An English Country Wedding

As promised, photos of Jessica and Graham's wedding, which took place in the Lake district on Saturday. It was a stunning day, everything was just perfect. Here is the happy couple, don't they look wonderful?

With Madeleine, Jessica's sister who was a

bridesmaid - they wore a lovely shade of

French Navy....................

Here is my friend Anne, the mother of the bride, who looked stunning in Brown and Ivory and a fab hat......

and me in my hat........and with my friends

Graham is a Scot - so lots of young men in kilts!

Orchids hanging from organza ribbons....

and a very elegant cake.....

Part of the dining room.....

there were 2 small bridesmaids too.....

Jessica wore orchids in her hair

and just look at the view!

The place names were written on Lakeland Slate

It looks idyllic doesn't it? It was! The attention to detail was fantastic, Anne did a great job. Please leave a comment if you like the photos, I will get Anne to read them

Of course it wouldn't be complete without a story. Mike bought a new suit when we were in Florida. The store put it in a suit bag which we transferred into the suitcase unopened, then into the wardrobe when we got home. The same, well-travelled suit bag was then carted up to the Lake District.

We arrived at the church in all our finery. Mike turned around. 

Oh dear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Yep, it's the security tag that the store had forgotten to remove when we paid - the sort of tag that squirts ink all over you if you try and remove it. Heaven knows how we walked out of the store in Florida  without setting off all the security alarms. So there was nothing for it but for him to wear it. Never in his life has his rear end got so much attention, never in his life have so many people sidled up to him and whispered in his ear 'excuse me, did you know......' Never in his life has he been the butt of so much good humoured teasing - or have so many young ladies patting his butt - I think he really enjoyed it :)


Back to a crafty post tomorrow, but I hope you enjoyed this peek at my fabulous weekend

Shaped Card for Polkadoodles

Today on Polkadoodles, the challenge is to make a shaped card. I found a pack of thank you cards on sale in Big Lots for a dollar. Well, they were worth a dollar just for the lovely red square envelopes. When I opened the pack, the 'cards' were just a single sheet of white card, with the thank you sentiments printed in a circle around the edge. The center was perfectly plain.

So I cut a red card using the doily cut from Wildcard, and stamped the Polkadoodles neighbourhood house stamp onto white, cut it out with a nestability and backed that with a red nestie circle. I think the result is fun,  what do you think?

We are in the Lake District for the wedding of the year - Kate and Will, eat your hearts out! Lots of photos will be shared next week. Have a lovely weekend

Oooh, I forgot!

First of all, here are the photos of Kiki and Monty taken at Halloween - Monty looks very brassed off to be dressed up as a bumble bee...........

but Kiki loves the artistic spider Mummy painted on her witchy hand.....

I totally forgot in the whirl of packing to show you this week's Polkadoodles challenge card. Our theme was Magical and Mystical, and it was our stashbox stamp week, which means we can use other manufacturer's images, so I chose this adorable little fairy by Lili of the Valley.....

Some random thoughts about travelling, after a very gruelling marathon journey home:
Why do airline staff weigh cases then make you open your case in front of an interested audience and delve around to find shoes to transfer into the other case. After all, they are all going on the same plane, so what difference does it make?
Why do they allow giant carry on bags, then when it gets to your turn to board with your neat little carry on, announce that the lockers are full, and your bag will be put in the hold? 
Why do you then have to spend three hours of your life, that will never come again, watching an empty luggage carousel go round and round, waiting for the kidnapped bag to reappear?
If they weigh luggage, how come they don't weigh giant people as well? How is it that I always end up sitting in half a seat next to one of the giant people?


You might think from the above rant, that the journey was less than perfect. It's nice to be home! 

Just chicken in........

Here's a Penny Black card - I love this one, I was pleased with the slightly daft sentiment.... I used a chicken wire stamp for the background, and a variety of lettering

Here's a sneek peek at little snippets of two of the cards I made for Scrappy-go-Lucky's blog today, all made with the Cricut cartridge Billionaire. I wanted to show that it isn't just a (very attractive) font...hop over to see the cards and let me know what you think

As you read this, we should just be landing back in the UK, so not a lot of time to chat today. Tune in tomorrow for a longer post

Get Well Soon (and some winners)

Time to do the random thingy for this month's ProMarker winners. The lucky names that came up are:

Sandy Bayles

Poots

Judy Caruso

Congrats to you all. Please email me with your mailing details including your home telephone number (the prizes are sent direct from Letraset, and the courier needs a phone number). Also, the set you would like to receive please. We are travelling all day tomorrow, so there may be a slight delay in communication for 48 hours. Bear with me!

If you didn't win, take heart, there will be more Promarkers next month

I used a stamp from Outlines Stamps for this one. The base card is by Craftwork Cards - one of their shaped edge cards, with the front folded back


I sent Halloween cards to the grandchildren, and had a telephone conversation with Max (4) who was very impressed with the card. 'I love the card you made me Ma' he said 'Merry Christmas!' Obviously, at the tender age of four, holidays can get a bit mixed up in your little mind....


Our last day here in the USA for five months - we will not be back before April 2012. As always, my thanks to all you warm hearted and kind Americans who always make our stay here so much fun, and treat us as your own. 

Sugar Nellie Digi Girl

Here's another Sugar Nellie digi image. For the base card I used a Craftwork Cards shaped edge blank, but turned it around so that the shaped edge is on the back of the card, I then cut away a couple of inches from the front so that the shaped edge shows. See the huge scallop border? I punched some 2" circles and cut them in half, then stuck them behind the white strip......

 I just cut a narrow strip of aqua for the inside, and added some card candi

Our trip to the US is almost over - early this year, as we fly back on Monday for a wedding next weekend. So life is again filled with cleaning, packing, sorting out craft stuff, and worrying about the weight of suitcases. The trip back is going to be a challenge - funny how a terrible timetable seems okay when you are booking flights, and something to be dreaded when you are only two days away from making it. So a nine hour gap between flights looms.......

Lucky Me Anniversary Card

My friend Cheryl had this sentiment stamp, and at first I thought 'what on earth would you use that for....' then I thought it would made a really cute anniversary card for a wife to give to her poker-playing husband (there are a lot of those around here!)

I used small playing cards picked up from the dollar store, and a cute little metal playing card charm

the border punch with the card suits is by Ek success. Here is the inside of the card.........

Monty was two in June, and his language development is quite amazing. His parents were amused when he was enjoying a snack, and my son asked 'how are the crisps Monty?'. 'Nice Daddy, how's your beer?'

Paper Bow Card

Click HERE to take you to the Promarker giveaway post

I got the idea and instructions for making this paper bow from Heidi Van Laar, who is one of my favourite card designers - I am sure you have seen her published work a lot in various US magazines. 

I used the large scallop punch by EK Success to punch both the front and back of the card, then added a hatpin by Making Memories, flowers and a vintage button to the bow. The sentiment stamp is one of those anonymous ones with no makers name on it

So I was shopping for jeans for one of my sons, Mike dropped me off in front of the store and went to park the car. I found the jeans, paid, and went looking for him. I found him and a male assistant chortling merrily in one of the aisles. In the car I asked him what the joke was - apparently the assistant saw Mike wandering around looking a bit lost and asked if he could help. 'I seem to have lost my wife' replied my dearly beloved. 'Well Sir, that isn't necessarily a bad thing' replied the wit, who obviously missed his vocation as a stand up comic. Men!!!

Fantasy Fairy

SCROLL DOWN FOR THE PROMARKER GIVEAWAY

I only have a couple of these manga type fairy stamps, but every so often I enjoy getting them out and doing a spot of colouring - I think she is quite beautiful. The pearl trim was picked up as a clearance remnant from Jo-Anns, and I have found the perfect punch to back the Craftwork Cards sentiment circles that I am so fond of - it is by Fiskars and is the 1.5" scallop punch (3 1/8cms)

Promarkers used

Skin coral, sunkissed pink, blush

Hair caramel, tan, ginger, ivory

Clothes and wings lavender, lilac, ice grey 3 

I was out shopping today (there's a novelty!) and in walked the Golden Girls - well, not really, but their combined ages must have totalled at least 220 years. They had dressed for their outing - big hair, big heels, big everything really, with a lot of fake gems and animal prints. Get the picture? I was fascinated, and couldn't stop peeking at them from behind the racks of clothes. I stopped stalking them when they all pounced with squeals of glee on some nighties (do you call them that in the States?) emblazoned with rhinestones and bearing the legend 'Sassy AND Sexy'. I got too-much-information overload, and  left. Good for them though!

Promarker Giveaway

Time for another Promarker giveaway for all of my lovely followers, thanks to the generosity of Letraset. They have just brought out some exciting new sets, I have THREE of these to give away. All you have to do is go over to the Letraset blog HERE look at the post there, and come back here to tell me which of the new sets you would choose if the random thingy picks your name. There is another card over there as well, using the same image, and the same set, but a totally different look. EDITED TO SAY THAT THE LINK IS WORKING NOW, SORRY ABOUT THAT


Remember to leave enough detail on your comment for me to be able to identify you should you win - Mary from New York is more identifiable than just Mary! If you subscribe by email, click on the Going Buggy link in your email which will bring you over here, where you can leave your comment.


If you have a blog, Letraset and I would appreciate your leaving a link to the giveaway on there............

 

I will use a random number generator to pick a winner on Sunday 30th October. Any names entered before 12 noon EST (5:00PM GMT) will go into the draw.

While you are over on the Letraset blog, look out for a couple of new products that they have just bought out. One that I am excited about are the new fine tips - these just clip onto your promarker, and it turns into a fine liner pen. Genius! The other product that I am happy to see, are cute little dots in all the Promarker colours, to stick onto the ends of your pens. The lack of this colour identification has been a bit of an issue for some people, but Letraset have listened, and the dots are being introduced at a very low price (£1.65 which is around $2.50) Shipping is free worldwide from their site 

Good luck

Hoppy Birthday for Penny Black

I haven't been very well for the past few days, that explains the lack of posts on here.....but I wanted to take part in the Penny Black challenge this week which is 'On the Move'. I took it quite literally, and this little froggy certainly is on the move. I decided on clean and simple, but I am happy with the result. What do you think?

I put splashes of glossy accents on the raindrops and water, which looks great in real life........ 

One of the things I love about Florida, being a sub tropical climate, are the spectacular sunsets. The other day I went grocery shopping quite late, and when I was driving home, the whole sky was ablaze with the most glorious pink hues, it took my breath away. Of course I didn't have a camera with me, so I ran into the house with the groceries, grabbed my camera and set off again - sadly most of the colour had gone, but I managed to get this photo, which at least reminds me of my mad chase down US19 trying to beat the setting sun!

Carols for Christmas

Our challenge on the Polkadoodles challenge blog this week is Ribbons and Bows. I think this extra wide ribbon will fit the bill. This is a BIG card - 8" x 8". I made it as a sample for Nikky to show on Create and Craft TV in the UK, but forgot to put it in the parcel with the other cards, so here it is. Big cards work best for TV samples - you make a regular sized card, the presenter whips through them at 100 cards a minute, blink and you've missed it.

I used the sweet carol singers from Magical Winter and added some letter stickers to their hymn sheets. They all have a pompom on their hats. The inking was done with dark green chalk ink - hasn't photographed well, it looks dirty brown on this photo   

Talking of singers, look what was clustered outside the door of the room where I craft every Thursday with a group of friends - a regular frogs chorus. Aren't they cute? Each one was only around 1/2" long or less. I almost adopted the big guy........

A Study in Browns.....

I seem to be in a bit of a brown mood today. I made this first one for the Clean and Simple challenge blog, totally unlike my usual style where I have to add that extra flower or gem, but I enjoy a challenge. I used the Stampin Up set French Foliage which I bought just because of those fabulous ink splashes. It's only a tiny stamp in the set, but I love the effect it gives, it would make great raindrops too. I stamped a background, then used a Penny Black stamp for the flowers. I couldn't resist a tiny dab of glue and some glitter to the center of the flowers. The sentiment is an old Stampin Up stamp. Here's the inspiration sketch........ 

and here is my take on the challenge..........well, only one layer (almost) so it's clean and simple for me.....

This next card was made with a bargain pack of Recollections papers picked up on clearance in Michaels. I love that check paper just peeping below the scalloped edge of the card. I used Walnut Stain distress ink to ink all the edges. The big rose was on one of the papers - I fussy cut it out, and because it was very white, stamped it with a script stamp by Hero Arts

Seen on a notice outside a bar here in Florida. Opening hours 7 P.M - 13 P.M
Really? That would be the witching hour then?

Teen Boy Birthday

Here's a little card I made with a boy image - I thought it would do for a teenage boy (not that I know any!), or be a good one for a boy to send to a friend. The papers are by American Crafts and I don't know who made the image - I got it in a image swap. The black 'brads' and sentiment are by Craftwork Cards. Colouring done with Promarkers  

I cut away the front, and used the image like a panel

I am working on a couple of tutorials for you, the problem being that I keep forgetting to take photos of various stages. A memory stick in the camera helps as well....


I am always amused by the TV advertisments for various drugs when I am here in the USA - they aren't allowed to advertise drugs in the UK apart from over the counter stuff for colds, headaches etc. Here they show happy smiling people, always doing interesting things like hang gliding or skiing, with happy smiling good-looking spouses and children looking adoringly at them. Then they start to list the side effects of this drug - liver damage, kidney failure, constipation or death seem to be common. No wonder the handsome spouse looks so smiley and happy, he probably knows he will get the life insurance check very soon. I mean, who would go to their doctor and say 'can you prescribe that drug for me, the one on TV with the pretty blonde having a good time on the beach, you know, the one that may make me blind/deaf/dead'


See you tomorrow

And the Winner is........

Thanks to all of you who left your names for the Magical Winter CD, only one winner sadly, and she is

LINDA (cardsbylinda.blogspot.com)

Congrats Linda, email me with your address, and your CD will be in the mail at once.

 Look out for a great Promarker giveaway on here next week......

On to today's card, this one took ages to do, so I went a bit mad with the camera. The base card was cut with Wildcard and the Cricut (sounds like a rock group!). I used the doily cut on blackout, and cut at 5", then cut another one and used just the front of that card for the easel (I used the base card as a template to cut out the missing scallops)

The image is a Sugar Nellie digi stamp. Coloured with ProMarkers

Hair cocoa, cinnamon, caramel and tan

Skin Ivory, dusky pink and blush

Clothes Ice grey 1, 2 & 3, powder blue, china blue, cornflower 

I made the flowers using the Flower Shoppe cartridge. The leaves are from Walk in my Garden 

I put some little oval gems to match the flower centers down the sides of the Nestability label shape......

and the sentiment is a lovely silver foiled one from Craftwork Cards

So my son was with four year old Max in a lift (elevator), the lift was crammed with people, all standing silently in the usual British way. Edward was holding Max's hand in the crush, and the silence was broken by an accusing little voice ''Awww Daddy, you're hurting me.........     AGAIN''
Instant swiveling of eyes from the silent onlookers, who all looked as if they were debating whether to call Childline......kids can be so embarrassing  

Polkadoodle Flower Challenge

Over at Polkadoodle challenge blog today, we were asked to use handmade flowers - die cut, hand made, anything except those that come out of a jar. I chose the easy route and simply cut some flower shapes out using the George cartridge, I wanted the flowers to look casual and sort of sketchy. The papers, image and sentiment are from the Pretty Sweet CD I coloured her in with ProMarkers

Skin Ivory and Blush

Hair Saffron and Buttercup

Clothes Satin, Pastel Pink, Ice Grey 1, 2 & 3 

Don't forget you have until Sunday night to enter your name for the Magical Winter Polkadoodles cartridge. Scroll down for the post. 


Max has started school, his teachers told his parents that he had been a bit upset at lunchtime each day (too noisy apparently, school takes some getting used to when you are only just four). Then after a few days he announced proudly 'I didn't cry at all today Daddy, not even a dribble'...bless!  

Frosty and Friends

Here are some cards made with the latest project of the month kit from Craftwork Cards - frosty and friends. In these kit you get all the stuff you need to make dozens of cards, and of course with CWC there is always something new and innovative

For the first card, I cut a series of circles (I used George and my Cricut to do this quickly) and stuck them on in a tree shape. I added the small images to look like baubles, aren't they cute?

Something new this month are these ready made easel cards, what a great idea that is, and see the little card candi in the centre of the punched snowflakes? They are holographic, so shimmer beautifully in the light. I stamped the word merry onto his 'snowballs' (more card candi). All the papers used are in the kit 

This last one used another easel base. The sentiment circles come with the kit. I cut the trees using a sissix die. There is a lot of coarse glitter on this one, what a shame glitter doesn't photograph well. Don't forget that card candi is now available in the USA and Australia from Scrappy-go-Lucky

So I was standing in a queue waiting to pay for something in Target, feeling quite smart in a pair of they-cost-an-arm-and-a-leg grey linen trousers. 'Excuse me' said the woman behind me 'did you get those pants in Walmart? I saw some like that there and now I can't find them. I want to get some plain pants, my boyfriend doesn't like the sort I wear'. Walmart!!! I later saw her crossing the car park, from the rear she had two huge bright pink and orange hibiscus flowers, one on each side......well, at least her 'boyfriend' has taste -  note, she was 60 if she was a day. Time to put the Hawaiian theme clothes out of the closet I think. Okay, so I am being a bit tetchy, so would you be if you knew how much that grey linen cost me :)


See you tomorrow.....

Design Team Call for Polkadoodles

Scroll down for Polkadoodles giveaway

Here's another little Pretty Sweet girl, papers printed out from the

 Pretty Sweet CD and a bit of stitching added. Promarkers used:

Hair cocoa, cinnamon, caramel and tan

Skin ivory and blush

Clothes duck egg, aqua and satin

Here's an opportunity for those of you who want to take your crafting to another level, Nikky is looking for (more than one) new design team members to join us at Polkadoodles. You get to play with all the latest stamps and CD's and be part of a fun team. There are other exciting possiblities as well - some of the Polkadoodles team have just been involved with making samples for a whole magazine devoted to Polkadoodles products - that was fun to do. Don't worry if you are in North America, we could do with more American/Canadian teamies. Go on, have a go...........here's what Nikky wrote.............

Okkkaaayyyy! We're looking for some new teamies to join us here at Polkadoodles!

Yep, we need some new blood to join our lovely talented team on this challenge blog and also to make samples for shows and TV! So, if you LOVE colouring and you're great with your Promarkers, Copics, Prisma's and Watercolours (or any other colouring medium) and it's your speciality then please email uswith a link to your blog and NO MORE than 50 words about yourself and why you want to be on the Polkadoodles team. If you don't like colouring then don't worry - we cater for everyone, but you do need to be able to use digital products and rubber stamp.  It doesn't matter if you're a cardmaker, scrapbooker, a stamper or a CD crafter, we need someone who can be versatile and fit within the other talents on our fabulous, happy team. We look for all kinds of abilities and styles so you've gotta be in it, to win it, as the saying goes! You MUST have a blog where you post regularly. You MUST be able to commit to participating in the challenge blog 3 times per month, making TV samples when required AND commenting on challenge entries each week, so please ensure you can do all this before you apply - this is a permanent position and you must be able to offer the commitment we need. We will consider entries from around the world but as we need people who can also make samples, because of time constraints entries from the UK may have an advantage - if you're not in the UK please don't let that put you off, really we just need someone awesome, and we're looking for more than one person!! We will be choosing someone over the next two weeks and results will be posted here. Please do not leave comments etc, all bloglinks must be sent by email by 13th OCTOBER. Please ensure your links are correct and link to the homepage so we can see your blog properly.email us with a link to your blog and NO MORE than 50 words about yourself and why you want to be on the Polkadoodles team. (please note: Final decision will be announced on this blog after 13th October) ---- GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!! We can't wait to see your work! xx

Polkadoodles Giveaway

Happy Monday morning to you all, I hope the sun is still shining in your corner of the world. Didn't I forecast that there would be a heatwave in the UK whilst I was away? They should make me a national treasure

On to today's card, this little poppet was printed from the brand new Polkadoodles CD Pretty Sweet, which is full of these gorgeous little girls. I coloured her with ProMarkers:

Skin Blush and soft peach

Hair Mustard and buttercup and ivory

Clothes Powder blue, denim blue, duck egg and pale aqua

Detail Caramel, tan, cocoa, moss green, dusky rose and antique pink

Everything else was printed from the CD

I have this fabulous Polkadoodles CD called Magical Winter (part 2) to give away to one of you. Print out the cutest Christmas images and papers, and the CD's are so easy to use, no advanced computer skills are needed. If you can click a mouse, you can use these......

The images are just lovely, and there is something for everyone on there

All you have to do is leave your name under this post (make sure you leave enough detail for me to identify you should you win). I will mail worldwide. The winner will be picked a week from today - Monday 10th october

Good luck