Scrap Map at CCW

Hi all

Today sees the start of our weekly Scrap Map challenge over on Creative Craft World AKA CCW, the mega talented Sue has put together this great sketch based on a Hotel brochure!

Just a quick reminder that the Cute and Cuddly card challenge is still running over on CCW until 1/02/2010

Everyone who knows me from blogland knows I have a real phobia of scrapping, daft I know and I don't know why but I almost break out in a cold sweat just thinking about doing a layout; however this layout really inspired me, especially when I saw this weeks challenge over on The Play Date Cafe of grey, green and orange as I knew I had the perfect photo for the challenge as Yaseen is wearing orange and grey lol.

I was originally planning to cut up the photo into inchies but just couldn't bring myself to do it (I know, I know..) so I used my nesties labels die to make 6 "squares" to mat the photo onto and used Peeled Paint distress ink over a mask.. I used white Bazzil cardstock for the base and mixed up a glimmer spray using distress reinker and perfect pearls for the green, the silver splodges are from a pewter glimmer mist which has decided to stop spraying (again) so I flicked it onto the card instead! I have used Basic Grey papers and letters and journalling is written with Sakura pen. The star is a chipboard shape which has been in my stash draw for yonks which I coated with copper paint dabber, rock candy crackle paint and dried marigold and frayed burlap distress inks.

Now all I need to do is wait for daylight to take a decent picture of the layout so I can enter into the Allsorts "Male/Boy" themed challenge!!

**EDITED... there is now daylight, photo taken and added to blog!!

I hope you are proud of me Anita, finally got round to scrapping another layout lol!! It only took me about 6 months to get into gear ;-)

Don't laugh.... my first ever card, and my latest!

Hi all

Well like much of the UK we have woken up today with a deep blanket of snow, there is about a foot already and no sign of the snow stopping at the moment, will take some photo's when we go out with the kids later on - I still need to get dressed lol.

You may be wondering why on earth I have made this absolutely stunning get well card, hahaha, and why on earth I want to make myself cringe so much by taking this card out of the "embarrassing and never to be seen again" pile, well the reason is that the mad DT over on Crafty Cardmakers have challenged you to show your first (and in my case the worse) and latest creations. For some reason they think it is *fun* lol. Really it is nice to go back and look at those early creations and see how far your techniques (and stash) have grown!!!

My first card consisted of some backing paper, the flowers were cut out from another backing paper - I never had rubber stamps then. I remember they were a real faff to cut out and I never even thought of backing the paper with card to make them more sturdy. The greeting was hand written and then squiggled on. The lace I still have and does make an appearance on my cards from time to time, however I no longer have the plastic shiny butterflies, phew! After this attempt I progressed on from handmade sentiments to peel offs, might have to dig out some of those photo's later for a trip down memory lane!
On to today's card which is inspired by 2 challenges, the theme from Sir Stampalot is Travel the World and this oriental stamp by Time to Stamp fits the bill! The Play Date Cafe colour splash challenge made me realise I very rarely use yellow in my creations, not on it's own anyway. I never wear the colour yellow either as it really makes me look ill lol!

My friend Lisa Jane is celebrating her first blogoversary and is asking for your favourite Christmas image, well as I don't celebrate Christmas there are no nice picture of us around the Christmas tree or on Christmas morning but I just love this image of naughty Santa smoking a spliff not that I'd know what one is LOL, I was a student once haha!
I came across Lisa's blog a while ago now and was fortunate to have met her in person when she visited Manchester, we also went to Port Sunny together and I can safely say she is funnier and madder in real life than she is on her blog - love you Lisa!!!

Family time at CCW

Hi all

I was meant to post this yesterday but had a falling out with Mr Blogger, if I didn't rely on him so much he'd be out on his ear!!

It was the other Sarah's (W) turn to set the Creative Craft world challenge this time and she has chosen a lovely one, it is all about family, you can scrap a page, make a card or make a use some of those old metal embellies - I know you have some buried in your stash somewhere!!!

My Mum loves candles so that's what I have made her lol.

The colours were inspired by the aamazing piccy on The Play Date Cafe

Red and White in the cafe

Hope everyone is bearing up and keeping warm in this wintry weather. We have been lucky with the amount of snowfall we have had but man is it super icy out there, I have been lucky to stay on my feet but had a couple of near misses, elegant on the ice I am not and definitely not a contender for Dancing on Ice (which incidentally starts soon whoopy).

Phew, I made this weeks Play Date Cafe challenge, I missed last weeks deadline by a mere 24 hours lol, err yes, I got mixed up on my days and went to enter on Wednesday duh!!

I actually struggled getting some non-Christmas inspiration using these colours which is why it has took me until now to make it lol, the colour scheme of red and white is not a favourite colour combo of mine (I live in a house full of Man Utd haters lol, the boys are avid Wanderer's fans). I am also entering this into Crafty Cardmakers "White and a splash" challenge!

I used Barn Door Distress ink sponged through sequin waste, I also made a round mask behind the sponging. Tim Holtz flourish stamped in barn door and distress embossing powders. Sentiment is from I Brake for Stamps (and quite apt for this icy weather) and the bird is from Artemio.

Here are a couple of wintry picture from yesterday morning, it was -7 with mist and freezing fog. The trees and shrubs looked amazing with their edges dipped in glitter glass! Kath of the Cubbyhole has loads of snow, much like the piccy I shared of my Fathers caravan / igloo the other day, she wanted to have a look at not other peoples desks, oh no that's another day, another blog and another story.. Kath is comparing snowdrifts!

Finally some playtime!

Hi all

Finally had some time to play today as I am off, yipee, I should really be packing though as we are off to Duinrell in Holland on Monday (kids are mega excited)!! It has been another long and tough week. I can't believe it has been almost a week since I went to Happy Stampers North West show at Port Sunny with my lovely crafting buddy Lisa Jane, had a good laff and spending was quite restrained LOL!

While we were there I bumped into some lovely crafting buddies and met lots for the first time, besides being surrounded by rubber stamps all day bumping into friends new and old was a real highlight!



Love the photo inspiration over on the Playdate Cafe again this week and these colours made me think of the seaside! I have used a Crafty Individuals (CI 284) stamp which I bought from HSNW, stamped in Memento and coloured in using Promarkers, I used chalks for the sky and sea. Layered with Kraft, Core'dination and ric rac.



I fell in love with this stamp, they look like friends having a great time splashing in the sea and as the challenge over on Allsorts is inspiration from a song title, mine is That's What Friends Are For By Elton John And Dionne Warwick (love the lyrics to that song).

Funky kitchen in the Play Date Cafe

Hi all

Not such a relaxing weekend as I would have hoped for really, however I have had some time to make a card for the Play Date Cafes colour challenge. Last week I got an honorable mention on there, cheers ladies!
The inspiration this week is of a funky bright kitchen, I love the kitchen in this photo but only because it is not in my house lol, my taste in home decor is somewhat more muted than this, I would definitely need a coffee to wake me up before facing this lime green in the morning!

This is not a colour scheme I would normally put together on my cards either but I actually think I quite like it!



The thistle stamp is PaperArtsy hot picks stamped in Adirondack Denim, the stems are Leaf Green promarker. Papers are Basic Grey and I have used an artist sketch pen to draw in the lines of the top paper to tone the lime down a bit. Sentiment is computer generated, the brad started it's life off as hot pink so I coloured it in using a Royal Blue promarker and then Sail Boat Blue alcohol ink. The lime lace is from my stash and the flower is singed dark blue chiffon ribbon (luckily I didn't singe my fingers lol).

Andy Warhol in The Play Date Cafe!!!

Hi all

I have had some really bad luck today an I am not happy... AGAIN!!! Do not let me touch anything valuable as it will never be the same again once I get my hands on it, seriously I am a walking destruction machine this week lol. First my camera SD card, I thought that was bad but this time I think I have killed something, eherm this is not a confession of a murder, not a real one anyway... I have managed to destruct the indestructible... my BIG SHOT. I was double embossing some card with a Cuttlebug folder and nestabilities and I must have overloaded my sandwich, there was no warning crack noise, nothing at all to suggest it was going to give up the ghost!!! The handle has snapped off and one of the cogs inside has lost a tooth (anyone know of a cog dentist?). Seriously, I am not fit to be let loose on anything these days!!!

To rub salt into the wound I ordered myself one of the new Tim Holtz Dies (Tattered Leaves) from LB Crafts which came amazingly quickly and arrived today (thanks Karen, brilliant customer service), so until I can get my Big Shot fixed I can only stroke the packaging and imagine what I am going to make!!! Talk about torture!

Anyhow, I have fallen in love with this colourful little house over on The Play Date Cafe which is this weeks inspirational photo.

Can you imagine coming home from a stressful days work to this? Just love all the colours, the white picket fence and those cacti are just gorgeous!

I have used the "colour story" to create an Andy Warhol inspired creation, now I am not a massive fan of Warhol's work per se, especially since Lady Gaga has allegedly claimed she takes "fashion advise from the spirit of Warhol", hmmm... got this from a Guardian article.


I used the free stamp from craft Stamper Magazine and coloured it using Promarkers, the splish of splash is again using my favourite spray of the moment Crafty Notions Kingfisherliscious and the "visage" stamp was another freebie from Craft Stamper. I surprised myself with this card actually as although it is bare compared to my usual makes I love the Clean and Simple look which I was inspired to try out by looking at the Crafty Cardmakers DT inspirations (that's their current challenge)

Play Date Cafe - Just about made it before last orders!!

Hi all

Again I am running super late and coming in a bit before closing time at The Play Date Cafe!

This week is another gorgeous inspiration photo, I nearly didn't make this but my ink pads were screaming at me and to be honest it was a little boost I needed. Since I've not been crafting what little mojo I have has up and left me lol!



I used a Manila tag hence the reason why it looks darker in the photo, well that combined with the rubbish evening lighting in my house (the decoupaged poppy is actually burnt orange but the camera makes it look yellow - and they say the camera never lies (well this one does).


Firstly I stamped the Hero Arts poppy silhouette in versamark and the heat embossed using Ranger clear embossing powder. Distress inks in Dried Marigold, Rusty Hinge, Wild Honey and Fired Brick and Adirondack in Currant were used to sponge on the colour.

Unfortunately I can't keep my eyes open so will have to add details tomorrow when I might bee able to string a sentence together!

Refreshing break in the Play Date Cafe

Hi all

My first card of the day is for the current challenge over on The Play Date Cafe, I have a half made one which I had started for last weeks challenge but never got chance to finish. So this week I got my card made nice and early ;-)

This week there is another gorgeous photo inspiration, how refreshing does this look? I could just have one right now, except I am fasting lol.





The stamp I used is one which I won from the Pixie Cottage, I stamped it onto watercolour card and coloured it with distress inks and watercolour paint. Matted onto Bazzill Bling card from Creative Craft World. This stamp is also perfect for the theme over on Tuesday Taggers this week which is Sea, Water or Boats.

The Playdate Cafe - Italian Style

Hi all

Like a numpty I atarted making this the other day and completely forgot to finish it or post it, duh, I put it down to the sleep deprivation of looking after Zaid and then getting up for work LOL!

There is another stunning inspirational photo over on the Playdate Cafe this week using a gorgeous colour palette to follow.

Check this out, wouldn't it be just wonderful to meander through the streets of Tuscany??



Here is my take on the colour scheme:



The theme this week on Tuesday Taggers is "Sunshine" so I am also entering this into this weeks challenge, this was actually the prompt that made me remember to post this card!

I have used wild honey, rusty hinge and fired brick distress inks on the tag, stamps are Count my Blessings by Personal Impression stamped with Versamark and clear embossed. The flowers are from Prima (except the red one which I can't remember) and I bought them from Creative Craft World

Tomorrow is the first day of Ramadhan so I will be fasting for about 30 days, of course we are able to eat in the evening and early morning! My kids are getting mega excited as at the end of Ramadhan we have a massive celebration with loads of pressies for the kids and we decorate the house - very much like Christmas but without the turkey or booze LOL!

Black, green and white at the Play Date Cafe

Hi all

Thanks for all your lovely messages and emails about Zaids accident. He is doing much better now after having his wrist in plaster. The police came to see us and let us know that the driver of the van which knocked him over was driving his companies van but he doesn't have a license grrr!!! He will be getting prosecuted for driving without a license, no insurance and driving without due care and attention (doesn't matter that he knocked anyone over though and caused them injury as that won't come into it) - that's the messed up thing about the justice system though!

Anyway, I made this card last week for the Play Date Cafes current challenge which is a Colour Splash of Black & White with a hint of colour and this week's colour is Green. This weeks colour splash was set by the lovely and super talented Sarah Anderson who I had the pleasure of meeting last week when she had me as a willing student in her Journalling Workshop.

There is another gorgeous inspiration photo this week:



Here is my take on the colour splash:



The background paper is made using a flower stamp which was free with the Craft Stamper magazine. The dress and dummy stamp is from my recent candy win from Cath over at Inky Fingers so I don't know the make, it was paper pieced. Lace and ric rac from my stash.

**Editted to add the stamp is from Time to Stamp, now owned by I Brake for Stamps (thans for the info Cath ;-)

The Play Date Cafe

Hi all

Just a quick post as I am off to work in a minute, well I need to pay for all this stash somehow!

My card today is for the Play Date Cafe who have once again got the most gorgeous colour combination and photo inspiration to follow. I can spend ages looking at their photo every week LOL! This week it is inspired by one of my favourite cities - Dublin!



Had a bit of a happy accident with this card and it is nothing like what it set out to be haha. First off I had stamped the Hero Arts Poppy Silhouette stamp in white onto some coffee coloured core'dinations card stock but it didn't show up too good, then I had the bright idea of using embossing powder, didn't really make a difference either. On it's way to the bin I thought about over stamping using brown and quite like how only some of the unembossed areas caught the brown ink!