My GD card for Charisma Cardz Challenge - Week 8 - Animals

Hello, I have been a bad blogger this week. That's down to two things, firstly my little guinea pig Buttercup (picture on the side bar) has been ill and suffering with an ear infection. We have had numerous trips to the vets for anti inflammatory injections and antibiotics and I really did think that we were going to lose her but thankfully she has made a recovery so I am busy feeding her up at the moment. Secondly I suffered a panic attack on the train home on Monday, have only had one before when I was on holiday and really didn't think I would have another but I did so I haven't really felt up to crafting this week but have been feeling a bit down. I did however manage to get this card done for Charisma Cardz.

The brief this week is "Animals".....one of my favourite things, I am a huge animal lover.

The sponsor this week is:

Fingertip Crafts is a lovely store both online and in real life! They're currently offering FREE p&p

on all orders over £10! so hop on over there! They've very kindly donated a special stamp which the collection is ONLY avalible at Fingertips! Diminty Mouse 'Celebrations' RRP: £5.99

Wow..what a wonderful stamp, come on guys, get crafting and hop on over to Charisma Cardz and enter this great challenge.

The elements I used for my card are:

Image - Messy Rabbits
Image coloured with Copics
Papers - Dream Street Papers LLC
Flowers - Prima
Brads - Making Memories and Papermania
Butterfly - Sorry have no idea, these were a gift and I have lost the packaging

Oh some fabulous news, my Gorjuss stamps have arrived and I can't wait to have a play, hopefully I can get some crafting done this weekend, I also have my new Whiff of Joy Spring Stamps that have arrived and haven't played with yet....oh how exciting, I can't wait to get started now. I think I feel a pretty paper spending spree coming on this weekend to compliment my lovely new stamps.

I hope you are all having a good week.

Joy xx

My GD card for Charisma Cardz Challenge - Week 7

Hello all, well here it is, my first card for my guest design slot at Charisma Cardz. This week the theme is "Hugs & Cuddles". What a great brief. As soon as I heard this I browsed a few online stores to find the perfect stamp (well two actually including the sentiment stamp) and aren't they great, that sentiment is sooo sweet!

There is a fantasic prize to win this week if you enter Charisma Cardz wonderful challenge. It is worth over £80..wow. Paper Angels has kindly supplied this lovely prize. The prize consists of Cosmic Shimmers - 2 sets of shimmering iridescent watercolour paints, 1 shimmer spray and pigment set, 2 irridescent sparkle pigment sets and 1 set of cosmic shimmer ultra thick embossing powders! Imagine having all of those to play with....heaven.

Ok, the elements I used for my card are:-

Image and Sentiment stamp - Elzybells Art Stamps
Image coloured with Copics
All papers by Dream Street Papers LLC - "Near and Dear - Corey", "Near and Dear - Ericka" and "Near and Dear - Cameron"
Flowers - Prima
Brad - Papermania

I also used some blue Bazzill Bling card.

To cut the heart I used my Sizzix Bigz Die -Frame, Lac Heart.

Thanks for looking and I look forward to seeing all of your wonderful creations, I shall be visiting all your blogs and leaving a comment for you.

Joy xx

The Sugar Bowl Challenge Card - #4

Another day, another challenge beckons and today it is The Sugar Bowl challenge. I have only entered this once before but the brief this week was to use just one patterned paper, not something I often do, I often use two or three but I fancied a change. It was also a great opportunity to get my "Daisy" stamp out, I have only used it on one other card so I think it was time for another outing...don't you? This week you can win four sets of wonderful sentiment stamps so get yourself on over there and have a go at this challenge.

The elements I have used for this card are:-
Image - Sugar Nellie - "Daisy"
Image coloured with Copics and Promarkers
Paper - Dream Street Papers LLC "Carma - Chamomile"
Bazzil Card
Flowers - Prima
Jewel Brads - Making Memories
KARS Pearl Adhesive Stones

I also used my nesties and my Martha Stewart Lace Doily Punch

Hope you like the card - thanks for looking.

Joy xx

Card for Jade/Penny Black Challenge - Week 36

What terrible news I awoke to this morning, the news that Jade possibly only has months to live. It saddens me to think what this young lady/mother is going through at the moment, no one should have to go through this but to think of someone so young succumbing to this terrible disease is heartbreaking. A very kind lady on the Docrafts forum has kindly offered to deliver any cards that fellow crafters wish to make for Jade to her ex partner Jeff Brazier who will in turn deliver them to Jade. She has already delivered approximately 50 cards to Jeff and will deliver any further cards that people wish to send. I was so glad to hear this as I had indeed been thinking of making a card for Jade and sending it to her agent with the hope that it would be passed on. I made the card as bright and cheerful as possible hoping that it will indeed brighten her day. I am sure she will be overwhelmed with the amount of cards being sent.

This card also doubles as my entry for the Penny Black challenge this week. This week there is the chance of winning a lovely stamp called "Wooly Dames" which is absolutely gorgeous.

The elements I have used for this card are:-

Image - Penny Black - "Crossing Bridges"
Image coloured with Promarkers and Copics
Hints of sakura "Clear Star" to add sparkle
Glossy Accents also used on flowers
Papers - "Me and my big ideas"
Bazzil Bling Card
KARS Pearl Adhesive Stones
Brads "Making Memories"
Flowers and buttons from stash
Ribbon - Doodlebug Boutique Trims - Limeade Assortment

I hope you like the card. Thanks for looking.

Joy xx

I won blog candy!!

I am so excited, Sarah a.k.a. Sparklecards has been offering some totally yummy blog candy and I have just found out I won!! I cannot tell you how ecstatic I am. This is the first ever blog candy I have won. If you have never visited Sarah's blog before, please do because her cards are all so beautiful and inspiring. Click here and you will be whisked away to Sarah's wonderful blog.

Thank you Sarah.

Joy xx

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Week 35

Just a quick post tonight as it is late and I need to be out early in the morning. Firstly can I say thanks to everyone who has left a comment after my recent good news, I really am very excited about being a guest design team member for Charisma Cardz and your comments are really appreciated.

This is a card I made this evening for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge. The brief is "Romance" so quite an easy topic but for some reason I am not too keen on this card. The wording is a Penny Black stamp as well as the litte hedgehog. I don't usually go for wordy stamps but this really caught my eye so had to have it lol.

The elements I have used are:-

Images - Penny Black "I asked for a flower" and "Heart alloever"

Image coloured with Promarkers

Papers - Basic Grey "Perhaps" and Dream Street Papers "Gracie-Bubble Gum"

Bazill Bling Card

Prima Flowers

Dovecraft and Papermania Brads

KARS Pearl Adhesive Stones

Nesties - Labels Two

Thanks for looking.

Joy xx

Good News

I have been keeping this under wraps for a week or so but I am sure I can tell you now that the lovely Carly of Charisma Cardz has asked me to be a Guest Designer on the Charisma Cardz Blog Challenge for 7 weeks beginning 12 February. Wow...I am so excited because becoming part of a design team or a guest designer is something I have wanted for a long time but I have never had the confidence to go for it. I am so eager that I have already done my card for my first week lol. It is a wonderful challenge so please, if you haven't already had a go please do, it is really fun and there are always goodies to win.

Joy xx

Whiff of Joy Challenge #17

Brrrrrr.....it's another one of those days. Another day when I couldn't go into work. I again woke to masses of snow this morning on top of what we already had from Monday which hadn't melted. On top of that the trains into London are up the spout again. I struggled home last night on a packed train hours late so when I heard the problems were ongoing this morning I phoned work and took a day holiday. The bad news is that we are expecting more snow overnight tonight!! At least the train problems are sorted now though.

So having been at home all day I decided to take the opportunity to get my craft stash out and make another challenge card and this time I decided to enter the Whiff of Joy challenge. This is my first time entering this challenge. There is a sketch to follow this week which is really lovely so I didn't hesitate in getting started.

The elements I used for this card are:-

Image - Whiff of Joy "Willow with cookies"
Image coloured with Promarkers and Copics
Papers - Cosmo Cricket "Dutch Girl Klara" and "Dutch Girl Anna"
Red Bazzil Bling Card
Prima Flowers
Papermania Brads
Sentiment generated on my laptop

I also used my Martha Stewart Doily Punch.

Thanks for looking.

Joy xx

Colour Create Challenge Card - Week 1

Phew...how cold is it out there? The snow is now melting thankfully although I do love snow but it is so inconvenient. Luckily I had Monday booked off as holiday from work and I couldn't go in today either....the road outside is like a skating rink and the trains are barely running anyway. We had ten hours of snow on Monday, doesn't it make everything look so pretty, I took a few pictures and may be able to use them on cards come Christmas.

What was exciting this weekend is the start of the new challenge blog that Tara has started called Colour Create. I am loving challenges at the moment so the more the merrier. I had a couple of other cards I needed to make this weekend which I cannot post just yet but will in time. As I am at home today it gave me time to make my entry for this challenge. The brief for this challenge was to make a card only using green, pink and brown. You can also use white or cream for your card stock and flesh colours for skin. These colours are so gorgeous together it wasn't hard to come up with something.

The elements I used for this card are:-

Papers - Dream Street Papers - "Her own wings - Faith" and "Her own wings - Courage"

Pink Bazzil Bling

Image - Whiff of Joy

Image coloured with Promarkers and Copics

Nestabilities - Label Two

Glossy Accents used on the party hat

Flowers - Prima

Brads - Papermania

Button from stash

Sentiment generated on my laptop

Why don't you hop on over to Colour Create and have a go at this challenge. I forget to mention that there is some lovely blog candy on offer if you enter....always a bonus and an extra incentive to join in.

Joy xx

Penny Black Challenge - Week #34

Hello all from a very cold, windy and a little bit white Baldock. What a day!! I started off by going to the Stamperama Craft Fair at The Gordon Craig Theatre in Stevenage where I spent more money than I care to remember lol. I bought loads of Penny Black stamps, three of which were in the bargain bucket....don't cha just love bargains. Driving home it started to snow, most of the day it has been trying on and off and then we had a bit of a blizzard and now it has stopped again. I love snow, I wish it would make up its mind. I'm only saying this cos I don't have work tomorrow so no struggling to the train station in the snow.

Anyhoo I have made a card using one of my new bargain PB stamps...I paid £2.50 for this stamp saving £4...I am so pleased with it, I always miss bargains usually.

The brief this week is very exciting, it is to make a round card. Simple you might say but this is the first time I have made one but I think I have done ok.

The elements I used for this card are:-

Penny Black Stamp called "Crush"

Image coloured with Promarkers

Papermania scrumptious papers

Petal Pink and White Opal Liquid Pearls

Prima flower which I have added some sparkle to with a Sakura Stardust pen

Papermania Brad

Ribbon from stash

The heart shape is cut using my new Classic Scalloped Heart Nestabilities

I hope you like the card, please feel free to leave a comment.

Joy xx