It's Candy Time!

This is a "sticky" post for my blog candy.  Please scroll down for latest posts.

Hello! The Boy Wonder and I are back from our holiday in sunny Barcelona. We had a fabulous time - there was so much to do! We didn't see everything that we had planned, but that gives us new things to do should we go back again!

It was my blogaversary recently so I thought it only right and proper to have a bit of a giveaway to say thank you to my lovely followers and friends.  I've been collecting stuff for a while so here's a little peek at what's in the box!

A bit of a dodgy photo,  I know, so I've listed the contents below:

25 assorted Promarkers

3 6x6" paper pads:  Scrapcake - My Private Happiness

                          Cosmo Cricket - Twenty-three

           Prima - Meadowlark

1 Memory Box metal die - Jasmine Frame

3 Magnolia stamps - 2 x Tildas, 1 x background stamp

1 Nellie Snellen stamp - Yippee Yeah

2 Cosmic Shimmer sprays (blue and orange)

assorted flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts

some lace, charms and pins

I've also included some mounted but unused (hangs head in shame) Lili of the Valley Baking Mice stamps - they may as well go to a good home!

To enter, just leave a comment and I'll ask the Boy Wonder to pick a name out of the hat at the end of the month.  Could I just add that this candy is for my current followers - please don't follow me just because I have candy on offer as, quite frankly, it just isn't fair. 

I've been catching up with my DT cards but hope to have something new to post tomorrow!

Hugs

Tracey xx

Get Well Soon Mum!

Just a quick post from me today.  My mum has just come out of hospital and is feeling a bit under the weather, so I've made a Get Well card to cheer her up.

I used this sketch from the current challenge at Die-ing for a Challenge:

I kept everything fairly simple and used just one DP from the Basic Grey Plumeria pad. The image is one of the older Lili of the Valley stamps and she's been coloured with Copics. I added liquid pearls and some Stickles for a bit of sparkle.  The sentiment is also a Lili of the Valley stamp and the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

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

Die-ing for a Challenge - Sketch

Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

I really should be weeding in the garden while it's dry, but I can't tear myself away from the Olympics! I've really enjoyed the swimming and the gymnastics - didn't the GB boys do well yesterday? And now we've got a horsey Silver Medal too!

Whatever you're doing, have a great day.

Hugs,

Tracey x

Under the Sea

I haven't used these hAnglar stamps for quite a long time, so I thought I'd wheel them out in time for the Cupcake "Ocean" challenge which closes later today.

I used MME Fine and Dandy Boy papers and cut the waves border with a Memory Box die.  The seaweed was cut with Sizzix and Doohickey dies from white card which  I coloured with Copics. The fish, banner and sentiment are also hAnglar stamps.

The Boy Wonder and I had a great day out yesterday (if a tad wet!) with some of the Sweeties.  We went over to Edinburgh and had a day out at the zoo with Abi, Fi,  Susan and our kids.  It poured with rain off and on all day but it was so good to meet everyone at last and the kids all got on so well. 

Oh, and while I'm here, I should also let you know that it's Christmas in July over at Sweet Stampin' this week. Let's see those Christmas cards, folks! The Sweeties have made some beautiful cards to get you in the Christmas mood, so do hop over and take a look.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Tracey xx

How Jammy!

I love this new Tilda stamp! I bought some of the latest collection just before I went on holiday and I think this is my favourite.  She has the added bonus of being perfect for friends and family members who are keen cooks!

Once again, Martha Stewart helped me to make a border for my card! And - gasp!- I cut into another piece of my beloved Girls Paperie paper.  I added some ribbon from my stash plus a selection of roses and a heart-shaped doily courtesy of Wild Orchid Crafts. 

Tilda has been coloured with Copics and I put some Glossy Accents on the jam jar, which you might just be able to see.  I'm very pleased with my recent purchase of the little chipboard corner embellies.  I painted them with Picket Fence Crackle Paint and quite like the way they turned out.

Finally I used an older Magnolia stamp to print the jam label. I coloured the little strawberries with Copics and again put some Glossy Accents on to make them stand out.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Bizzy Becs Challenges - Flower Power
Magnolia Stamp Lovers - Sugar (Tilda Only)
Magnolia Down Under - Fun with Doilies
Tilda's Town - Anything Goes

Have a great day!

Hugs

Tracey xx

Fairy Cute!

I am so fed up with this awful weather.  Yes, I know it's apparently lovely, sunny and warm in the rest of the UK, but here in SW Scotland it's so dark I've got the light on!  It's cold and blowing a gale and apparently it's going to rain non-stop until tomorrow night.   Mr Weather Man told us last week that the north of Scotland would get some much needed rain and that the weather front would move up and away, giving us more seasonal weather.  Well, let me tell you, it hasn't moved far enough and I want my money back! 


Rant over... I feel better for that!

It's taken me a while to ink up this Magnolia cutie, but I'm so glad I did! She's a joy to colour.  I've enjoyed colouring with my Copics again after concentrating on the Distress Markers (still love these too!) and I spent quite a long time colouring her dress to get the shading right.

I got the Martha Stewart PATPs out again to make a fancy border for my card.  The papers are both by Magnolia and I used some of my larger WOC flowers which I've been hoarding for ages. I gave Tilda's wings some sparkle with Glamour Dust and added a few dots of white Liquid Pearls to the image rather than go mad with the bling!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Cute Card Thursday - Fairy Nice
Deep Ocean Challenges - Fantasy World


Have a lovely day and send us some sunshine if you can!

Hugs

Tracey x

Pretty Doilies

It's time for a new challenge at Lovely hAnglar and Sweet Magnolias and this fortnight it's the turn of Team A to provide some challenge inspiration.  Our new theme is Doilies, so we'd like to see these on your creations; they can be die-cut or ready made, in any shape and size.

I love using doilies as they are so pretty and are great for adding an extra layer without any bulk, so here is what I did with mine...

I went to town with the doilies and used a 5" square bought doily (got a pack on Ebay and they are gorgeous) together with a handmade doily using a Martha Stewart Deep Edge PATP punch.  The papers are Basic Grey Piccadilly; I love the zingy green in this paper! I teamed this with some red ribbon from my stash and some roses from Wild Orchid Crafts.

My little hAnglar girl is one of my favourite images to colour.  She's quite big compared to other hAnglar stamps so you can go mad with bold colours. I used my Copics and will admit to being rather pleased with this colour combo, which is a bit different for me.

Our sponsor at Lovely hAnglar and Sweet Magnolias for this challenge is Creative Treasures who are giving away a surprise package to one lucky winner chosen at random from our entries this fortnight.

I’m Tracy and the owner of Creative Treasures, we are a family run business with a love of all things craft related. We stock a great range of mulberry flowers, pretty ribbons, seam binding, lace, crystal drops, charms and lots of pretty embellishments. We are always adding new stock. Our aim is to provide fantastic customer service and great value for money.

 

 

 

I do hope you can join in with us at Lovely hAnglar and Sweet Magnolias - remember, you can use hAnglar & StAnglar and Magnolia stamps now!  Why not grab a cup of coffee and take a look at what my Teamies have made to inspire you?

I'd like to enter my card in the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly - All Things Girlie

Stampin' for the Weekend - Photo Inspiration

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Hugs

Tracey x

Let's Go Mono!

Good morning! It's new challenge day over at Sweet Stampin' and our theme this week is Monochrome.  We're talking shades and tones of one colour or just black and white - you can use skin and hair colours on your image if you like, but the overall look of your card should be one colour only.

Here's my version:

I opted for shades of brown which may seem a bit unseasonal, but if you were to look outside my window...

Anyhoo, I used the yummy vintage/shabby papers from a Maja Designs paper pad and added quite a few die cuts to the design.  I used the Chloe Stem from Memory Box, Spellbinders rose die with Memory box small rolled roses in the centre, a Doohickey border and die for the leafy bit and a lace corner die by Cheery Lynn. I added some gems to the centre of the rolled roses and put a wee Martha Stewart punched butterfly in the corner of the image mat.

The sweet image is by Emerald Faeries who just happen to be our sponsor at Sweet Stampin' this week. I really enjoyed colouring this image with my Copics and I added a bit of sparkle to the mushroom and the fairy wings with some Glamour Dust.

I do hope you can join in this week. As well as our weekly prize draw we also have a monthly draw to win a £10 voucher for Joanna Sheen's online store, so it's well worth playing along!  Why not pop over to Sweet Stampin' and take a look at the gorgeous cards my Team Abi Teamies have made?

Enjoy your Saturday!

Hugs

Tracey x

We're Paper Piecing at Sweet Stampin'!

Helloooo! It's Saturday, it's the holidays (yay!) and there's a new challenge over at Sweet Stampin'!

We'd love to see your paper pieced designs this week.  Our sponsor is Bunny Zoe's Crafts who are giving away a £10 voucher and we also have our monthly prize which is kindly donated by Joanna Sheen.

The Sweeties in Team Abi have been paper-piecing away and have made the most gorgeous inspiration cards for you, so do hop over to Sweet Stampin' and take a look.

And here's one I made earlier...

I used some lovely summery MME paper (appropriately called On the Sunny Side) and kept the layout very simple as the stamped image is quite big.  The image mat is cut with an oval Nestie which (just about) goes with the Go Kreate oval I used to cut out the image.  The cute CC image is Party Lucy and she is a joy to colour with the old Copics.  I paper pieced her dress and the bow using more of the MME paper.

I didn't want to clutter up the card with embellies, so I played safe and simply added some ribbon from my stash, a MS punched butterfly and some Pebbles Inc pearls. 

I thought I'd enter this in the Papertake Weekly challenge (Anything Goes).
More cleaning for me today.  Mum and Dad are coming to house/dog sit while the Boy Wonder and I are off on holiday so I'll have to make sure that the housework is done to Mum's standard!  Let the tap polishing commence!

Hugs

Tracey xx

It's the Holidays!!!

The school holidays are here! Yay! In spite of the rain, thunder and lightning it feels fabulous to be able to have an evening of not doing school work and - even better - not feeling guilty about not doing schoolwork!

Although I love the holidays I don't normally look forward to them quite as much as I have this year.  It's been quite a difficult term for lots of different reasons and it will be very nice to go back to work in August knowing that the last few not-very-nice weeks are behind us.

I mentioned the other day that some of my colleagues are retiring; one in my department and another, very dear friend, in our Faculty and who happens to have the classroom next door to me.  I will miss her so much; she is a wonderful teacher who cares deeply about the kids.  I've been working on a wee album (a first for me) to give to her as a souvenir of our time working together but also with pages to put photos of her forthcoming adventures now that she doesn't have to spend her weekends marking folio essays!

Here's a page from the album; Susan doesn't like sport - at all - so we've been suggesting some alternative sports for her to try. 

I used Maja Designs and Magnolia papers and coloured my Tilda with Distress Markers.  The banner was made using a Doohickey die and I cut the fishtail shape with a brilliant new buy, a set of MFT dies.  They cut so cleanly, I'm very impressed. I added some Stickles to the pompoms and a corner embellie from Wild Orchid Crafts and that's it.  I thought I'd enter this in the Just Magnolia challenge (which closes shortly!) which this week is "Banners".

The Boy Wonder and I are off on holiday on Monday and we're so excited! We're going to Barcelona and have struck a deal: I will happily visit Nou Camp with TBW if he will "do the Gaudi stuff" with me! I think that's fair, don't you?  Actually TBW's in for a real treat as he did very well in his first year at high school and got the first year prize for French (would have been a bit embarrasing if he hadn't really!) and also for Drama, plus a Silver Award for the National Maths Challenge.  The lad loves his football so I'm treating him to a Barcelona footie top, although I'm told I'll pay much more for it at Nou Camp than if I buy it online.  I just think there's something about buying it for him there... and I can't wait to see the look on his cheeky face!

Will be back before we go away but sending hugs to you all! Thank you for putting up with my inconsistent blogging over the past few weeks. 

Hugs

Tracey