Embossed cards...

Good afternoon, dear Bloggers!  I'm popping in to share the cards that I made for the girls at our workshop.  I needed a simple design that wouldn't take long as even if a card only takes half an hour to make, times that by 9 and that's four and a half hours!!  After a bit of deliberation, I decided to go with embossed cards and a drybrush technique using white emulsion - we've done the technique a couple of times in class and it went down well, so I dug out my folders...

...I inked the card first with Bundled Sage and Dusty Concord, then embossed before dry brushing with white emulsion in a crosshatch motion to give it a soft, vintage feel and a slight fabric texture...

...I mounted the embossed panels onto gold card and adhered to the card bases which are just C6 ones then finished with some glitter and pearls. Et voila!...nine cards a waiting...hope the girls like them despite being a bit of a last minute thing!  (If any of you are reading this, then I hope you have a fantastic Christmas and look forward to seeing you all in the New Year!  Hugs, Lisa x)
I'll be back tomorrow to share the last workshop makes of 2014! Until then, have a great Saturday!
Crafty hugs,

Passion for Promarkers - Mega Christmas Challenge 2014...

 This card was chosen in the Top 3 at Inky Impressions, thanks a lot, ladies!

Well, it's that time of year again and this week sees the launch of our very special Mega Christmas challenge over at Passion for Promarkers, which runs for a whole month and ends on 6th January 2015!
Both design teams have thoroughly enjoyed creating for your inspiration and also visiting all your blogs to see the wonderful projects that you made, however it's time for us to take a little break to catch up on last minute gifts and cards.  To make up for the lack of challenges for this month, we have some fantastic prizes up for grabs!

Our theme for the Mega Christmas challenge is “bingo”.  You are welcome to make Christmas cards but as the challenge will still be running after the ‘BIG’ day you can of course make any type of creation as long as you use the bingo board.  As time is precious for our DT at this time of year we are limiting the number of entries you can make to just 3 for this month long challenge.  Please remember to be eligible for our prizes you must use your promarkers, flex markers, tria markers, metallic or aqua markers.
Here is the bingo board you must use for your creations (you can use any line horizontal, vertical or diagonal).  Please tell us which line you have used in your post:

So now for the exciting bit – the prizes!

Letraset are generously offering 4 lucky winners a 6 pack of promarkers (blending set)!

DigiStamp Boutique are generously offering one lucky winner a prize of a £10.00 voucher to spend in her store.

Bugaboo stamps are generously offering one lucky winner a $30.00 voucher to spend in their store.

Polkadoodles is offering one lucky winner 2 gorgeous digis called ‘Dollie Sleepyhead’ and ‘Dollie Trendsetter’.

Michele R Designs are offering one lucky winner a €10.00 voucher to spend in her store.

Little Claire Designs are offering one lucky winner a gorgeous stamp set called ‘changing birdhouse’.

A Day for Daisies is offering one lucky winner a $12.00 gift certificate to spend in their online store.

Crafty Sentiments Designs is offering one lucky winner 3 digis of their choice from their online store.

Both design teams will be sharing some inspiration with you but as it such a long challenge we will be posting the inspiration from Team 1 today and then in two week’s time we will be posting inspiration from Team 2. 

So here's my creation for the challenge...

...I decided to make a stepper card as I have not made one in AGES!  I used the snowman digi and papers from 12 Cards of Christmas and an embossed snowflake background, inking the edges with Distress Inks and matting onto coordinating cardstock...

...I added some silver spider's web, picot edge borders and Marianne snowflake die cuts with WOC mini roses in the centre.  The image was coloured with my Pro/Flexmarkers and cut using Spellbinders Labels Eleven (my fave die shape of the moment!)...

...I managed to fill 3 lines of the bingo board with my card Ribbon-Die Cut-Buttons, Ribbon-Free-Blooms and Die Cut-Free-Glitter, so it's nice and easy to play along!
I loook forward to seeing all your wonderful creations and hope that you all have a very Happy Christmas and fabulous New Year!

Just to re-cap the challenge will run until 6th January 2015 and you can enter a maximum of 3 times.  Unfortunately during the Mega Christmas challenge we will not be choosing a top 5 passionista but this will re-commence for the first challenge in 2015. Team 2 will be back on 23rd December to share their gorgeous selection of cards, so don’t forget to hop on over to the Passion for Promarkers blog for more wonderful inspiration.
I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges :

Natalie and Amy

Cute and Cuddly Christmasuntil 29th

Crafts4Eternity

Winter until 11th

Brown Sugar Challenge

Winter until 11th

A Gem of a Challenge

Anything Christmas until Jan 3rd

Inky Impressions

Snow ends today

Christmas stuff...

Good evening, my lovelies!  No...I have not fallen off the face of the earth again, I am just crazy busy making things for various Christmas fairs and trying to make a start on my own Christmas preparations...with little success to be honest!  I desparately need a day to blitz my house but can't find the time for that even!  I keep telling myself it's 'lived in', but often wonder by who, as surely 4 people can't make so much mess! (Who am I kidding, I can make enough mess on my own!)
So, I thought I'd pop in and share some of my crafty makes...




We've been having a bit of a craft night on a Tuesday evening, myself, MIL and our vicar (who is often comaperd to the vicar of Dibley and who, like me, has a passion for making things and has discovered the benefits of a hot glue gun!) The first thing I decorated was a willow wreath...

...then some wicker hearts (if anything stood still for more than a minute, it got a larch cone glued to it! Love them!)...

...We decorated little wooden birdhouses with pretty papers, gilding flakes and distress inks...

...Made some lovely wooden heart trees...

...I'd like a whole forest full of these!  Then I did some crochet hats and a scarf from wool scraps...

...It's also my youngest son's school fair tomorrow evening and I was asked to do a lucky dip for the children (no easy task, I can assure you!)  So I decorated chocolate bars for some of the prizes...

..and then, to top it off, my little man said he needed a teddy for the Name the teddy game he was holding.  I sat for 2 hours this morning, crocheting teddy a pretty winter hat and scarf...

...only to be told when little man came in from school, that he didn't need it anymore!?! He also imformed me that he was quite happy to give the teddy a home!  So, although absent, I am not idle!

Hope that all your Christmas preparations are going well and that you're enjoying the start of the festive season! Keep warm - it's fairly chilly out there tonight!
Hugs,

Passion for Promarkers - Bloomin' Marvellous!...

Good morning, my lovelies, on this cold and frosty Tuesday here in North Wales!  It's been a bit of a shock to the system (and my central heating) having this cold snap, but it's better than the wet stuff we've been having!
Anyway, today sees the start of another challenge over at Passion for Promarkers and this week it's my turn to sit in the hostess chair!  I have chosen a nice, easy theme of Bloomin' Marvellous, so I would like to see those flowers on your creations...this could be a floral image, die cuts flowers, shop bought flowers or even a flower border!  Just remember to be in with a chance to win this week's prize, you MUST use your Letraset products (i.e. promarkers, flex markers, aqua markers, tria markers, metallic markers or neon markers).
Speaking of prizes, this week we are being sponsored by the fabulous Polka doodles and Nikki is offering one lucky winner the chance to get their mits on the gorgeous digi called ‘Fredericka debutante’.

 ...Last week, I was lucky enough to win this gorgeous Wee Stamps Sarah digi from the uber talented Mariska of Sending you a Little Smile (thanks Mariska!)...if you haven't seen this lady's work, then hop over to her blog and take a peek.  Her colouring and 3D paper piecing is AMAZING and her finished projects are always just beautiful!..

...Of course, I coloured Sarah with my Pro/Flexmarkers and thoroughly enjoyed doing so too!  I decided to go with a traditional Christmas colour combo and found some papers in my stash to match...

...To go with the challenge theme, I made a pointsettia style flower using my daisy and round petal flower punch and added a couple of mini larch cones, some sweetheart blossoms and mini roses from WOC.  I used a MS clay corner and frame which I made in brown clay and dry brushed with white emulsion (I am loving this technique and it's great on embossing too!) The pretty glitter ribbon is the last of a piece that I had on my scraps tin, so I may just have to buy some more!
Well there you have it, my second Christmas card of the year! (apart from workshop ones!)  I am really pleased with how this little card came out, though it's another to add to the 'awaiting boxes' pile!
I hope you can find the time to join in with our challenge this week and look forward to visiting all of your blogs to see your wonderful creations!  Don't forget to hop on over to the Passion for Promarkers blog to see what my talented teamies have been up to!
Big crafty hugs,

 I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges :

MilkCoffee

Lots of Embellishments until 3rd Dec

Card Mania

Use a Digi until 28th

Crafty Catz

Winter Theme until 27th

Pennys Paper Crafty Challenge

Anything Goes finishes today

Craft Your Passion

Baby it's Cold Outside until 30th

Stop the Press...

...I've made a card!  I know?!  I seem to have misplaced my Mojo lately - well, for cardmaking anyway!  I have been busy crocheting hats, creating Christmas decorations and glueing larch cones onto everything in sight, to make items to sell at our Christmas fair in December but I have had no inclination to sit and make a card!  So, to remedy this, I printed off some papers and image from the sewing design set of A Play on Words (not that I have a favourite, of course!) and set about making...

..I pasted the sewing machine .png in my graphics program and layered the sewing machine emboss image over the top, to get this coloured emboss effect, which I really like.  I made some handmade flowers using my punches, including the small star flower shape which I got in my order from The Works - allsorts of items ended up in my basket as there was 25% off including the sweet little bobbin and the pretty buttons, plus a few paper pads (about 6 in all), a mixed ribbon pack and some Christmas gift fillers.  There's 30% off if you spend over £30 this weekend, so I'd better not visit their website!...

...I inked all the edges of the layers with Walnut Stain DI and added some salmon pink, wide, satin ribbon and look!...I even managed to finish the inside with coordinating papers and a panel for writing on!...

...Now all that's left to do is make a box for it to go in...darn bobbin!
Well, that's it from me - a flying visit today - Mum's coming any time for us to plan cards for our workshop next weekend and I need to clear a 6 inch square to work on my crafty table! Have a wonderful weekend and hopefully, the sun may make an appearance!
Big crafty hugs,

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges :

Fab n Funky Challenges

Challenge #237 - It's Our Birthday until 18th

(HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUYS!)

Pile it On Challenge

#45 Special Occasion until tomorrow

Get Creative

#1 Anything Goes / optional stitching until 16th

Creative Moments

Anything goes / optional twist Celebration until 17th

Fan-tastic Tuesday

Anything Goes / twist Ribbon until 17th

Deep Ocean Challenge

#90 Handmade flowers until 16th

Passon for Promarkers - Lace...

Good morning, my lovelies!  Well, Tuesday's here again which means it's challenge time over at Passion for Promarkers!  It's Team 1 and the fabulous Julie in the hostess chair this week and she's chosen the theme 'Lace', so as long as you've used your Letraset pens and have some lace on your project, you're good to go!  We're being sponsored by the amazing Letraset this week who are offering one lucky winner the chance to get their mitts on a fantastic set of 6 Flexmarkers!...

Don't forget to be eligible to win the prize, you MUST use your Letraset products (i.e. promarkers, flex markers, aqua markers, tria markers, metallic markers or neon markers) and of course follow the theme.

...I went all pink and girly with my card, using a pretty pink polka dot card from my scraps drawer and sweet Abi Ballerina digistamp which is a freebie from All Dressed Up!...

...I kept the colours for Abi quite soft, with only a few colours in my list :

Skin : Blush, Dusky Pink, Coral

Hair : Buttercup, Campagne, Sandstone

Dress, ribbon and ballet slippers : Muted Pink, Tea Rose, Watermelon

Outline : Soft Aqua

I added lots of sparkle to her dress, hairband and slippers with crystal glitter and attached her using foam pads to 'pop' her off the page...

...I used a Marianne doily die behind Abi to create some focus and added some pretty lace and fine pink satin ribbon, and a lace bow tied with a small paper rose.  I made some bunting from scraps and used the small hearts from Memory Box Precious Hearts die between the pennants.  Some pearls and a simple sentiment finished the front...

...I added a printed insert using the black and white line image of Abi and 'Especially for you'.
I hope you like my girly creation and can find the time to join in with our pretty challenge this week!  Don't forget to hop on over to the Passion for Promarkers blog to see what my lovely teamies have made for your inspiration and I look forward to visiting and seeing what you create!
Hugs,

Money boxes and a mess!...

Good evening everyone and a Happy November to you all! Hope you had a good Halloween weekend and that the new month has started as you hope for it to go on!  I'm having a bit of a dilemma at the moment - now I know that women are supposed to be renowned for their multitasking skills and I will be the first to agree, but why is it then, that I can do nothing else when I am designing?!  I become surgically attached to my computer and find that hours fly by in a daze!  I am thoroughly enjoying it but find that I don't have very much that I am able to share with you...yet, anyway!
Because of this, I thought that I would share the projects that we made at our workshop on Saturday.  We decided to make a couple of items that the girls could enjoy themselves, so the first was a little advent calendar box...

...The numbers are individual cards that can be removed and either placed in the box or at the back of the pile...

...Our second project was a wine glass lampshade complete with plastic crystal effect glass and led candle. I actually managed to bring one home and it looks so effective when lit on my mantelpiece!  The girls all said that they had to go and lie down in a darkened room after making them, but that's nothing compared to the state my table gets into when planning these things!...

...The signal to tidy up a bit is when things start dropping off the other side!
I have also made a start on some of the items for our village church Christmas fair, for which I try to do a craft stall every year.  The lovely Carole from our workshop has been collecting some powdered milk type tins for me (thanks again chicken!) and I've been altering them into money boxes...

...I've added a bag of Maltesers inside and even managed to stop myself from eating any! (Don't know how long that will last as it's one of the few chocolates that I love!)  I need to make a couple more and then it's onto wreaths made from larch cones and conkers and a rudolph made from logs and twigs...not sure yet how that one will go!?!
So, I hope you like my Christmassy makes and hope to be back soon with some more crafty inspiration!
Hugs,

I'd like to enter my altered money boxes into the following challenges :

Fab n Funky Challenges

Christmas until tomorrow

Crafty Calendar Challenge

It's all about Christmas until 28th

Crafty Creations Challenge

Brads, buttons or Bows until 10th

(I've used buttons on the santa suit and top snowman eyes)

Simon Says Stamp

Anything Goes until tomorrow