the girls who came to see me today was the talented Menna.  She's been stitching the Cute Companion characters on the back of her jacket - just look at how much work has gone in to it!

Just a couple of cards to share with you today and a sneak peak of some brand new Popcorn products!  Check back next week for more details.
This card is made using the Popcorn Platinum stamp set - Lovely Bubbly.  It's a set I know I'll be using a lot as I have a soft spot for champagne - pink or otherwise.  This card was inspired by the challenge at:
Totally Papercrafts - one for the girlies

 

This second card was inspired by the image challenge at:

Dutch Dare Card Challenges

It was the bright colours and the large flower that inspired me to make this card.

As if my day wasn't busy enough, I headed off to Weston-Super-Mare to meet up with some friends for a 1940's swing weekend, filled with live bands and lots of dancing:

There I am all dressed up for the Friday night dance, with my little Dorothy shoes on that I bought in Italy.  I love this outfit - thanks to wonderful Shona at Heyday Vintage Style Clothing, she brings us the best in vintage clothing but great to dance in to.

Some people really do arrive in style (not me!)

The first of the bands we saw this weekend  - The Pete Long Orchestra

Later the same evening another band - Honey B & The King of Sting.  I loved the female saxophone player she had great stage presence.

So a very long day but filled with lots of Ginger adventures, so all is well in my little bubble.  I hope  your day has been filled with a even little bit of happiness.
xxx

Off to Hucklow

I'm spending this weekend with four fabulous crafting friends at The Nightingale Centre in Hucklow, near Buxton.  There's something about being there that makes your heart sing.  It's set in beautiful countryside, the food is fabulous and you get to craft all day - total bliss.

On the way four of us met up for lunch and found a great gastro pub.  The Red Lion at High Lane had amazing decor and even better food.  We tried to be good and only had 2 courses but that was a main and a pudding.  For main I had pan seared sea bass, courgette fritters, mashed potatoes, capers and pan juices.

Followed by summerberry pavlova, Chantilly cream and ice cream.  The Chantilly was inside the meringue and I ate the lot!

Even the coffer was pretty

I love the colour combo on this chair.  The whole place was just a feast for the taste buds and all the other senses too.

So once we got to Hucklow the creativity began.  Unfortunately I can't show most of it as it was for a magazine commission.  But here's a sneak peak of the lovely Popcorn the Bear coloured with Copic Ciao pens.  Doesn't he look lovely in purple rather than red.

But I did manage to make a card inspired by challenges at:

Papertake Weekly - sketch plus using lilac and lemon theme

Stamp Something - happy somethings

Totally Papercrafts - animal magic

I loved the lilac and lemon them and can see me using this combo again.  The little bird and the sentiment are Papertrey Ink stamps.

I hope your weekend is going to be as much fun as mine is.

xxx

New Challenge Blog

I'm so very excited to announce that today sees the launch of the Crafters Companion monthly challenge blog.  Anyone can enter, as long as you use products that are on the Crafter's Companion website – stamps (SCACD, Penny Black, Popcorn, Cute Companions, Joanna Sheen, etc, etc, etc) or any image from any of their CD’s.  Sara is putting up a fab prize - and it’s a surprise collection that has not even been released yet, so be one of the first to get your hands on it

The first challenge is a sketch that has been designed by our lovely Leann, there is also the added option to use the Theme of FLORAL.

Here's my card for this challenge, featuring the gorgeous Souffle the Duck  He's coloured with my Copics (I love my Copics :) ).  The papers are DCWV from the Whimsy collection.  The puff bow is tied on the bow maker on the Ultimate Pro.  I love the waythat simple satin ribbon can make such an impact on the front of the card.

I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:

Stamp something - birthday recipe, designer paper, ribbon, bow and a tag

My Time to Craft - wild thing, anything that lives or grows in the wild

I'd also like to offer a little blog candy for anyone tha visits this post over the month of June.  Up for grabs is the new Popcorn Kids CD and 4 sets of matching rubberstamps.  Just leave a comment and I'll announce a winner at the beginning of July.

I hope you can join us over at the challenge blog as we're looking forward to seeing enerybody's work.

Smiley Saturday

How could you not smile?  It's a been a sunny day, I've been with great people, I've been fed and watered, got all my steps in with a jaunt around the campsite with lovely Jo and got to craft all day - perfect.

So what have I made, just a few little cards that I can share with you.

The first one was inspired by challenges at:

Get Sketchy - sketch 39

Allsorts challenge - tag/label

I'm loving Popcorn Kids so much and this is another of the rubber stamps.  This card was inspired by challenges at:

My time to craft - under the weather

One stop craft challenge - birthstone challenge - mine's aquamarine, hence the colour and the water theme