Stamp Something Tag/Pocket Challenge & Lovely hAnglar Only Book Mark

Brace yourselves, dears - it's going to be a long one!

You can tell I'm almost back to normal - another card completed, but right at the last minute! Today's card is for two challenges:-  the Stamp Something Challenge which is looking for a card with a tag or a pocket and the Lovely hAnglar Only challenge, which is to make a book mark. You can just see the book mark peeping out from the pocket in this photo.  And there are quite a few photos, I'm afraid - it's been almost dark here all day so getting a decent piccie has been a bit of a pain.

I've used a beautiful double-sided Prima paper which I've been hoarding and stroking for ages and I folded it to create two pockets at the front.  There is a tutorial on You Tube on how to create this folded card and if anyone wants it, just let me know and I'll look it up.

The book mark has been made using the same papers and cut out with Nestie rectangle dies. I used my new hAnglar stamps which I got on Ebay recently - I love the fact that although the stamps are coming from hAnglar and stAnglar in Sweden they arrive more quickly than if you'd bought them in the UK!   I coloured the images with my Copics and cut them out, putting one on the card and the other on the book mark. 

Finally I used flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts and added some ribbon by American Crafts to the book mark.

As for the Hogmanay preparations, I've decided to go with a buffet  - I'm feeding almost as many kids as adults and it'll be standing room only in my wee house, so it seems to make sense.  I'm doing a ham with an orange and ginger glaze, a curry from one of my Gordon Ramsay books (my son's request - if you like a good Ruby, I recommend this one!) and the usual buffet bits and pieces for people to pile on their plates, plus rice and naan for the curry eaters.  I've made meringues this afternoon and provided my son doesn't keep going back to the tin to eat them all, the plan is to put them out with some poached pears, whipped cream and chocolate sauce for people to build their own pud.  I'm also making a chocolate brownie cake for the kids and my friend Elaine is making a fruit salad for the Righteous and a sticky toffee pudding and toffee sauce for the rest of us! 

Tomorrow morning I'll be cleaning like a woman possessed and from about lunchtime I'll be cooking and looking forward to a G&T once everything is ready and I've got my face on!

Whatever you're doing for New Year, have a fabulous time!

Hugs,

Tracey xx

I'm So Excited (as the song says)...

Have you seen my new Blinkie - yes, just over there, that way →, at the top of the page!  The gorgeousness that is Faye has asked if I would be a DT on the Sweet Stampin' Challenge blog for six months starting in January.  It took me all of about a nano second to think about it before I said "YES PLEASE!"

I'm so proud and excited to be joining team Fluff but feel a bit "unworthy" when I look at the creations made by my new teamies.  I do hope you'll join us over at Sweet Stampin' - just follow the links to see what everyone is up to.

I don't have a card today, I'm afraid - I really can't believe that I haven't posted anything for over a week and to say I've got card making withdrawal symptoms would be an understatement.  I don't have any wierd or wonderful excuses either - I've just had so much school work that I haven't been able to think straight!  Hopefully things will get easier after this week as we're only in school till next Wednesday, but I'm hearing talk of more snow and that's not good - there's only so much chaos a girl can take!

Hope to be back later this week with a card or two - fingers crossed!

Take care and stay warm!

Tracey x

Last Minute as Usual

This is a really quick one as time has really run away with me this morning!  This is going into the Papertake Weekly Challenge and the Totally Tilda Challenge (if I can get it in in time!) which is Glitz and Gold.

I used one of my favourite Tildas for this one and coloured her with Copics.  I'm not too sure about the gold glitter on her dress, but I had no other option due to an earlier glue pen disaster!  My Quickie Glue pen ran out and I couldn't get another, so I bought something which I thought was similar.  I got Tilda coloured up last night and used the pen on her dress, wings and the stars.  Just like the Quickie pen, the glue was blue but I didn't think anything of it until I got up this morning to see that the glue had dried ... blue!  So I had to start again and the only gold glitter I had left was this rather harsh looking stuff. Still, never mind - keep calm and carry on!

I used the adorable papers from the MME Glitter Stack (love, love, love these) and followed the sketch from Papertake Weekly.  The ribbon is from Bunny Zoe's, the flower is a Prima and the gems are from the Glitter Pot. 

Tilda's wings and the stars have had the Glamour Dust treatment and finally the sentiment is a rub on from a DCWV sheet from some years back.

Now I need to get a move on as there are only 10 minutes left before the TT Challenge closes!

See you later,

Tracey T xx

My First Award!

Would you believe it?  The lovely Jacqui P has given me my first award!  To say I am chuffed would be an understatement, so thank you, Jacqui!

I now have to say 3 things which make me "me" and pass on the award to 3 other bloggers.  So, here goes...

1.  I have an eleven year old son who is the light of my life. For a long time I thought I was destined not to be a mum, so to have Gregor was to have all my dreams come true. However, I do have to remind myself of this fact every now and again when I get glimpses of the Kevin the Teenager to come. 

2.  I absolutely love my job - even when it's driving me mad I still love it, if you know what I mean.

3.  I adore making cards.  My house should be cleaner/tidier and my garden should look better than it does but given the choice, I know what I'd rather be doing!

So who will I give this award to?  Actually, 3 people came to mind straight away.  I haven't had my blog for very long and these lovely ladies have made me feel very welcome in cyber-land:

1. The scrumptiousness that is Faye/Fluff - super-talented and guaranteed to make you smile when you visit her blog. Plus, anyone who can carry on blogging while moving from one side of the country to the other deserves an award, in my opinion.

2. The lovely Claire, who makes the most enviably beautiful cards and is always so warm and friendly.

3.  Perfect Pops, commenter par excellence!  Plus she makes the lovliest bright and cheerful cards with beautiful backgrounds!

Do follow the links and check out these blogs if you haven't already - you're in for a treat!

Well, the snow came, just like they said it would.  Tell me, why, when they say we're going to have a brilliant summer, does it not happen but when they say we're going to have rotten weather, they're generally right?  Anyway, it's freezing out there now and there's been no sign of a gritter all day.  My classroom looked like Widow Twanky's Laundry Room this afternoon as the kids spent lunchtime chucking snowballs at each other and came to French soaking wet.  Why do teenagers insist on wearing plimsols and jersey tops when it's minus 4 and snowing?  We had to open all the windows in the end because of the steam coming off them as they started to dry out!

Stay safe and warm this weekend.

Hugs,

Tracey T x

(Don't) Let It Snow!

I've probably picked the wrong subject for today's card as I expect most of you are fed up with the snow by now!  This winter scene even began to lose its appeal for me when I heard the weather forecast at teatime, as it would seem that SW Scotland may not avoid the snow after all!  Apparently it's due overnight and tomorrow  - I do hope they're wrong!

I really enjoyed making this card!  I don't use my Edwin stamps nearly enough so he was lovely to colour with my Copics.  I masked him and stamped the Magnolia winter scene over the top, then cut it out by hand.  I added a good  dose of Glamour Dust over Edwin's wings and the snowy bits to complete the image.

The background paper is by Memory Box and is probably my favourite from this winter paper pack.  The soft blues combine perfectly with the blues in the Tilda Frosted Bluegreen paper pack (got mine from Cuddly Buddly), so I cut out a square of blue and white paper and went around it with a Martha Stewart PATP.  Between the image and the fancy square I added a strip of ribbon - I've had this for ages and it was in a set but I can't remember exactly who made it - could it be KI Memories?  Anyway, the colours were just what I was looking for and I had enough to make the bow at the side of the card.  Finally I punch out a Magnolia circle Christmas sentiment and tucked it in between the frilly square and the background paper.

I'm going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Stampin' for the Weekend - Winter

Totally Gorjuss - Tree (front left of card!)

Cupcake Challenge - Light It Up

Magnolia Stamp Lovers - Punches

Hope to be back over the weekend with a card or two, depending on how much school work I bring home.

Take care, keep warm and stay safe on those roads,

Tracey T x

Snowflakes - how appropriate!

Given the weather that some parts of the UK are having right now it seems more than appropriate to make a card with one or two snowflakes.  I must admit that I haven't had much time to spend on my cards this week as we're now well and truly into the exam period (72 papers to mark this weekend - what a pleasure!).  However, I wanted to do something for the Lovely hAnglar Only Challenge, which is "Snowflakes".

I haven't actually had to do too much to make this card as the gorgeous Fancy Pants paper did most of the work for me.  I used red Bazzill for my base, then matted the Fancy Pants paper onto cream cardstock, adding a little Basic Grey border along the bottom.

The snowflakes were cut from acetate using a Nestie die and a Martha Stewart punch.  I covered them with Stickles and while this was still wet added some Twinklets.  Hope you can see them clearly!  The little silver centres were from Quixotic Paperie (I think).

My hAnglar stamp has been coloured with Copics - I use this one a lot as it's from one of my favourite collections.

So, not rocket science, but at least I've got something to enter in the challenge.  I was hoping to get some crafting done this weekend but it looks now like work is going to take over ...

It's freezing here, but fortunately no snow (yet).  Gregor's school was closed today because their boiler was broken, so thanks are due to my lovely pal Marianne who looked after him for me - I don't know where I'd be without my mates!

Whatever you're doing this weekend, stay warm, cosy and safe!  Maybe this will finally be the weekend we say goodbye to Wagner - I'll be so sad if another talented youngster has to go instead. 

Thanks for stopping by,

Tracey T x

Not Exactly Traditional Colours

I do like making black and white cards so I was really pleased when I saw that the latest challenge from Just Magnolia was "White plus 1 colour". 

I used black Bazzill for my base and covered this with Doodlebug paper.  I added a doily from Joanna Sheen and topped this with a large plain circle Nestie.  I cut out my Tilda image with another Nestie and colour her with Copics, Promarkers and a black Prisma pencil for the shading.  I gave Tilda a good dollop of bling with some Glamour dust and Stickles on her clothes.  I covered the baubles with a drop of Glossy Accents and added a little bit of Glamour Dust while this was still wet.

The ticket is a Magnolia stamp which I cut out and edged with distress ink. The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts, as are the pearls in the corners of the card.  Simples!

This card is going to be entered in the Just Magnolia - White plus 1 Colour - Challenge and in Totally Gorjuss' Challenge, Not so Traditional Christmas.

Hope you're managing to stay warm and cosy.  I couldn't let my chickens out this morning because the door of one of the coops had frozen solid.  Had to go back to the house of a kettle of hot water!  Glad I'm not a hen!

Enjoy the rest of your evening.

Hugs,

Tracey x

Glitter, Glitz and Lace

My new Lili of the Valley stamps have arrived and they are so cute!  I bought a couple of the new girlie stamps and the calendar set, which I think will be really useful.  I thought I would use one of the new stamps for the Lili of the Valley challenge, which this week is "Glitter and Glitz". 

I coloured the stamped image with Copics and added pretty pale blue glitter and Icicle Stickles (well, they asked for glitter!) to the clothes and around the edges of the card.  Even the presents got the bling treatment with a good coat of Glamour Dust.

I used Bazzill for the card base and covered the front with Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses paper. On top of this went a Magnolia die cut doily and a Magnolia die cut lace strip.  I'm still not getting on with the doily very well, but I recommend the lace dies - they cut superbly. Around the image I put some roses from Wild Orchid Crafts ( I love the turquoise colour) and I added a 3D sentiment which I believe is K & Co from some years back. 

I thought I'd also enter this card in the Papertake Weekly Challenge (Cut It Out) and the CES Challenge (Lovely Lace) as well as the Lili of the Valley Glitter and Glitz Challenge.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I do hope you're keeping warm (the temperature is dropping rapidly here).  I'm hoping we don't get snow - we had a terrible time here in SW Scotland last year as the snow lasted for weeks and our road was almost impossible to get down.  I'm quite happy to have snow for a couple of days over Christmas but that's it!  Sorry!

Hugs

Tracey T x

Bev's Tilda Candy

Bev has a lovely Tilda stamp up for grabs, courtesy of Simon Says Stamp.  Hop over the Bev's blog to enter. 

Good luck!

Tracey T x

I almost forgot...

I was just about to go off to bed when I realised I'd forgotten to post this card!  I made this for the Magnolia Stamp Lovers challenge, which was to follow a sketch, and this is what I did.

I used my new MME Christmas Glitter Stack papers again - you can see the glitter in this photo but IRL it doesn't look so snail-traily!  The image is a new Tilda and Edwin stamp which has been coloured with Copics. I did the edges with Walnut Stain distress ink and added some Frosted Lace stickles to Tilda's dress.  The lace and flowers are all from Wild Orchid Crafts and the gems are from the Glitter Pot but I can't remember the make.

Hope you're not flooded, wherever you are.  It's pretty windy here and it's rained all day, but so far things aren't as bad as they were last week, when we had lots of flooded roads. 

Night night!

Tracey T x

Just Another Manic ... Sunday?!?

I'm not going to type up a list of the things I've done so far today but, suffice to say, I'm about half-way through the things I was supposed to do and the light's already fading here in Bonnie Scotland at 3.30 pm!  However, my kitchen smells very Christmassy, as I've managed to get the cake in the oven and the puds are steaming away on the stove.  I wasted about an hour looking for my Christmas Pudding bowl (still haven't found it) and have ended up making several smaller puds - note to self: "Tidy up more!".  Sorry, I did say I wasn't going to list the things I've done today!

My card today is a Christmassy one and features one of the prettiest Tilda's, I think - she's certainly a joy to colour.   I decided to use my until-now neglected Craftwork Cards papers from a year or two ago and I followed the sketch by Donalda on the Just Magnolia Challenge.

I coloured Tilda with Copics and used a silver Promarker on the stars, which I then covered with Glamour Dust. Tilda has been cut out with a scalloped oval Nestie and I added Diamond stickles around the edge.  You can just about see the snowflakes here but I took some other photos as the light was so bad:-

Hope you can see them now!  I cut them from acetate - two are a Martha Stewart punch and one is a Nestie - and covered them with Twinklets.  The pearls are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

I'm going to enter this card in these challenges:

A Spoonfull of Sugar - Snowflakes

Just Magnolia - Donalda's Sketch

Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes

 

Enjoy the rest of the weekend (please, please Wagner - go home!) and have a good week.

Tracey T x

Candy from Jacque ...

The wonderful Jacque in the US of A has some FAB candy for us.  Take a look and join in by following the link here.

Jacque is a truly inspirational lady in more ways than one - definitely on my "would like to meet" list!

See you later

Tracey T x

Some Blogaversary Candy from Jacilynn ...

Jacilynn Dashwood is celebrating her birthday and Blogaversary by offering some lovely card-making candy. 

Hop on over to Jacilynn's blog here to join in - if you leave a joke as a comment you'll get an extra chance of winning!

Back later with a card, hopefully.

Tracey T x

Another hAnglar Cutie ...

I bought this hAnglar and stAnglar stamp as part of a set on ebay and I think she is so sweet.  I thought I'd make another card with darker colours - to see if I can get more used to it! - and opted for more papers from the Basic Grey Wassail pack.  I know this has been around for a while but the designs in this pack really are beautiful.

I followed the sketch on the Basic Grey Challenges blog and used both papers from the pack and a scalloped border from the co-ordinating sticker sheet.  Behind the image and contrast papers is a die cut Magnolia doily; what a pain this is, I'm so disappointed with the "half a die" thing but if you're going to put it behind something you can at least cover the bits which don't match up exactly!

I coloured my hAnglar image with Copics and added a Pebbles Inc rub on for the sentiment.  The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and the little crystal hearts were a freebie with an order from the FAB Quixotic Paperie.  I also added some Sizzlit die cut leaves just underneath the flowers.

I'm going to enter this in the Lovely hAnglar Only challenge (punched and die cut shapes) as well as the Basic Grey challenge (sketch). 

Friday tomorrow, folks ... hoping for a quiet weekend with more warmth and less rain.  My poor chickens will turn into ducks at this rate!

Hugs,

Tracey T x

Rachel has hAnglar Candy!

Rachel has some hAnglar stamps up for grabs, so hop on over to her blog here.  While you're there, admire her colouring with Copics - it's AMAZING.

Tracey T

One for the Girls

This card is for the Lili of the Valley Challenge, which this week is "One for the Girls".  I've kept the layout very simple as the paper is quite busy.

The colours aren't perhaps the most girlie I could have chosen, but irl the wee girl's coat looks like suede or sheepskin!  The background papers are Basic Grey and I stamped the Magnolia "Silent Night" stamp onto watercolour paper and distressed it to within an inch of its life.  This is just peeping out behind my LotV stamp, which also got the distress ink treatment.  I coloured it with Copics and added a shed load of Glamour Dust to her hood and scarf and also to some dots of glue to make it look like it's snowing.  The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and the pearls are from the Glitter Pot.

Just a quickie tonight as I've got loads to do before the last of Spooks.  Can't believe Wagner is still in - maybe I should start my own Facebook campaign, or maybe I should just get out more!

Enjoy your evening!

Hugs

Tracey T x

An Autumn Thank You

Now for the slushy bit...  while I was making this card I thought about the people who, in the short time I have had my blog, have been so kind as to leave a comment. You have given advice and words of encouragement, made me laugh and made me think. There is even someone who has gone way beyond the call of duty and made the most adorable card for my son's birthday (thank you, you are a star)! 

I've always known that crafters are a special breed but through my blog I've made new friends - how fab is that?

So, this little offering is dedicated to you, my lovelies!  She's going into the CES Challenge which this week is Forever Autumn, A Spoonfull of Sugar's "Relish to Embellish" and last but by no means least, the Cupcake Challenge of an "Autumn Thank You".

The awful light meant that I had to take this photo in my kitchen, so apologies for that.  However, I make no apology for using my beloved Queen Bee (Pink Paislee) papers again.  These colours may not be the usual orangey-browns but here in Scotland we seem to go very quickly from deep green to  yellow and then dark brown as the light fades. 

I used one of my favourite hAnglars, paper-pieced her hat and skirt and coloured the rest of her with Copics.  I added a bit of Glamour Dust just because and then put her on a Nestie scalloped rectangle mounted on sticky pads.  The sentiment is a Pebbles Inc rub on (I love these).  For my embellies I used various flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts and some pins from Quixotic Paperie.

The beef is about to come out of the oven, the fire is lit and Mark Webber is still in with a shout at winning the F1World Championship.  All I need now is for Wagner to go out tonight so that we can all move on and my weekend will have been pretty perfect.

Enjoy your evening!

Hugs

Tracey T xx

A little hAnglar for Autumn

I thought I 'd have a go at the Bunny Zoe's Challenge which is called "Autumn Love".  I've had this little hAnglar boy for quite some time but I don't often get the chance to use him, so this seemed like the ideal opportunity.

I used October Afternoon papers for the background and matting - I really like these papers (there's a Christmas one as well with snow-covered houses) and the fact that they are double-sided makes matting easy.  This one is obviously Autumn - if you look really closely you might see the falling leaves blowing about.

I stamped my hAnglar boy onto watercolour card and cut him out with a Nestie. He's been coloured with Copics and the background and edges of the card have been given a thorough doing with some distress ink.  I put some Glossy Accents on the hearts but I don't know how well they show up in the photo. 

I also added a little "love" sticker (from a Doodlebug sheet) and some gold/brown gems; the brown velvet ribbon is from my stash - I've only got about two inches of it left so I can feel a ribbon shopping trip coming on!

Might be back a bit later depending on how the day goes.  I had a card idea in my head last night after Gregor's birthday party so I stayed up pretty late getting paper cut out and stamps stamped.  The grim reality of ironing/school work/Gregor's homework/mucking out chickens (oh the glamourous life I lead)/nagging about thank you letters  may just about take up most of the day but if I can squeeze another card in, I will!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Hugs

Tracey T xx

Candy over at Jacque's Joie de Vivre

The adorable, inspiring Jacque has some "sweet stuff" on offer. Hop over to her blog here to see this amazing lady's amazing creations!

Tracey T x

Still a bit spooky ...

A quick post today to show you my card for the Totally Gorjuss Halloween Challenge and Magnolia Stamp Lovers' Black and Purple Challenge.

I used my only Tilda Halloween stamps (don't do Halloween so not a lot of point in buying loads of stamps, even though some of them are really cute) - Tilda with her spider and the mad bat (err... who said "I thought that was you?"!)

I used Magnolia paper and added the spooky house which has been embossed onto Coredinations card and cut out - I think the embossing folder might be a Cuttlebug one, or it could be Sizzix. I then gave the house a good scrub to get a ghostly light of the moon effect.  The moon is from a die cut sheet by Bo Bunny, I think, and I turned some beautiful lace from Wild Orchid Crafts upside down to look like railings.  Behind Tilda, just peeking out, is a black glittery branch which I cut out with a Sizzlits die.  I stamped the Magnolia bat twice, coloured them with Dark Grey Promarkers and a black Prisma pencil and then mounted them on bits of acetate so that they bob about.

Tilda has been coloured with Copics and a black Prisma pencil for the shading.  And there we are.

Hope you have a lovely bonfire night - stay safe!

Hugs

Tracey T x

Multi-tasking Mum (and a card)!

It's Gregor's birthday tomorrow and I'm doing so many things at once tonight I'll probably meet myself coming back.

I am 1) making chocolate fudge brownies (son's request); 2) doing school work (making up as near to an authentic Italian menu as I can for a joint teacher/pupil class I run at lunchtime);  3) preparing a Gordon Ramsay curry for tomorrow's dinner (son's request) - may possibly have chocolate fudge brownie in it; 4) typing this as fast as I can before I get son to bed so that I can watch Spooks.

So, my card probably smells a bit of curry and chocolate fudge brownie - either way, the colour is right for the CES Challenge this week, which is Chocolate Caramel.  And here it is:



I had already thought of using these stamps (my new hAnglars, aren't they cute) for the Lovely Hanglar Only Challenge but I was too late on Sunday to get anything finished, plus I keep forgetting about the time difference.  However, I knew that I wanted to do the CES Challenge because I love using chocolatey colours (anything to do with chocolate, actually) so I came up with this easel card cut using my Go Kreate dies and Pink Petticoat papers.  The Hanglars (one stamped, masked and then the other stamped right beside it) were partly paper pieced and partly oloured with Copics. Of course, I then gave them the usual  Glamour Dust treatement and added various Wild Orchid Crafts flowers.  The sentiment is a sticker from a 12" x 12" sheet - might be Bo Bunny, but it's lovely, very olde worlde.

And that's it really.  Better go now because Spooks is starting and I don't want to accidentally marinade my Brownies!

Take care

Tracey T x

Wild Orchid Crafts Candy

Wild Orchid Crafts are giving away some beautiful goodies to celebrate the launch of their new flowers on Monday. Hop on over to WOC here to enter.

Cats Whiskers Candy

Jacqui at Cats Whiskers is celebrating over a quarter of a million hits on her blog by giving away not one, not two but three lots of candy!  There are Nesties, Lili of the Valley Stamps and goodies from Wild Orchid Crafts all up for grabs!

Hop over to Jacqui's blog here to enter.

Hope to be back later.  We had no internet last night so I've got lots of catching up to do today!

Hugs

Tracey T x

hAnglar News Flash!

Christmas hAnglars are on ebay now! 

Tracey x

Lili of the Valley Winter Fun

I made this over the weekend and was so happy to use my new Tilda papers which I got from Cuddly Buddly.  The theme for the latest Lili of the Valley challenge is Winter Fun - I think the little girl in this image looks so cute decorating her tree and it reminds me of how my son has always enjoyed this part of getting ready for Christmas.  I'm a terrible mother, though - I let Gregor decorate the tree and then when he's in bed I fiddle with it and tweak it until I'm happy with it.  When he was little he would look a bit surprised the following morning to find that the "tons of tinsel in the wind" look has been replaced with the "neat and pretty tree for a small house" but he's a good lad and he just humours me now.

Anyway, back to the card, which I've kept really simple - not a flower in sight!  I used my lovely Tilda papers from the Frosted Bluegreen collection and inked the edges with Antique Linen ink.  The edges of the taupe paper have been punched with a Martha Stewart doily lace punch.  I cut some Nestie snowflakes from cream glitter card (Doodlebug, I think), cut them in half and stuck them underneath my image.  The snowflake in the top left corner is also a Nestie snowflake and I've added a spacer and a tiny bead to the centre.  The spacer and star were both from Quixotic Paperie.

I've coloured my LotV image with Copics in pale blues and greys and added half a ton of Glamour Dust to her pompoms, the tree, the star and the snow!

Off the get the chickens in, then light the fire - it's almost dark here at 6pm now.

Take care,

Tracey T x

Bev has Tilda Candy!

The lovely Bev Rochester has another Tilda stamp on offer courtesy of Simon Says Stamp, so hop on over here to join in.

Poor Bev - can you believe that someone is messing about with the Inlinkz thingy, deleting their name after the random draw and then anonymously complaining that the wrong number won!  I really don't understand some people  - why would anyone want to be such a spoilsport?

Going to try to get a card done while the Boy Wonder is at a birthday party!

Tracey T x

Just Magnolia Challenge - Dawny P's Sketch

Dawny has provided yet another fabulous sketch to follow for this week's Just Magnolia Challenge.  I decided to use an old favourite Tilda stamp for this card and combined her with some of my most favourite papers - yes, once again, Basic Grey Capella gets an outing!

The glittery paper is from a Bo Bunny range and I'm now down to my last strip!  It matches the Capella paper really well, so I'll have to have a look for some more. Tilda has been coloured with Copics and given a good coating of Glamour Dust on her dress. I used a Martha Stewart PATP punch on the rectangle shape and a Marianne D circle die for the shape Tilda is sitting on.  I stuck this on with some decoupage glue to raise it up a bit and then put Tilda on top with some sticky pads.  The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts, the ribbon is American Crafts and the sentiment is a 7 Gypsies sticker.

I think this card might also do for the Magnolia Stamp Lover's Challenge, which is "Sparkling".

I'm looking forward to a nice, quiet evening in front of the fire ... Nigella's on the telly later and my Magnolia Ink magazine arrived today, so I'll be reading that from cover to cover.  Bliss!

Whatever you're doing this evening, enjoy and stay warm!

Tracey x

Woooooo ....Hallowe'en....

It's taken what seems like ages to get back into the swing of things since we got back from our wee break.  I've had cards on the go, trying to make the most of the time before we go back to school and the countdown to Christmas begins, but I've mostly been pulling cards apart and generally not liking what I've done.  Come back, mojo ...

However, there are one or two Hallowe'en challenges out there at the mo and I've been able to use this cute little CC stamp at last - she's been burning a hole in the drawer waiting for this time of year.

It's not the most complicated card I've ever made, I admit but I didn't want to distract too much from the cute stamp. I've coloured her with Copics, Promarkers (grey and black) and a black prisma pencil.  The background paper is Basic Grey and the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts (I coloured the orange buds with a Copic pen to get a colour to match the paper).    The sentiment is made from Doodlebug rub ons and the feathery stuff is Basic Grey.

I'm going to enter this in the following challenges:

Stamp Something --- Hallowe'en Somethings
A Spoon Full of Sugar --- Boo!
Stampin' for the Weekend --- Hallowe'en/Fall

Will have a little Magnolia card in a wee while.

Tracey x

Stampin' Fluff'nStuff Sugar Rush!

Faye's blog will be 1 year old shortly and to celebrate she has a wee bit of candy on offer.  You can go to Faye's blog here -  make sure you have a coffee or a wee glass of something by your side as her posts always make you smile and you'll want to read them all!

Bev's Simon Says Stamp Saturday Surprise

Bev has some Tilda candy for us today, sponsored by Simon Says Stamp.

Follow the link to go to Bev's blog, All The Things I Love.

Jane's Friday Flowers

The lovely Jane at Jane's Lovely Cards has some beautiful flowers up for grabs courtesy of Simon Says Stamp.  These lovely Christmas poinsettias are just the thing for our Christmas cards!  Follow the link to hop on over to Jane's blog.

A little Autumn hAnglar

The challenge over at Lovely hAnglar Only is "Seasons" and this gave me a great excuse to get out my Pink Paislee Queen Bee papers again.  I love these Autumn colours!  I'm going to enter this card in the Stampin' for the Weekend challenge as well, which has the theme of Autumn.

Unfortunately I couldn't get a decent photo of the card and looking at it now I would reorganise the flowers a bit, but too late now!  I coloured my hAnglar girl with Copics and added Glamour Dust to her wings.  I cut her out with a Nellie's die and threaded narrow organza ribbon through the holes.  The ribbon and flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

It's just a quick post today because we're getting ready to go on holiday for a couple of days and I seem to have so much left to do before Mum and Dad get here tomorrow.

Enjoy your weekend!

Tracey x

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Can I ask anyone who reads this to take some time to visit a couple of blogs.  Jacque at Jacque's Joie de Vivre is an amazing lady who has fought breast cancer.  She maintained her blog throughout her treatment and is truly inspirational, not just because of her positive attitude but also because she makes the most beautiful cards! 

Now Jacque has heard that her friend Elise Dinolfo, who is 38 and has a four year-old son, has been diagnosed with breast cancer.  Jacque is asking that as many people as possible pop over to Elise's blog to give her some moral support.

I hope you can find the time to follow the links and leave a message - I love the fact that we have the technology to help someone like this and one of the reasons I love crafting so much is that everyone is so supportive of each other.

Jacque is also offering quite of bit of pink blog candy to promote breast cancer awareness, love her.

Hugs,

Tracey x

Sketch Saturday/Magnolia Stamps Lovers Challenge...

A very late post for these challenges, but I have been without power at home for most of the day.  Fortunately we have a lovely electrician who came over after school and sorted the problem for me, but I was beginning to think that we might be electricity-less for the weekend! 

Anyway, I have a card which fits with the sketch at Sketch Saturday (hope I'm in time!) and the theme at Magnolia Stamp Lovers, which is lace.

I made a 6" x 6" base from white Bazzill and covered this with a Magnolia Christmas paper which I think was from last year's collection.  I cut a 4" x 5" panel of white card, covered this with more Magnolia paper and mounted this over a strip of white velvet ribbon (American Crafts) and a strip of beautiful white lace from Wild Orchid Crafts.

I stamped this little Tilda with Memento ink, then masked her and stamped Magnolia's "Snowy Circle" around her with Versamark. I then heated embossed this with silver powder.  Several attempts at cutting this centrally within my circular dies failed miserably, so I ended up cutting a more abstract shape by hand - not what I wanted really, but I wasted a lot of card trying to centre everything and get Tilda's feet outside the die.

I coloured Tilda with Copics and added Icicle Stickles to the frills on her dress and around the cut-out shape.  I added a sentiment from a Forever Friends pack that I got for pennies in a sale and completed the card with part of a white flower spray and some 5mm pearls from Wild Orchid Crafts.

School holidays for 2 weeks started this afternoon.  We're away for a few days next week - Mum and Dad are coming to look after the dog and the chickens, but I hope to be here tomorrow with a little hAnglar creation.

Enjoy your evening.

Hugs,

Tracey x

Mid-week Magnolia

A little Tilda card today, using one of my favourite images.  The Just Magnolia challenge is "Anything Goes", which makes it nice and easy to combine challenges!  I liked the sketch on Totally Gorjuss and Stamp Something has a "Something to Celebrate" theme.  This little Tilda ticks all of those boxes.

I used my usual Bazzill 6" x 6" card base and covered it with Magnolia paper; the Tilda image is also mounted on Magnolia check paper.  The ribbon is American Crafts (I'm going to have to see where I can buy these when my present stash gets low) and matches the paper exactly - more by luck than design.  I distressed the background of the Tilda image with Pumice Stone distress inks - I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of this now, all thanks to a fab tutorial on Kim Piggot's blog.  Tilda has been coloured with Copics and given a wee bit of Glamour Dust just for the sake of it really.

The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts - I wish I'd joined them up a bit, actually, as I don't like the gap between them, but I wanted to try to follow the sketch.  I also wish that WOC had released their poppies last week 'cos they would have looked great with this colour scheme.  That's something else to go on my shopping list.  Finally, the sentiment stamp is Magnolia and the wee doily is from Joanna Sheen (although my mum got me some lovely ones in Tescos!).

I had one of those moments yesterday after school when I had to confront my craft shopping addiction.  hAnglar have a new kit on Ebay - £42, so not cheap, but tempting.  My too-old-for-his-years son spent half an hour talking me out of buying it... "Do you really need it, Mum?" "You've got loads, Mum"  and "That's expensive, Mum".  I had to agree, I've still got stamps I haven't used and I felt a bit bad that it took a 10 year old to tell it like it is.

Mind you, when he'd gone to bed I went onto Cuddly Buddly's site and bought 2 packs of their Tilda papers which I'd seen on Bev Rochester's blog.  Haven't told him yet, tho'! 

Hugs,

Tracey x

Glitter and Sparkle

I did enjoy making this card, not least because I got to ink up a much under-used Tilda and I managed an "out of the die" cut reasonably well - my previous attempts have been a bit of a disaster!

Anyway, the card - I wanted to do something for this week's Totally Tilda challenge, which is Glitter and Sparkle and I've been waiting for ages to use this gorgeous glittered Bo Bunny Christmas paper.  It matches perfectly with one of my favourite collections, Basic Grey's Capella. 

I stamped Tilda onto watercolour card and cut her out with a Marianne die.  I used the same die to cut the outer ring from Capella paper and gave this a sprinkle of Glamour Dust, which I also put over Tilda's wings.  Tilda has been coloured with Copics and I added gold Stickles to her halo.

I used the Bo Bunny glittery paper on top of a Bazzill 6" x 6" square card, then cut two squares from co-ordinating Basic Grey Capella paper, which I went round with a Martha Stewart punch. I covered this layer with some sheer ribbon (American Crafts - they have a brilliant range of colours, not your usual variety,either).   Finally, the pearls and  flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts - where else?

The card layout follows this week's sketch at Friday Sketchers, so I can enter it in that challenge as well. And, as I've used Basic Grey papers, this should also qualify for the Basic Grey Challenges comp, whose theme is also "Sparkle".

So, that's me card.  Hope to be back tomorrow with another Tilda.  Want to get over to Cuddly Buddly's website before bed as they have some lovely Tilda paper.  Saw this on Bev's blog and I fell in love.

Hopefully won't spend too much money!

Tracey x

Peachy Pink Christmas or the Mystery of the Unknown Paper ...

Not so long ago I bought quite a few new papers for my stash (no change there then) and matched them all with Bazzill card.  What bliss!  However, now that I have used one of the gorgeous new purchases I have no idea what the make is or even where I bought it from! I've even been reviewing my past purchases online to see if I can spot it, but I can't.  If I knew where I'd bought it from that would be a start, but I can't remember. Now is that a sign of age or is it a sign that I buy quite a bit of paper from quite a lot of different places?  Anyway, the card is finished and I'm still no nearer to naming the paper.

So, for my card I used the mystery paper and its matching Bazzill and followed Bev's sketch for the Lili of the Valley challenge.  I used both sides of the paper and I have to say I do like the peachy-pink colour. I coloured my LotV image with Copics and gave it a good dose of Glamour Dust.  I used a Nestie snowflake set to cut out my shapes from glitter card and added a Dovecraft brad to the one on the bottom left of the card.  These brads are such good value - much cheaper than most but very good quality.  I just hope I can find some more!  The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts ( I wanted to use a peach and white rose which matched the paper perfectly, but it was too big) and the ribbon is from my stash (All My Memories, I think).  The sentiment is from a past Magnolia Christmas collection.

I'm entering this card in the Lili of the Valley weekly challenge and also in the CES Challenge, which this week has the theme of "Get a Hat".

Hope your Sunday is going well.  So far I've managed to get my ironing done and I've finished my school work, so I might just be able to make a card this afternoon.  I can't go and tidy up in the garden because it's flooded from all the rain we've had (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!).

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Hugs,

Tracey x

I Don't Believe It!

I missed posting my hAnglar card on Lovely hAnglar Only by 10 minutes!  I thought I had until 6 o'clock but I forgot that they are an hour ahead of us!  Drat and double drat!

Pink and Chocolate

For the first of two cards this afternoon I've got a little hAnglar ladybug painted with distress inks and Twinkling H2Os.  I used the sketch from this week's Papertake Weekly Challenge and combined it with the latest Cupcake challenge, which is Pink and Brown.

I gave her a good sprinkling of Glamour Dust over her wings although she perhaps looks a little too shiny now due to my (lack of ) photography skills!

All of the other items, apart from the organza ribbon, are Doodlebug; the gems are in fact dark pink, pale ping and brown but they don't really show up in the photo. 

See you soon with a little hAnglar & stAnglar creation.

Tracey x

Gold Tones for Tilda and Bev's Million Hits Candy!

Have you had this dilemma?  You buy a paper you absolutely adore.  You can't wait to use it.  Then you cut into it and start to worry that you might not be able to get any more!  Or is it just me?  I'm afraid I'm the sort of person who gets a kick from just looking at my DP stash ... it's a shame, isn't it, poor old soul!

Well I have had one of those moments.  I love, love, love Melissa Frances papers but can't get them from that many places.  My last lots were from the Craftz Boutique (highly recommended, fast delivery, beautifullly wrapped in lovely leopard print tissue paper!) and I want to use them but dread not being able to replace them.  I knew when I saw the latest challenge at Stamp Something that I had to use this lovely MF gold-toned paper, particularly as I still have a couple of gorgeous deep gold open roses from Wild Orchid Crafts which match perfectly.  If only I didn't feel so sad about using up my favourite stuff!

So, the Stamp Something challenge is Autumn colours and as a change from the usual orange and brown I went for this lovely gold.  I used the sketch from Sketch Saturday and inked up a sitting Tilda, which I painted with distress inks. The card base and matting is Bazzill and the contrast paper is Sassafrass Lass.  I added gold stickles to Tilda's bow and to the left hand border.  I stamped a Magnolia tag onto watercolour card distressed with Antique Linen and added Doodlebug rub ons for the wee message.  Finally, the lace, flowers and pearls are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Stamp Something - Autumn Colours
Sketch Saturday
Stampin' for the Weekend - Tag

Now on to Bev's candy.  The lovely Bev from All the Things I Love has had over a million hits on her blog!!!  And quite right too - I read her blog every day and there is always something new to admire there.  Anyway, Bev is giving away loads of candy to celebrate her success - just look at what's on offer!

And there's more!  So hop over to All the Things I Love  - good luck!

Hugs,

Tracey x

Back again with a Tilda Card

I've been very lucky this weekend to have had some time to make a couple of cards.  This one follows a fab sketch by the oh so clever Dawny P for the Just Magnolia blog.  I think I'll also enter it into the Oldie but A Goodie challenge, which is Pink and Girlie.

I used Bazzill for my base card and Prima double sided paper for the main panels and Nellie die cut.  This is such pretty paper - I'm not sure that my photography skills do it justice, though.

The sentiment is from Craftwork Cards - my goodness, these are useful - and the flowers are, of course, from Wild Orchid Crafts.  This ribbon is by American Crafts and the wee heart buttons are Doodlebug - they're my last pale pink ones so I must try to find some more from somewhere.

I coloured Tilda with Copics and I must say that I agree with Bev over at All the Things I Love - I can't find a pink Copic that I like ... they seem so harsh.  Anyway, after several attempts, I opted for this one although I would have prefered a softer colour.  I added quite a lot of Glamour Dust to Tilda's bow and her top and popped the image onto the die cut, which was then mounted on sticky pads.

And there we have it.  I've done my school work, done the ironing, been for a lovely walk in Kirroughtree Forest with my beautiful boy (gorgeous weather here today!), watched a bit of the Grand Prix with the boy, put some lovely local beef in the oven and am now going to make up some potted shrimps to put in the fridge.  I sometimes wonder how I find the time to go to work ... I'm cream-crackered now though!  At least now that the nights are drawing in a bit it means that the sun is over the yard-arm a little earlier and I can feel a wee glass of red calling me!

Enjoy your evening and have a great week, whatever you are planning to do!

Big hugs,

Tracey x

An Untraditional Christmas!

The challenge at Lili of the Valley this week is to make a Christmas card using "alternative" colours.  At first I thought of yellow, but then I remembered a black and white card that I made years ago and how much I had enjoyed putting it together.

I had just the image in mind for a black and white colour scheme, bearing in mind that I'm not great with distress inks.  If you want to see black and white images beautifully painted, just hop over to Jane's Lovely Cards.  Jane Johnson is a very gifted crafter whose blog never fails to inspire me and she is second to none when it comes to painting in black and white using distress inks.

Anyway, here's the old card.

I made an easel card (again) and used black Bazzill for the base, the Nestie die cuts and for the white mat.  The papers are Doodlebug, the sentiment is from Craftwork Cards and the self-adhesive pearls, chandelier and white flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts.  The flowers were part of a spray which I cut up so that I could use the blooms individually.

I tried taking a picture from another angle ...

The image is one of the new Lili of the Valley stamps and I coloured her with Promarkers. I used a dark grey on her coat which I then shaded with a black Prisma pencil.  I used Glamour Dust for a bit of sparkle on her hat and scarf and Flowersoft Polar White mixed with some Art Glitter White Gala Glitz for the snow.  That Art Glitter stuff is quite good for bigger bits of bling when you need them but it contains some tiny wee balls that roll onto the floor if you're not really careful - watch out for the feet of your kids and your pets if they go on the floor!

 

I'm entering this card in the Lili of the Valley Challenge - Untraditional Christmas and A Spoonfull of Sugar's Anything Goes.

Hope your Sunday is going well - I'll be back in a bit with another card!

Tracey x



Bev's Weekend Candy

Bev over at All The Things I Love has another cute Tilda stamp up for grabs today!  Sponsored by Simon Says Stamp, this little cutie will be given away on Sunday, so hop on over to Bev's blog here.

Good luck!

Tracey x

Amazing Tilda Candy at Paper, Ink, Colour!

I cannot believe the Magnolia candy on offer on this lovely blog.  Do pop over here to have a look at the gorgeous stamps which are up for grabs.

Amazing or what?

Have a lovely Saturday!

Tracey x

Lace It Up - Just Magnolia Challenge

Another quick post and yet another last minute challenge entry.  I don't know where my days go at the moment and things are so busy at school that the time goes by in a blink!

This week's challenge at Just Magnolia is to use lace on your card.  I chose Tilda unwrapping her present and coloured her with Prisma pencils for a change after distressing the background with some Antique Linen ink.



All of the matting is Bazzill card and the gorgeous paper is from an old Basic Grey Christmas pad.  I used two layers of contrasting lace on the card to give it a bit of depth and mounted the Tilda image on sticky pads over the top of Magnolia's Silent Night, which I stamped in brown ink and distressed a little.

The lace, beautiful flowers and pearls (I don't know if they show up too well in this piccie) are all from the wonderful Wild Orchid Crafts.  I can't imagine making a card now without using something from WOC!

Sorry this is so quick - I need to throw something on the table for dinner now and then get on with some marking ... still, it'll soon be the weekend and hopefully it will stop raining by then!

Take care,

Tracey x

Stamp Something Digi Challenge

A very quick post this evening.  Talk about multi-tasking - posting this card which I did for the Stamp Something Challenge, marking essays, getting my son organised for bath and bed, washing up and wrapping up a present for my friend's new baby! 

Anyway, here is my card for the challenge - this week the theme was to use a digital image and I just had to make a card featuring Mo Manning's gorgeous girlie - she always reminds of little orphan Annie!

I use Bazzill for the card base, Nestie die cut and for the matting.  The glittery paper is from my stash but I am pretty sure it is by Imaginisce and called Pretty Maids in a Row.  The gingham ribbon is from my odds and ends box and the glittery dots are from a Doodlebug alphabet set.  I used a Sizzix die to cut the star from glitter card and attached the "superstar" metal embellie with a glue dot.  The embellie is years old but was from a Pebbles Inc. pack. 

I coloured Mo's image with Copics and Promarkers, using the Promarker blender pen to get some shading on the dress, which you may not quite be able to see.  I put some Glossy Accents on her shoes and covered the trim on her dress with white flock.  I think this card might be destined for my god daughter who is big into amateur dramatics!

Have a lovely evening!

Tracey x