Candy Doodles Giveaway day three

Day three already, where is the week going?. Just to remind you, from Monday to Friday this week, I will be giving away a brand new Candy Doodles Cd from Polkadoodles, thanks to the generosity of Nikky Hall, the owner and designer of Polkadoodles. All you have to do is leave your name under each post this week, and hop over to the challenge blog if you haven't already, to become a follower

This little cutie digi stamp was printed out already coloured (well, I have been very busy this week, but it shows you how gorgeous the coloured images are). I cut her out and popped her onto the card with foam pads. The punched border is by EK Success, the papers and sentiment are from the CD. I added some faux stitching and a few punched flowers

and here is how the digi stamps appear on your computer, each sheet represents a full A4/A5 sheet of cardstock or paper - I tend to print onto cardstock rather than paper so that they are easier to colour and are more substantial when you cut them out. You can see that you have the option to print them out already expertly coloured, or in black and white for you to colour in with the pens/pencils of your choice

and you need matching paper? No problem, loads of papers, patterned and plain, all in colour collections

Don't forget, you need to leave a comment under every post this week - leaving one comment on Monday means your name will be in the hat for Monday only. 


See you tomorrow

Candy Doodles giveaway day two

Here I am again for day two of the week long Polkadoodles giveaway, a week when I hope to excite you about the possibilities that crafting with these great CD's gives. The card for today was made very quickly - I printed out the boy already beautifully coloured by Nikky, the paper is from the CD, plus my favourite ticket sentiment. The denim trim was picked up on sale in Jo-Anns, I knew it would come in useful one day!

You have lots of sentiment options with these CD's. You can print out alphabets, already sized to punch out, and in every colour to match the papers.....

or you can choose from pages of sentiments, again, colour matched and it tells you what size punch you will need to use. Easy peasy....

even more options, and this is only a sample of what is available on the discs, I will share some more tomorrow

So leave a comment under this post, don't forget to pop over to the challenge blog to sign up as a follower. The five winners will be drawn at the weekend. I will mail worldwide


The Flexmarker giveaway is now closed. Sorry to keep you all waiting, but we now have the rather boring bit to do, checking there are no multiple entries etc etc, only fair when it is such a big prize. The winners name will be on here on Saturday

Candy Doodles Frenzy Week

Frenzy? what frenzy I hear you ask. Well there will be soon when I tell you that this week, every day from Monday to Friday, courtesy of Nikky Hall the owner and designer of Polkadoodles I will be giving away a copy of the brand new Candy Doodles CD from Polkadoodles. Now a lot of you may not have used CD roms in your crafting, and may think that they require you to have advanced computer skills. Well, I am living, breathing proof that you don't! All you need is a computer and a printer. You slot the CD in, and this is what comes up.............  

and here is the first of my samples to show you this week. A yummy cupcake card that looks totally edible....

with chocolate drops covered in glossy accents and a bit of glitter on the icing.....

Some embossing on the bow added a bit of texture, and the sentiment is perfect! 

So was it difficult to make? Not a bit of it, here is a shot of how it came up on my computer screen. The basic template for the cupcake card is on the top left, so I printed that and cut it out. Then I printed the top middle page, one cupcake for the front of the card, another for the back (yes, it's a double cupcake!). Then when I printed the top right page, I had some layers to decoupage onto the cake, and finally some decoupage bows to finish it off. The sentiment circle was already to punch out.

What paper do I use? I find the Georgia Pacific cardstock at Walmart works very well, and at only about $5 a pack I buy enough to bring back home to the UK with me 

All you have to do is leave a comment under this post, and we would really like it if you pop over to the Polkadoodles challenge blog and became followers - that would be a nice way to thank Nikky Hall for her generosity in giving away these CD's, and you can pick up some great inspiration over there as well.
Be sure to pop back tomorrow to leave your name for the next giveaway. Don't forget, one every day until Friday. The winners will be announced at the weekend, with the winner of the Flexmarkers. Good luck

New Challenge for March

Thanks to all of you who took part in last months lace and butterfly challenge. The winners are in the post below, scroll down......

On to this month, our generous sponsors, Letraset, are offering two of you the chance to win one of the brand new stamp sets. You can see cards I made with them HERE and HERE, and go HERE to get all the details of the packs. The winners will be able to choose which set they want. You get a large exclusive stamp, and three promarkers in each set 

On to this months challenge - here is my sample card for you. Any ideas what the challenge is?

Does this help?

Or this?

I wanted to do something different this month, so the challenge is to

use something on your card that wasn't intended for cardmaking

 I found the mesh thing in a pound store, the string and green hemp are garden string, and the cardboard is a torn up box. Buttons and Lace don't count, think outside the box and search your dollar/pound/office supply stores. It doesn't have to be the main focus of the card. The card must be made for this challenge, no back linking please, and you can enter as many cards as you like, and enter it in as many challenges as you like,  as long as each one has a 'found' object in the design. If you don't have a blog, you can still enter, the easiest way is to put a link to a Picassa or similar photo album, or if all else fails, email me with a photo of your creation

Two prizes - one for the card that I think is the most creative use of your chosen non-cardmaking item(s), and one will be randomly drawn. So get cracking, tear up old newspapers, make flowers out of tissue paper.......and have fun!

The challenge will be open until Easter Monday, the 9th April. Good luck everyone, I wonder how many entries there will be for this one....oooh, I just spotted some bubble wrap, now I am sure I can make something out of that....see you tomorrow

Card details:
Base card - Craftwork Cards shaped edge in cream
Walnut stain, peeled paint, wild honey and old paper Ranger distress inks
Flowers sprayed with Gold perfect pearls mist - QVC UK
Music background stamp Hero Arts
Flower stamp - Penny Black
Oval die Nellie Sellen

Pat Bately by Email - stamping on kitchen foil, shoelace trim

By Cheryl Winget using cardboard packing materials

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Winners of Lace and Butterflies challenge

It was so hard to pick a favourite from all the truly beautiful lacy and butterfly cards this month, but I thought that this shabby chic tag just summed up the challenge - pretty and gorgeously feminine. So congrats

 Suzi (# 14)

There were forty entries, counting the emailed ones, and the random generator came up with

Brenda (#31)

 an equally deserving prizewinner

Ifyou can both email me with your full address details, including a telephone number, and the flexmarker set you would like (you can see them HERE) I will forward your details to Letraset

Congratulations to you both, consolation hugs to those who tried, but didnt strike it lucky this month. A brand new challenge has just started

Sticker Girl

 Do you remember I brought some stickers home with me from the Stitches show at the NEC, made by Little Claire? I have had a chance to make a card with one of them, and here she is. I stuck it on to white cardstock, and coloured with Promarkers. I added a bit of black as the lines of the outline stickers are very black, so I wanted to draw this into the design. The background square is a Martha Stewart punch around the page set, and the blue oval is a Nellie Snellen die 

 The flowers were punched, and shaped a bit with a ball tool

Look at the lovely parcel of goodies that arrived yesterday from QVC, I have some samples to make with them, and it will be easy, as they are all quite delicious....lovely papers, Martha Stewart vintage glitters.....

and some Perfect Pearls mist sprays. I tried those today, and they are gorgeous. The pots are full of Tim Holtz Clear Rock Crystal crackle stuff, I cant wait to try that!

More good news! I had an email from Blitzy to say that they now ship worldwide. Those of you in the UK who haven't looked at Blitzy, it's a site in the USA that offers fantastic crafty bargains three times a week. At the moment, they have Rangers distress embossing powders for $2.99 - that works out to £1.90 a pot, and they have all the distress ink colours. So I have ordered a few of those, but I didn't use the international shipping option, as we are back in the USA next month. Go HERE to sign up to get the emails


I will sort out the winners of the monthly challenge, and announce them tomorrow, with another challenge for you all


Another Max story:
Daddy, I want to be a knight, with a horse and armour
What? More than you want to be a fireman?
Yes, I want to go to night school


You couldn't make it up..........


See you tomorrow 

More Dipped Chocolate

Here's another card made with my favourite papers of the moment, the luscious Dipped Chocolate by HOTP. All the elements and papers are from this collection, they all go together so well. The large flower was punched, and I sanded the edges, then inked them, before crumpling the whole thing up...

and here is the inside of the card

As you read this, we will probably be making our way home after a really lovely weekend break in Wales. As we were walking yesterday, we came across a charming lady who was schooling this darling little horse, and she stopped for a chat. The horse stands only 48" tall, and is a Falabella, a very rare breed originating in Argentina. He was adorable, his name is Treacle and I am in love........

and we took a drive over the mountains to Barmouth, the view across the bay was stunning...

I hope you have enjoyed your little jaunt to Wales with me, I'll be back to carmaking tomorrow!

Mothers Day - Letraset new stamp

Here's a card made with the other brand new stamp from Letraset, how cute is this, three little cuties taking breakfast in bed to their mum! I cut a frame with nestabilities, and ran that through the cuttlebug with a spotty embossing folder by Sissix. The image was coloured with Promarkers and Flexmarkers, I gave them all different skin tones on purpose, after all, we are all different in real life....the little boy looks all rosy cheeked,  as though he spends his life outside getting muddy with dirt on his knees...! I love the baby peeking out

The sentiment is by Craftwork Cards, and the side strip is just pleated card and ribbon

More photos from Aberdovey - looking at the village of Victorian houses from a very windy walk on the beach......

and a walk by the side of a very pretty mountain stream, tumbling over mossy boulders...

and finishing in this lovely waterfall

and here I am, enjoying the view......

Polka Challenge and Aberdovey

I can't believe that I forgot to post my Polkadoodles challenge card for this week - the challenge was spots or stripes, and as you can see, I chose the stripey option. The paper and dog are from the Candy Doodles CD, which has just been reissued in a new and improved format with lots of new images on it - this was one of the first Polkadoodles CD's, and has always been one of my favourites. The dog kennel was cut using the Mickey and Friends Cricut cartridge, and the sentiment is a Studio G stamp. The challenge is open for a week, so you have plenty of time to come up with something spotty or stripey - you don't have to use a Polkadoodles image either, and the winner gets a prize every week

the twig branches and leaves are a Memory Box die, I  rubbed a ball tool over the little circles to make them pop up

Well I promised to check in - here we are on a real nostalgic trip to beautiful Aberdovey, Wales. Just look at the view we will have from our bedroom window every morning, I think I will stay for a month.......

and from the terrace.......

The place we are staying in is an apartment in a building which was the stable block for an old historic house, it has been beautifully altered into luxury apartments, with such attention to detail. Our apartment terrace looks down onto the roof of another apartment on a lower level, well it wouldn't do for guests to look at a boring flat roof would it, so they have inserted these really neat little heather gardens into the roof, what a great idea... 

More good news for those of you in the USA who have been searching for stockists of the card Candi that I use all the time. Now on sale again on Blitzy for only $2.49 I think it is, for a pack of 400. They have loads of colours as well. They also have Tim Holtz tools on sale that I am a bit tempted by - .HERE is the site. Like Pinterest, Blitzy is a bit addicting, a bit of a shame that they don't mail to the UK though. It means that by the time I get back to the USA, I won't be able to get in the door for parcels!


See you tomorrow with more photos, if it isn't raining, and another Letraset stamp.....

Dipped Chocolate...

I have been playing around some more with these lovely papers that I got at the Stitches trade show last week. It's called Dipped Chocolate by Hot Off the Press, and I am very taken with the colourways - crimson, teal, rich chocolate and green, and they all blend together perfectly. 

I used it to make an easel card - the base card is a ready made circle easel from Craftwork Cards, all the other elements including the sentiments are from the pack. I inked all the edges with walnut distress inks, and  also crumpled and distressed the flowers and leaves

A short post today, as I am busy throwing far too much stuff into a suitcase for the weekend, how many sweaters will I need I wonder, and will four pairs of jeans be enough..I am a rubbish packer, I always take far too much stuff, and it's always totally wrong. Never mind, it's just a casual lazy weekend, not Buckingham Palace. I'll report back tomorrow x 

New Letraset Stamp Packs

 Letraset have come up with another new idea, specially designed stamps  that come in a pack with three yummy promarkers. They are large stamps, and full of detail which makes colouring them fun. I thought this little miss wearing her Easter bonnet was perfect for an Easter card for Kiki. I coloured her with very soft colours, and kept the whole card fresh and springlike

and a close up of her with her bonnet.......

When I was a little girl, my mother always bought both her girls a new outfit for church on Easter Sunday, I seem to remember it was always a summery type outfit, so whatever the weather, my sister and I shivered in pretty voile dresses, feeling very very proud of the way we looked. The reason for this burst of nostalgia is that one Easter, I didn't only have the dress, I had a hat as well. Cream straw with a cornflower blue velvet ribbon and tiny poppies and cornflowers on the brim. I had red shoes as well, I can remember the blisters they gave me to this day. Sigh....


We are off to Aberdovey this weekend for a relaxing break by the sea, it was a Christmas gift from one of our sons and we have been looking forward to it. Aberdovey is a tiny place on the Welsh coast, stuck in a fifties time warp, the whole place seems relaxed and far away from the hustle and bustle of 2012. My in-laws used to have a house there, so we spent a lot of time there when the children were small, so there will be nostalgic walks across the sand dunes where they used to play, and nostalgic visits to the pub where we used to play! So keep your fingers crossed for at least a bit of sunshine for us, I will take my camera and laptop and report back over the weekend 

Workshop Goodies

When I was at Stitches last week, I signed up for a couple of workshops. One of them was this frame by Kaisercraft - lovely frame and papers, but frankly the demonstrator was a bit rubbish. We were left pretty much to our own devices while she rabbited on about her son's tattoo (on his neck if anyone is interested? No, we weren't either...). Anyway,we packed up the stuff and carried it home to finish, by which time I had totally lost interest in it. It does look okay though, although I am not a fan of these sayings ordering you to follow your dreams, reach for the sky etc etc. I do have a friend who is very into needlecrafts, so this might find it's way into her birthday parcel - if I can figure out how to rectify the fact that I decorated the front upside down, so the little hanging thingy is on the bottom. I don't think it was my day, perhaps I should reach for the sky a bit more.......

I liked this card better, the papers are HOTP, and very lovely....again, I finished it off at home

I seem to have a dozen projects on the go at the moment, a bit of a jack of all trades. I have deadlines to meet which may help, another large coffee would probably help me focus as well. I am such a butterfly, so easily distracted. What happens is that I reach for some embossing powder, and remember some tutorial on you tube from way back where she did this really neat thing with embossing powder......so the half finished project is abandoned (not put neatly to one side, abandoned, buried under an avalanche of papers and embossing powder), then when I have messed around with heat guns for an hour or so, I remember what I ought to be doing and look for the abandoned card, nowhere to be seen of course. While I am looking for it, I find a bit of plastic called a bowdabara, which has never worked terribly well for me - I need to practice, so I grab some ribbon and another hour is wasted....and so it goes on.

If I can get my act together, I'll be back tomorrow with something new from Letraset.....