Final Christmas cards

Hello - I hope you all had a great Christmas.  Are you all out for New Years parties or are you stopping in like me?  Well I thought I wouold post a couple of piccies of the Xmas cards I made for my mum and dad and the one I made for my husband.  Also there's one of Steve's birthday card too as it is on the 23rd of December - My dad's b'day was on Christmas eve but I forgot to take photos of the cards I made for him so will have to do that when I am next visiting.
So, here are the Christmas cards;

This is Steve's Christmas card - a house mouse stamp from Joanna Sheen and papers and hearts printed and cut on my Cricut.  The ribbon is an East of India ribbon from Polka Doodles - they are just yummy.

 This card was my folks Xmas card.  Another House mouse image with flowers and lace from Wild Orchid Crafts .  The sentiment is a Whimsy sentiment.  I was quite pleased with this card and my mum loved it.

 This card was Steve's birthday card.  Yet another House Mouse image.  Thsi one is called 'Dip' and I think it has to be my favourite.  The papers are from a Nit Wit collection which I have distress inked around the edges and stitched too.  The buttons are from Bo Bunny.  I finished it off with a faux ribbon and some string.  I thought this card was cute but I didn't want it to be too girly.  Steve liked it so I think I got it right for him ;o)

Well I hope you like these cards.  What has everyone got planned for the New Year?  Anything exciting?  As I mentioned I have something in the pipeline and I shall reveal all as soon as I can.
Take care all
xxx

Cricut magazine

Hi everyone - well first of all Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year.  I hope you are all coping with the snow if you have it - I am hoping to get out tomorrow to do the last of my food shopping but with another few inches forecast for tonight I am not over confident.  Anyway I hope you all have a great time over the festive season.
Now, I don't know if you have heard but there is a new Cricut magazine out which is a bi-monthly and covers all the machines from the baby bug to the cake and the Imagine.  It's full of inspiration and ideas and looks like a nice publication.  I am hoping to sell this magazine in the New Year but am wondering how much interets I am going to get.  So pass this on and get people who are interested to follow my blog and leave a comment after this post.  I am hoping to get some more followers next year and am going to post more often and probably have a few blog candys if I can get the interets.  I also have a new venture in the pipeline for the new year and am hoping people will be interetsed in that too - so watch this space. 
So, don't forget to pass this on if anyone you know is a Cricut fan as I would like a guideline so I know how many magazines to order as a starter.
Take care everyone and enjoy Christmas but keep warm
xxx

DT Call

Hi everyone - there's a new blog up and coming and they are looking for DT members so go to Craftuscrazy 's blog or click on the little button on my side bar and give it a go.  Will be back soon with some cards - glad to be able to make anything other than Christmas cards now LOL
Take care all
Sam
xxx

Squiggles DT Call

Well Hello again.  Haven't been here for a little while as I have felt really rotten and have desperately been trying to do Christmas cards and birthday cards for this month.  Anyway this is a message about the DT call for guest designers for Squiggles stamps blog .  I thought I would enter the following cards as I absolutely love squiggles and it would be a dream come true to be a designer for them!  So although you've seen them before here they are together for the Squigglees folks to have a look at.  If I have the time I might make some more but the way things are I shall soon meet myself coming back LOL. 

I have quite a few more squiggles stamps but they want to see Christmas images this time so I hope these are ok!
Well Here's praying and keeping all digits firmly crossed that the Squiggles team like my cards! 
I will be back very soon with a few House mouse images and also some fab new Polka Doodles images too
Take care all
xxx

Cricut expression

Hello everyone - just a quickie - I have a Cricut Expression machine that has never been used with it's box (obviously) and 3 replacement mats and possibly a home decor cartridge.  There also 10 of the pens you can use to draw with rather than cut.  If anyone is interested or knows anyone who is interested please leave a comment and I will get in touch.  Costwise it will be much cheaper than the £300 plus pounds that this machine usually sells for.
Hope you are all ok - I am drowning in a sea of paper and card as I try to replenish my Christmas card stocks for the sale I am supposed to be doing the first weekend in December LOL.
Take care all
Sam xxx

Final card of the day!

This is the last one I promise LOL.  This time it is a Personal Impressions stamp designed by Lindsay Mason;

 Bo Bunny Midnight Frost papers again but I do so love them so forgive me.  The Let It Snow is a sticky chipboard from the same range.  I love this little teddy giving the snowman a hug LOL  Makes me cold just thinking about it!! 

Anyway I shall be off now as I really need to make more cards but I promise I won't post them all on here and bore you all half to death LOL.
Hopefully I'll be able to post some of the cards I've been making for the Hunkydory design team soon so you can all let me know what you think.

Also I have some questions about my Cricut Imagine - namely how the heck do I actually print out 12" x 12" papers on it???  If anyone knows I'd be really grateful as the person I spoke to on the Cricut helpline didn't speak great English and couldn't understand what I was asking!
So until next time, take care
xxx

Squiggles challenge

Well here we go with more Christmas cards!  This time I am going to enter the Squiggles Monthly challenge blog , which this month is squiggles and sparkles.  So here is my entry;

This is the Polar Love image which is so cute.  It needs practically no colouring just a little shading around the edge with a pro marker.  The papers are again Bo Bunny Midnight Frost - I will be really sad when these have all gone LOL.  It doesn't look very sparkly but the 'Brrr' is really sparkly in real life - the photo doesn't do it justice.  My husband loved this card as he loves polar bears!

I have used this image in another 'blue' card so I'll share that here too;

 Another Bo bunny midnight frost card LOL.  I think this image is one of my favourites too.  Not so sparkly this card but I like the little blue pearls in the corner.  The dark blue satin ribbon finishes the whole thing off.

Well I hope this is liked too - I have one more card to post and then I will leave you all alone LOL.
Oh and if Squiggles are ever looking for design team members please consider me as I just love Squiggles stamps ;o)
xxx

Next installment ;o)

Right here we go again;

 Both of the following cards are made using Squiggles Stamps .  They are both Miss evie stamps.  Again I have used papers from my stash.

 The images have been coloured with pro markers and copics - I have stuck to traditional green and red for these.  Also used Spellbinders nesties for matting and layering.

 The papers for this second card are from Basic Grey's Jovial range - which I have to say are really lovely. 

Finally I have used a thick satin ribbon and a Whimsy ticket sentiment to finish the card off.  My husband thinks I am developing my own style so me thinks I am going to have to be careful as I don't want to just keep making the same card over and over again!



I still have more to post but will continue in another blog post as I don't want these to get too long
xxx

More Christmas cards

Well I have made some more cards but need to make a load more - I am meant to be doing a craft sale on the 4th December but my mother has somehow managed to sell most of the cards I have made already!!  Shouldn't complain but I really have to make lots and lots this week LOL.
Anyway I thought I would post piccies of a few of my favourites - mifght even enter a challenge or two if I can find ones that match.
So here we go;

 This is a lovely Lili of the Valley image - just love the cute little dog.  I coloured her with pro markers and copics used a spellbinder shape to mat the image onto.  The flowers areWild Orchid crafts ones - as if there could be any other !!  The leaves are from a punch.

 I'm not totally sure which papers I used - just some I had in my statsh.  It is actually an easel card - not sure if my crummy photography show that up.

Finally the sentiment is a ticket sentiment from Whimsy stamps, blended over with some distress inks so it matches the rest of the card.










Right I'll post some more in a separate blog post as there might be one for a challenge in there - see you in a minute
xxx

Well I never and a new card!

Well - I have been chosen to be a member of the new design team for Hunkydory Crafts !  I am really chuffed.  Just hope I can live up to expectations.  Now the ambition is to also become a member of a design team that uses stamps and I will be the happiest person going ;o)
I will post some of my efforts on here as soon as I am able/allowed to.
Also it is my nieces 13th birthday this month and I made her card after much deliberation as teenagers are sooo difficult to cater for.  Anyway I hope she likes it - what do you think?

 This is Miss Evie Patches from Squiggle stamps - she is pretty cute.  I coloured her with Copics and pro markers.  She has bright orange hair as my niece has really bright auburn/red hair.
The sentiment is a Lili of the Valley stamp and the papers are Basic Grey Olivia. 
The flowers are some Prima ones that I have had for ages.

All in all I'm pretty pleased with this card - I just hope that Amie likes it too.

Anyway I have lots to do as I have some cards to make for Hunkydory and I am a bit nervous about it - hope I don't have a complete creative block now LOL
speak to you all soon
xxx

Lily of the Valley Christmas

While at the NEC I bought several new stamps a few of which are from Lily of the Valley -  a brand I haven't used before but I have no idea why not as they are just gorgeous!  So here is a cute teddy carrying all his Christams goodies;

 This is another card using the Bo Bunny papers from the Midnight Frost selection of papers along with some Kraft card from my stash.

The bear is coloured with pro markers and the beautiful flowers are from WOC as per usual.  Just love these dark coloured flowers - so rich and luxurious. 
The colours aren't great in the pictures (I am not a great photographer) they look so much brighter in 'real life'.
Anyway I hope you have enjoyed the latest offerings and I am now off to make birthday cards for my niece who is thirteen (going on eighteen) in a couple of weeks.  I'll post piccies when I'm done!
Take care all
xxx

More Xmas cards

Well back again with more Miss Evie but completely different colour scheme this time.  So here we go;

I love these papers too - they are the Midnight frost selection from Bo Bunny.  It came with some lovely brads which I used here and also some really lovely self-adhesive chipboard pieces one of which I used on this card to support the easel. 






 Miss Evie in these images was coloured with pro markers and I am loving the blue theme here. 
I love traditional reds a greens but it is nice to use different things and I adore these papers and wanted to make sure I used them rather than letting them sit in my stash like I usually do ;o)

 Again a variation on a theme with these two cards but I am liking them and kind of hope no one buys them so I can send them to some of my friends LOL.












Anyway I have just one more card to share with you this time but I will pop it in the next blog post to stop this one from trailing on and on LOL
Back soon
xxx

Christmas cards!

Well I have been making a few Christmas cards although not as many as I should have! Anyway I thought I would post a couple here to see what you think.  I am mad at the moment on Squiggles stamps and I have used Miss Evie heartwarming and Miss Evie Winter lots ( they were ones I got free thanks to winning the blog challenge last month) So I have done a variation on a theme a couple of times - which I tend to do if I am loving an image and the cards I have made with it. So here we go;

These two cards were made with some papers that I got free with one of the magazines - green and pink - a little different for Xmas but I think these look quite sweet.

 I used copics to colour Miss Evie and on this one used poinsettias from Wild Orchid Crafts and just tinted them with an inkpad so they would blend.  The crystal stem is alos from WOC. 

This is a similar card but using paper roses from WOC .  I was a bit dubious about these colours but was generally pleased with the way they turned out in the end.
I'll post the next piccies in a different blog post or this one will stretch on forever LOL.
Back in a minute
xxx

Cricut Gypsy

This is a real quickie as I am worn out from going around the NEC yesterday (bought lots of goodies to play with though so no excuse not to post some pretty cards really soon).  Anyway I found out yesterday that if you update your Gypsy and switch to Cricut sync rather than Gypsy sync ( people who own the Gypsy will understand this) you get five free cartridges uploaded to your Gypsy!!!  I was dead chuffed - you get Blackletter, Indie art, Smiley cards, printing press and tags, bags, boxes and more.
So pass it on if you know anyone with a gypsy just in case they don't know - I only found out coz I was on an American blog that was talking about it so there we go.  I am probably the only one who didn't know this but just in case I thought I'd mention it!

speak soon
xxx

Blog Award

Well I have been awarded this nifty blog award by my friend Frea.

I can now pass this on to five friends as long as I state three things that make me different so here goes;
1)I love crafting but on top of this I am about to embark on my dissertation year to gain my Masters in Classical Studies
2) Although I am disabled physically I like to think that I don't let it get me down and I still have lots of things I want to do with my life
3)An d the third thing is difficult to think of but I suppose it would be that I try to see the good in everyone but I know that all crafters are the nicest people and I am glad to follow so many talented people on their blogs

So now to pass it on.  I choose Jacquyi (AKA Cats whiskers ) who has inspired me no end and was lovely when I met her at the NEC today.  Secondly there is Lou, also a great source of inspiration.  Third comes Fleur who makes wicked cards along with Jennifer from the Squiggles DT and finally Leonie who is so funny on the tv and good fun to watch.
Finally here is the link that you need to post when you claim your award;
http://digiswithattitudechallenges.blogspot.com/
Thanks again Frea
xxx

Dead chuffed

Well despite still feeling pretty crummy this has been a pretty good week.  Firstly I won the October challenge at Squiggle with this card here -

and secondly my wonderful husband Steve, has bought me a Cricut Imagine which came yesterday!  I have set it up and managed to find a couple of pieces of 12 x12 white paper (while I wait for the rest to be delivered) to calibrate it and have a little play with.

  I have to say it is a pretty cool piece of equipment and I am hoping I can combine it with my love of stamping.

This is an image from the Imagine More cartridge which the machine printed and then cut out!  I have to say there are some really cute images on the cartridges - can't wait to get more LOL.











So a good week - oh and on Friday I am heading to the craft show at the NEC in Birmingham with my mum so that should be a good day out - and brilliant husband again is giving me a bit of spending money so more treats are on the way ;o)
.

 Finally I have made an alternative Christmas card with Crafter's Companion SWALK image

 and have added Cosmic Shimmer twinkles to make it look like she is in the snow rather than the rain.

The papers are from the SWALK CD number one and I am loving the pale blue and cream as an alternative to more traditional colours.  The flowers are from Wild Orchid crafts and I am on my way to their site now to look at the fantastic new hellebores (Christmas roses) that they now have in stock.
Well that's all for now - might get another post in before the day out on Friday as I have lots of cards to make for Xmas and for challenges too!
xxx

More yummy candy

Another quickie although I will post some cards soon - honest!  Anyway onto the blog candy. Cats Whiskers AKA Jacqui is celebrating a quarter of a million hits and so is giving away some great candy - pop on over and add you link for a chance to win.
That's all for now but I will be back soon
xxx

Stacy's blog candy

Hello everyone - this is just a quickie to pass on a message about Stacy's brilliant blog candy.  It is a whole host of Tim Holtz goodies so get over there - you have until the 31st of October to enter so give it a go!
Speak soon
xx

Final one for today

Well I'm here again for the last offering for today!  This card is for the Squiggles stamps challenge which had the theme of Autumn this month.  It is also for the Basic Grey Challenge which also has Autumn as it's theme this month. So here it is;

 This card uses the Autumn Girl stamp from Squiggles Stamps which is a really cute image.  I stamped her onto watercolour card and coloured her with Big 'n Juicy inks Foliage and Spice.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts.

 The papers are from Basic Grey's Pyrus range which I think are really autumnal.  They go really well with the Kraft crad that I have used as a base.

The leaves are stamped out onto a piece of card that I coloured with Big 'n Juicy Foliage with some cut 'n Dry foam.  I then cut them out and shaped them before arranging them on the card - I wanted to give the viewer the memories of kicking through the Autumn leaves as a child.
I'm not sure you can see very well in the photos but on the easel bar there is also a alittle row of trees which I made from shrink plastic and the Magnolia large tree row stamp.



Well I hope you like this card too - I just love Autumn colours - I think it is my favourite time of year! 
Anyway I will see you soon hopefully with my Sheena inspired cards
xxx

Crafters Companion challenge

Back so soon!  This time I have a couple of cards to share which are for the Crafter's Companion Monthly challenge blog . They are based on a sketch designed by one of the design team.  I have done two which are variations on a theme as I couldn't make up my mind which Beatrix Potter Winter's tale stamp image I wanted to use !  So here they are;

Both images are stamped onto water colour card with Faded jeans distress ink and then watered in with a brush.  The flowers in the lower image are Prima flowers and the blooms in the top image along with the lace are from Wild Orchid Crafts .  The papers are from the Crafter's Companion CD Rom Beatrix Potter's A Winters Tale.  I just love these images and the lovely colours of all the papers on the CD - the only trouvle is there are so many to choose from.  I also love being able to print off a matching insert which finishes the cards off brilliantly.
Hope you enjoy these two cards
xxx