Lili of the Valley Challenge # 117 - BINGO!

Good afternoon everyone, hope you are all well on this rather windy day... at least its not raining.... at least here in Cheshire its not!  Its a lovely autumnal day here.... the sun is shining and the leaves are blowing around in the strong gusts of wind.

Well my card today is for this weeks Lili of the Valley Challenge # 117 - BINGO!!

I have chosen gems, flowers and ribbon and lace.

The card was inspired by the very talented Bev Rochester.... if you haven't visited Bev's blog please do take a look at her amazing work........ Bev has been my biggest inspiration ever since I started card making..... she is a lovely lady and produces the most amazing creations........I can always rely on Bev's work to inspire me if my mojo goes walkabout ...... which it does.... fairly regularly!!

The image is of course Lili of the Valley, coloured with Copics and Promarkers.

Paper is Kaisercraft - December 25th

Sentiment - Lili of the Valley

Roses, Poinsettia, brad and Stamens - Wild Orchid Crafts

Snowflake - Marianne Die

Ribbon and lace from my stash

As well as amazing creations Bev also has some fabulous video tutorials... I have used 2 of them on this card..... colouring blonde hair with Copics and covering poinsettia flowers with Twinklets.

I have added little dots of Liquid Pearls White Opal around the little angels to represent snow and you cant see it very clearly from the photo but there is Stickles Gold on the angels wings and around the edges.

Well I am off to peg some washing out to make the most of this lovely sunshine and breeze, enjoy the rest of your day and thank you for your visit today.

Hugs

xxx

Emma and Flowerpot

Hello everyone, hope you are all well........ hope you all managed to enjoy some of the gorgeous sunshine we have had this week .... looks like its over now though ..... its pouring down here... it was nice while it lasted and so unusual for October.  I am feeling a bit poorly today, have a cold virus and its knocked me for six.... it crept up on me very quickly ..... I was fine in the morning but as the day wore on I began to feel really achy and fluey.... sore throat, headache and runny nose...... yesterday I felt so bad I took myself off to bed for a couple of hours...... very reluctantly as it was glorious sunshine and I wanted to make the most of it but my head felt like it was going to explode.  Today I dont feel much better ..... but have to get on with it... it will go on its own ..... meantime I am dosing myself up with Day and Night Nurse capsules, just hope hubby doesnt catch it.... a man with man flu ...... groan!!!!

This is my DT card for the Sunday Sketch and Stamp Challenge #75 which is a fab sketch by Maggie. 

The gorgeous paper is from Nitwits Affection Collection 

Image is Emma with Flower Pot by Lili of the Valley, coloured with Promarkers

Sentiment is a digi download from Lili of the Valley

Raffia is from Wild Orchid Crafts

Doily die is Marianne

Leaves are Martha Stewart Punch

Crochet flower made by me! (my first attempt!)

I am entering this card for the Lili of the Valley Challenge # 114 - Button it!

Enjoy the rest of your evening and thanks for dropping by

Hugs

XXXX

Milly and her cat

Good morning everyone, hope you are all well and weren't too badly affected by the storms we have had for the past few days....... its been very blowy here but not much rain fortunately .... you watch now I said that it will pickle down for the rest of the week!

Well onto my card for today and yay its another Chrissy card... not a fan of the festive season myself but I do love making Christmas cards!  Isn't she just sooo cute .....sat waiting for Santa to fly by!  I have coloured her with Prismas and Copics with sprinklings of Glamour Dust.  Image is of course Lili of the Valley.....Papers are Dovecraft Christmas Fancy.... ribbon is from Wild Orchid.......... snowflake is a Marianne Die....... punch is Martha Stewart.

Enjoy the rest of your day and thanks for dropping by, I have more to show you so call in again soon!

Hugs

xxx

A card and a clear out!!

Hello again everyone...........hope you are all well.... I know its been a while since I last posted but had a really busy but very productive one..... not craftwise but sorting out wise!  We will possibly have to move house within the next few months.... its a long story but basically because of the injuries hubby suffered in the accident almost 3 years ago now he is struggling with the stairs and the shower, so we have to move into a bungalow.  We have lived here in this house for 42 years so you can imagine the stuff we have accumulated over those years!!  I have been putting it off for as long as I can..... but it needs to be done and once I got going I was like a woman possessed!!  Had to be really ruthless though, bags of stuff to take to the charity shop and the tip!  Its amazing what you keep and find, cards made by the girls when they were little, can't bring myself to throw them away so put them all in a little memory box.... they will have to go with us, wherever we go!  One place I am really dreading going into is the attic, OMG!! ...... I have no idea whats up there and what I will do with it!!  I dont like going up there, I have a terrible fear of spiders and I imagine them lurking in dark corners waiting to jump out at me............ ewwww..... I would have a heart attack I can tell you!  We had a nest of squirrels up there a few years ago and we had to get the pest control in to get rid of them, there was a nest of babies, I felt really bad that they had to be destroyed but we had no choice.

Anyhows, onto my card for tonight and its my 2nd Christmas card for this year I amd really behind with them, I usually try to get started them in July but with one thing an another just not had the time. The image, music and sentiment are Lili of the Valley, image coloured with Promarkers. The star border is a Marianne die which I have had for a while but could never manage to actually get the card out from the die once it had been through the bug. I tried everything, every time I ended up ripping the card into pieces, then I tried rubbing the die over with a tea light candle, then burnished with a soft cloth, viola!! success, it works, peels out no problem, so if you are having the same problem give the candle tip a try. 

Poinsettia is Wild Orchid Crafts and paper not sure, will have a look and repost when I find it!

I am off the the Creative Crafts and Stitch show at Eventcity tomorrow, lots of dosh will be spent I am sure but I am so excited, will be back tomorrow to show you my spoils!!

Thanks for your visit and enjoy the rest of your evening and if you are going to the show during the next 3 days, enjoy!! oh and if you see me there, say hello!

Hugs,

Easel Wedding Card

This is the matching box for the card

Hello everyone, hope you are all well and not missed me too much, its been a while since my last post...............just realised how long its been........... but I do have a good excuse (a few actually lol!) ... pull up a chair and grab a coffee......  well we had a wonderful break in Blackpool, lovely hotel, delicious food, fabulous entertainment and good company, what more could you ask for?  We needed that break for the challenges of the week ahead ........... Tuesday we travelled to Wrightington Hospital near Wigan........ Don had to have an injection into his shoulder ............ Wednesday and Thursday morning I spent at car dealerships trying to organise a new car...... doesnt half take some time with all the flippin paperwork!..... but worth it, I now have a lovely 1 year old Peugot 207!!  Thursday afternoon Don had an appointment at Manchester Royal Infiirmary, Friday I was working and Saturday Don had an appointment with a Neuropsychologist in Liverpool, we left at 9am and didnt get home until 5pm..... shattered!!!!  Walked through the door, Don needed the loo desperately and on his way up the stairs he tripped and fell!!  I ran upstairs fearing the worst, he was okay, said he hadn't hurt himself, just shaken up.  4.30am he woke me to say he didnt feel very well, he had pains in his chest and as he has had two heart attacks in the past and suffers with angina I phoned for an ambulance............ he was taken into hospital within minutes, Morphine, ECG's, X-Rays, Blood tests and then waiting for 5 hours in A&E for a bed.  Luckily all the tests came back negative, it wasn't a heart attack........ such a relief!   He was kept in for the day for observation and discharged at 8pm on Sunday evening...... they think it was bruising from the fall on the stairs.  So that was my week, where did it go?????  This week has been a little less hectic....... are you losing the will to live now.............?? ..... LOL, nearly finished!!!

Amongst all this mayhem I managed to make this card for my daughter for her friends wedding last Saturday...............I love this Marianne Die........... flowers are Wild Orchid, sentiments done on PC.

That's it from me for tonight, hopefully I will be back over the weekend with my DT card for Sunday Sketch and Stamp............... thanks for dropping by!

xxxx

Love is in the little things

Good afternoon everyone, hope you all had a good weekend and still enjoying some nice sunny weather.  Hubby is off to hospital very shortly for a little procedure to be done, so I thought I would post this before I take him as I could be there for hours (groan!!!) ....... but it has to be done and I think he will be glad to get it over with............ he will be sedated so shouldnt be too bad for him.

My card for today is intended as an anniversary card for my daughter and SIL and as soon as I saw this gorgeous new die from Marianne I just had to have it (as you do!!).

The flowers are Wild Orchid and the sentiments are both Lili of the Valley.

Well better dash as its almost time, thanks for looking and enjoy the rest of your day

Hugs,

Katies Book Card

Good evening everyone, hope you all enjoyed the lovely hot weather today but I have to admit it was too hotfor me, just nice now its cooled down a bit.  I know some parts of the UK didnt have any nice sunshine today, the weather map showed it 32 degrees in Kent and only 11 degrees in Lerwick!  How strange and unpredictable our weather is!! 

Well onto my card for today and its a very special card I made for Katie for her 30th birthday at the weekend.   I followed a fab tutorial here by Tina and believe me its not as complicated as it looks ...... I really enjoyed this project, if you haven't already done so, please visit Tina's blog, her work is amazing.

Tilda and butterflies coloured with Distress Inks, edges all distressed with Frayed Burlap

Stempelgede Grunge Collection around image with Versamark Vintage Sepia

Prima 'Sweet Fairy' paper pack

Martha Stewart Punch

Flowers and seam binding by Wild Orchid

Lace and ribbon from stash

Vintage Alphabet by Tim Holtz

Birthday verse found on internet

Apologies for the hundreds of photos but I wanted to capture every angle of the card so you can see it from all sides.

Thats it for me for today, I am off to walk the dog before it chucks it down!!  Thanks for dropping by, enjoy the rest of your evening.

A card for Nana Nell

 

Flowers close up

 

Good afternoon my lovelies, hope you are all well and enjoyed the sunny weekend.  We had a lovely day yesterday with our family for Father's Day, hubby was totally spoilt as he deserves to be after all he has been through. The weather here in Cheshire today is glorious sunshine, hope it stays awhile, it was good to get out in the garden this morning to mow the lawn and wash the patio furniture, those birdies don't half leave a mess!

Onto my card today and its a commissioned card for an 85 year old lady, when I was asked to make this card I immediately thought 'vintage' and 'shabby chic' and knew exactly how I wanted the card to look, I have to say its not far off how I envisaged it to be, in fact I am quite pleased with the end result.  Tricky bit was taking photos of it, I really struggle to take photos of easel cards, does anyone else have this problem?  I really need to invest in a decent camera too, I always think my photos look a little 'hazy' and not as clear as I would like them to be, so apologies for the poor quality.

The gorgeous image is from Tina's Kreative Blog - Tina has some of the best vintage images I have ever seen, do have a look at Tina's blog if you get the chance.  If you like Shabby Chic, loads of inspiration there.

The papers are from Raspberry Road - Shabby Chic 1 and 2

The tag is Marianne die LR0154

Flowers, pearls and Filigree corner are Wild Orchid

Martha Stewart Butterfly punch

Seam binding by The Ribbon Girl

Alphabet letters - Tim Holtz Vintage Market

Sentiment - A Day to Remember (Whiff of Joy - I think!)

Lace and net from stash

Hope Nana Nell likes her card as much as I enjoyed making it.

Thats it from me for today, I have another creation to share with you very soon!  Thanks for dropping by today and enjoy the rest of the evening.

 

It's Summer!!

What a horrible, wet and miserable day!  Who would think it was June......... and to top it all its cold as well, I have had to put my heating on today... I was frozen!  My daughters have gone to Manchester today to the 'Take That' gig!!  They will be soaked wet through, its an open air concert!!  Rather them than me, I will wait until its televised and watch it in comfort!!

My card today is my DT contribution for this weeks challenge over at Sunday Sketch and Stamp which is a fab sketch by Lisa.  The gorgeous image is Sugar Nellie 'Summer' from Funky Kits.  She is coloured with Promarkers, I just adore these images, they are a breeze to colour.  Don't know if you can see very clearly on this photo but I followed a fab sky tutorial by Bev Rochester here using Distress Inks.  Its my first attempt with this technique and definately something I would try again.

Papers - Sparkling Spring by Prima.

Roses -Wild Orchid Crafts

Sentiment - Lili of the Valley

Seam Binding is Pink Tulip - The Ribbon Girl

Bakers Twine - The Ribbon Girl

Charm and Gypsophilia from stash  

I am entering this card into the Addicted to Stamping Challenge, the theme this week is 'Summertime'

Enjoy the rest of your evening and lets hope the weather improves for the coming week.  Thanks for taking the time to drop by!

Hugs,

 xxxxxx

Sugar Bowl Challenge #61

Close up of gorgeous Wild Orchid Crafts - Poppies

Good afternoon everyone, hope are all well and had an enjoyable weekend.  Its a pity the hot weather didn't stay around for very long but the gardens are in need of some drenching, in an ideal world it would rain all night and sunshine all day, but we don't live in an ideal world......... ahh well!

My card for today is one of the gorgeous Sugar Nellie digi's from Funky Kits and this cute little miss is Sybil.  Isnt she just adorable?  love those curls and the dolly shoes!!  She is coloured with Copics and Promarkers, I only have a few Copics, I would love more, I much prefer them to Promarkers but they are a bit pricier so I buy one now and again when I am feeling indulgent!

The paper is Classic K McKenna Pink Swirls, the scalloped one I have no idea, it was in my stash, but it just matched perfectly. 

The flowers are Poppies from Wild Orchid Crafts as is the seam binding, Light Beige

Sentiment is Hero Arts - Sparkle Clear Tickets

I am entering this card into the Sugar Bowl Challenge #61, a fab sketch by Kiki with the optional theme of Love/Weddings.

Well thats it for me for today, thank you so much for your visit and enjoy the rest of your day!

Hugs

Barbara

xxx

Magnolia & Hanglar + Sketchy Colours Challenges

Good evening folks, hope you are all well and enjoying the same lovely weather we have had in Cheshire today.  This card I really enjoyed creating, its for the Magnolia and Hanglar Challenge number 95, which is a fab sketch by Mina.  Unfortunately I dont possess any of these gorgeous and much sought after stamps, this one I received through a stamp swap. 

The lovely papers are K&Co Classic McKenna, image I coloured with Promarkers and Prisma pencils.  When I first started stamping I used just Prismas, then moved on to Promarkers and Copics, now I seem to have reverted back to my Prismas, even better I have discovered they work beautifully together, especially using a dark Prisma pencil for shadows.

The flowers are all Wild Orchid Crafts, the smaller roses I sprayed with Old Lace Glimmer Mist and added lots of sparkle with Stickles 'Tiara'.  The lace is from my stash, the ribbon is seam binding Siam Pink, again from Wild Orchid. The sentiment is a digital download from Cuddly Buddly ~ Bits of Ivory Garden Vignettes.

I am also entering this card into Sketchy Colours Challenge # 60 ~ Pink & Biege. 

Thanks for dropping by, hope to see you again real soon!! 

Lili of the Valley Challenge 85 ~ Circles

Good evening everyone, hope you all had a good weekend, Monday soon comes around, where does the time go, I think it's true what they say, the older you get, the faster the time goes!

This is my entry for the Lili of The Valley Challenge 85 ~ Circles.  Its my sister and BIL anniversary in a couple of weeks so this is ideal for the occasion.  The image I coloured with Promarkers, the paper is 'K&Co Classic K McKenna', the Circular shape is Marianne LR0112 and the flower I made using the new Marianne flower die LR0145 and the little rose is Wild Orchid Crafts.

Quick post from me tonight, loads to do and Corrie is on the box!!

Thanks for looking, enjoy the rest of your evening.

Twisted Easel Wedding Card

Front view with card closed

Hello again everyone, what a beautiful day it is here in Cheshire, the sun is shining, the birds are twitterpating and the spring bulbs are poking their little heads through. Yesterday was a washout, a wet and miserable day, I think the whole of the UK was the same so it's nice to see some sunshine today, makes you feel so much better and looking forward to Spring and what follows Spring........... Summer!! Yay!!

Well today's card is a twisted easel, been itching to have a bash at one of these for ages and as its almost Spring/Summer weddings come to mind.

There are lots of tutorials out there for this shape of card but the very talented Bev has an excellent one on her blog right now if you want to give it a whirl!

• Image is LOTV, coloured with Promarkers, with lashings of Stickles Star Dust and Platinum for a bit of bling.

• The paper is Papermania Confetti

• The sentiment is Katie & Co ~ Happily Ever After.

• Flowers are Wild Orchid Crafts.

• Lace border is Martha Stewart.

• Ribbon is Siam Pink Seam Binding from Wild Orchid Crafts

That's all from me today, so enjoy the rest of your day and thanks for dropping by.

Barbara xx

LOTV Candle Girl

Another christmas card made - whoopee!  Set a goal to make at least 2 christmas cards a day so when it comes to December I won't be in panic mode as I usally am!

This cute image is Lili if the Valley ( I really love LOTV stamps, can you tell!) and she is called Candle Girl.  She looks so cosy and warm all wrapped up in her lovely red outfit.  I imagined the lovely red coat and hat she is wearing is made from sumptuous red velvet so I added the red velvet ribbon to reflect this. 

She is coloured with Promarkers with lots of Star Dust stickles, the paper is Cosmo Cricket Festivities Mitten Weather, the edges have been coloured using Fired Brick Distress Ink again glittered with Star Dust.  The flowers are Wild Orchid sprayed with Glimmer Mist Pearl with a hint of Star Dust Stickles.

Enjoy the rest of the bank holiday Monday at least the sun is shining here, hope it is wherever you are, thanks for looking!