Happy Easter....

Good morning everyone.
I hope you are all well and having a wonderful Easter weekend and the weather isn't too bad where ever you are.....we had snow showers on and off yesterday but nothing too much.
Although when I went to the Easter Vigil Mass last night with my family it was sooooo cold.....both outside and inside the church.....
I don't have any crafty things to show today but the whole family are going to my parents for Easter dinner and we have all chipped in with desserts.
My contribution (although I have never made this before)
BANOFFEE PIE

I'll let you know what they thought later....although I know I will be going for my mum's fantastic Sherry Trifle.....no competition there!!!!
So armed with this dish of mega calories, Easter eggs and the Easter baskets I made for the girls......Here

......I'll be trotting off  later to my parent's for a lovely 'noisy' (knowing our lot) Easter Sunday family day.......

Thank you for taking the time to stop by.
Have a wonderful day whatever you are doing.
I will try and pop round to see you all tomorrow.

Easter Baskets....

Good afternoon everyone.
I hope you are all well.
Today I have some Easter Baskets to share.
I saw this fabulous tutorial by Jenny earlier in the week and just had to give it a go.....
Please pop over to Jenny's blog and have a look at all her wonderful creations.....she really is very talented and her cards are gorgeous.
I made three baskets....
one for my daughter Brogan 

and one each for my nieces Chloe and Charlotte

I loved the way Jenny had chosen card to give a basket effect and as I'm a huge fan of Kraft and had loads of off~cuts on my desk this is what I plumbed for to make the actual basket although I have now seen quite a few of these sweet little baskets made with all sorts of beautiful papers around blogland this week....
The flowers are from my stash and the leaves are a punch that I've had forever. I die~cut the butterflies from glitter card and added gems to their bodies.
I decided not to add any ribbons, tags or extras as I was happy with just the flowers although I did put a flower arrangement on both sides of each basket.

I would like to enter these baskets into the following challenges:~
Jelly Park Challenges ~ Pretty Pastels Crafty  Creations ~ # 215 ~ Easter The Sisterhood Crafters ~ Easter/Spring Tuesday Throwdown ~ # 140 ~ Make Something Dimensional

Thank you for taking the time to stop by.
Have a fabulous Easter.
And 'Thank You' Jenny for this wonderful tutorial.

Sailor Boy...

Good morning everyone.
I hope you are all well.
It's freezing here, so I've decided to tuck myself away in the craft room for a while.
Today I have a card to share for a little boy.

As some of my followers are aware male cards are not my favourites to make and I really struggle with ideas but these fabulous pre~coloured Mo Manning Toppers from The Hobby House are just perfect for me. This one is from a set called 'Sailor Crew'. I have teamed this little guy up with dark blue card for mounting and my favourite spotty papers from Craft Creations Ltd. The little garland die and the pearls are also from The Hobby House.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:~
Creative Card Crew ~ # 32 ~ Masculine Twisted Tuesday ~ # 46 ~ Banners And Pearls Ooh~La~La Creations ~ It's A Man Thing Cupcake Craft Challenges  ~ # 235 ~ Cool Men

Thank you for taking the time to stop by.
I'm sorry that I have not been round to see you all in the last week or so but I hope to get round and visit you all in the next couple of days.
Have a lovely day and keep warm.

Ribbon & Pins...

Good afternoon everyone.
I hope you are all well.
Firstly I would like to say a heartfelt 'Thank You' for all the wonderful kind comments you left after the loss of my lovely kitty 'Pickle' so soon after the loss of my other kitty 'Onion'. You are all so lovely....and I really appreciate your kind words.
I would like to say 'Hello' and 'Welcome' to my new followers. Thank you for joining me on my crafting adventure.
And I have now signed up to BlogLovin'.....so if you want to follow me please press the button.
Today I have a Christmas tree decoration to share....
I know....I know it's Spring.....yeah right!!!....but as there's snow on the ground here I thought I would carry on with my 'New Year's Resolution' of trying to finish those UFO's in my craft box.....
And another UFO completed.

I bought this as a kit from the Knitting & Stitching Show in Harrogate and I can't for the life of me remember the name of the company. They had lots of colours, shapes and styles but I went for cream, green and gold. It's made with wired ribbons, cut and folded and pinned onto a polystyrene shape.....I was really impressed with how it turned out but boy did my thumbs hurt by the time I'd finished pushing all those pins in.

I would like to enter this into the following challenges:~
Crimbo Crackers ~ # 37 ~ No Stamped Images ABC Christmas ~ F Is For Felt Or Fabric

Thank you for taking the time to stop by.
I really do appreciate all your lovely comments.
Enjoy the rest of your day.

On The Move.....

Good morning everyone.
Well I thought we'd escaped the snow here but alas I was only hoping.
I opened the curtains to a blanket of the white stuff and it looks like a blizzard out there.
Anyway as it's Saturday it's time for a new challenge over at 
A Gem Of A Challenge
And our theme this week is
ON THE MOVE
(This could be interpreted in many ways such as a mode of transport, a moving element on the card or even moving house)
And here is my DT card

For my card I chose this fabulous pre~coloured digi image from Pink Gem Designs called Skateboard Andy. The papers are from BasicGrey ~ Archaic. I love these papers as they are fabulous for male cards and I so struggle with male cards.....I die~cut my stars using my new Nestie set. The pearls as always are from The Hobby House and the little sentiment is computer generated.

Please pop along to the main challenge blog and take a look at all the lovely creations the rest of my team mates have made for your inspiration.

I would like to enter this card at the following challenges:~

Brown Sugar ~ # 34 ~ Anything Goes

Creative Card Crew ~ # 32 ~ Masculine

Love To Create ~ # 57 ~ Anything Goes

Ooh~La~La Creations ~ It's A Man Thing

Thank you for taking the time to stop by.

I really do appreciate all your lovely comments.

Have a fabulous Saturday.

In The Pink.....

Good morning everyone.
I hope you are well.
As it's Friday it's time for a new challenge over at 
Winter Wonderland
Our theme this week is
IN THE PINK
And here is my DT card

This week we are lucky to have two sponsors
Our first sponsor is
Crafty~Emblies

With a prize of a £10 voucher
and our second sponsor is
My Crafty Heart

With a prize of a £10 voucher

Please pop over to the main challenge blog and have a look at all the beautiful creations the rest of the DT have made for your inspiration and don't forget it is Christmas projects only.

For my card I used this cute Penny Black stamp called Xmouse Ornament which is one of my favourites. I coloured the image using Promarkers. The papers are from Craft Creations Ltd and I have used some silver Mirri card and some pale pink Bazzill card for mounting. The snowflake punch is from Martha Stewart and I have added pearls and gems from The Hobby House and the sentiment is computer generated.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:~

Christmas At Sweet Stampin' ~ # 4 ~ No Red & No Green Christmas Cards All Year Round ~ Sparkle & Bling I Love Promarkers ~ Anything Goes Bearly ~Mine Challenges ~ # 78 ~ Anything Goes


Thank you for taking the time to stop by.
Have a lovely day.

Pickle....

Good afternoon everyone.
I hope you are all well.
Well it's another sad day here for us.
This morning I had to make the sad decision to say 'Goodnight' to my other cat Pickle.

Some of you may know that we lost her sister 'Onion' in February due to a short illness.
Pickle had epilepsy and arthritis and had also suffered several strokes during her earliest fits but she was a fighter and it never altered her appetite.....only her Meow which seemed to vanish and was replaced by 'Aaachh' whenever she wanted anything......Bless her!!! 
Anyway she became ill yesterday and I didn't want her to suffer.
It was a very difficult decision to make but I know it was the right one.....even though it doesn't feel like it at the moment.
Here she is with her partner in crime 'Bertie'.

And below impatiently waiting for her tea.....
she had a mind here to inform me in no uncertain terms that she didn't like the salmon treats I had bought her, where upon we had a long conversation about contributing to the household finances with her 'Pickle Pounds & Pennies' from the 'Pickle Pension Fund'.  

How dare you!   Amused she was not....
look at that grumpy face.....
We will all miss her and I know I will be lost without my 'Girls'.......

Thank you for taking the time to stop by.
Enjoy the rest of your day.

My Little Garden

Good morning everyone.
I hope you are all well.
It's cold, wet and miserable here again today......
But I do have another card to share.....

For this card I followed this sketch from Sketch Saturday.

 I have used an Elizabeth Bell topper from The Hobby House from the 'My Little Garden' set. The papers are from My Minds Eye and I have teamed them up with Kraft. The border punch is one of my favourites from Martha Stewart and I have used various die~cuts and punches for the leaves and flowers. The pearls are as always from The Hobby House and the corner die~cut is from Whimsy Stamps also from The Hobby House. The little sentiment is from Craftwork Cards.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:~
Sketch Saturday ~ # 250 ~ Jen's Sketch Sentimental Sundays ~ # 146 ~ Anything Goes Dutch Dare Card Challenges ~ # 208 ~ Spots And Stripes Fussy And Fancy Friday ~ # 84 ~ Flowers

Thank you for stopping by.
Have a lovely day.

Lucky Me....

Good morning everyone.
I hope you are all well today.
First I would like to say 'Hello' and 'Welcome' to my new followers. Thank you so much for joining me on my crafty adventures.
Well the sun is out here.....It's still cold and windy but I can see the 'Sun'.....
I don't have any cards to share today but I do want to share these two fabulous prizes that I won recently from Craft Stamper.
The first is a book about Zentangles

I came across Zentangles a while ago and thought I would like to have a go but never got round to it......so I guess I have no excuse now. I actually bought a kit to go with this.....so watch this space!

And my second prize again from Craft Stamper 

was this fabulous Dylusions Creative Journal.
As some of my followers will know from past posts I'm taking part in Kate Crane's 365 Journal Challenge so this is going to be perfect for all my inky journal pages.

Thank you for stopping by.
Have a lovely Sunday.

Season's Greetings

Good afternoon everyone.
I hope you are all well.
I've managed to finish another card.....I think I'm on a roll and I'm ahead of myself with my DT work.....which makes a change I can tell you.
This is another Christmas card so I'm on track with this little goal too.

The image is by Krista Smith (which I've had for an age) but have never managed to colour. As the title of this post suggests this image is called 'Season's Greetings'.
I was having a play with my Promarkers trying to colour black hair.....I don't think I've quite got it yet but I'm working on it.
I used a few different embossing folders and various die~cuts and I challenged myself to use up all the off cuts of white card left on my work desk and this is the result. The pearls, brads and spacers  are from The Hobby House and the sentiment is from LOTV.
I hope you like it.
I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:~
C.R.A.F.T Challenge ~ # 198 ~ Christmas The Sugar Bowl ~ # 101 ~ Anything Goes Christmas At Sweet Stampin' ~ # 4 ~ No Red & No Green Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Christmas Challenge Extra ~ Anything Christmas Holly Jolly Christmas ~ White Or Vanilla Plus One

Thank you for stopping by.
Have a lovely afternoon.

Right that's me.....I'm off to watch the rugby......for the rest of the day......

Spring Lamb.....

Good morning everyone.
I hope you are all well.
Today I have another card to share.
This time I have made a card for a new baby.

I wasn't really sure about this card but it has grown on me now. I made the lamb using a Sizzix die that I've had for years and I think this poor little chap has been sat on my desk, made up for about a year at least. The die is called 'Stuffed Lamb'.

The papers are from Craft Creations Ltd......my favourites. I just love their spotty papers, well all spotty papers to be honest. The pearls and roses are from The Hobby House and the leaf punch is from McGill. The little 'New Addition' stamp is from a Fizzy Moon set.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:~

Allsorts ~ # 197 ~ Springtime

Cute Card Thursday ~ # 260 ~ Anything Goes

Crafting For All Seasons ~ # 47 ~ Spring Into Spring

Fussy & Fancy Friday ~ # 84 ~ Flowers

Thank you for stopping by.

Have a lovely day.

Easter Bunny

Good afternoon everyone.
I hope you are all well.
Today I have another card to share.
I think I have a bit of a green thing going on at the moment as everything on my work desk is in shades of green.....It must be Spring.....well in my head at least......

This image is a Penny Black stamp called Garden Slumber.....I have coloured this time using my Distress Marker pens, I just love these pens. The papers were a freebie with a magazine left over from quite awhile ago. I have used a Martha Stewart border punch and various other dies and punches to create the flower and the leaves. The pearls as always are from The Hobby House and the sentiment is computer generated.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:~
Allsorts  ~ # 197 ~ Springtime Crafting For All Seasons ~ # 47 ~ Spring Into Spring Sparkle And Glitter ~ # 11 ~ Spring Is In The Air Penny Black Challenge ~ Spring Into Spring Celebrate The Occasion ~ # 103 ~ Spring Is In The Air Lexi's Creations ~ # 85 ~ Easter Cute Card Thursday ~ # 259 ~ Spring Fever

Thank you for stopping by.
Enjoy the rest of your day.

Going Green.....

Good afternoon everyone.
It's so miserable and cold again today but I have some nice, bright Spring~like journal pages to share.
I'm still keeping my New Year's resolution to keep up with Kate Crane's 365 Calendar Journal.....I know I'm a bit late but here it is..... finished......

I used white and green paints and a baby wipe to create the base layer then spritzed with green, gold and silver inks and Mica sprays. I stamped the birds onto paper and cut them out and also stamped leaves and flowers directly onto my background. The papers, stamps and sentiment stamp are all from Art From The Heart......although I've had the papers for years now. I finished off by adding random circles and lines and a Tim Holtz die~cut 'MARCH' heading.
I love the colours and how they turned out and I'm quite liking how my journal is beginning to look....now I just have to remember to fill in each day and think about what to do for April's pages.
I am adding my March journal pages to Kate Crane's 365 Journal Challenge.
Hey look Polly.......I've done it again.
Thank you for stopping by.
Enjoy the rest of your day. 

It's A Floral Frenzy......

Good morning everyone.
Well it's a wet and miserable day here so what better way to cheer it up than with lots of flowers.
We have a new challenge over at
A Gem Of A Challenge
and our theme this week is 
FLORAL FRENZY
And here is my DT card

For my card I used this cute digi image from Pink Gem Designs called Horace With Flowers. I coloured him using Promarkers and he was a real dream to colour. The papers were a freebie from a magazine...I can't remember which one as it was ages ago but I think they are from Nitwit Collections. The flowers are from my stash and the pearls, brads and spacers are from The Hobby House. I added some die~cut leaves and a sentiment from LOTV to finish off.
Please pop over to the main challenge blog and take a peek at all the lovely flowery creations the rest of the DT have made for your inspiration.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:~
In The Pink ~ # 15 ~ Floral/Mother's Day Dutch Dare Card Challenge ~ # 207 ~ Girls Bearly~Mine Challenges ~ # 76 ~ Mother's Day Creative Craft Challenges ~ # 5 ~ Mother's Day

Thank you for stopping by.
Have a lovely Saturday.

Photo Inspiration At Winter Wonderland

Good morning everyone.
I hope you are all well.
It's Friday once again so that means it's time for a new challenge over at
Winter Wonderland
Our theme this week is 
PHOTO INSPIRATIONAL

Here is the picture and don't forget to tell us what inspired your creation.
Here is my DT card

I was inspired by the Snowman and the falling snow.
This week we are sponsored by
Lily Of The Valley

who are offering our winner a £10 voucher.
Please pop over to the main challenge blog and take a peek at all the fabulous creations the rest of the DT have made for your inspiration.
For my card I used this fabulous snowman image from Great Impressions. I coloured him using Distress Ink Markers. The papers are from LOTV and Craft Creations Ltd. The pearls are from The Hobby House and I finished my card with lots of Stickles to give some added sparkle. The sentiment is computer generated and I followed this sketch from Sketch Saturday.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:~
Sketch Saturday ~ # 248 ~ A Sketch Christmas Card Challenge ~ # 14 ~ Anything Goes Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra ~ Anything Christmas

Thank you for stopping by.
Have a great day.

Dressing Up!

Good afternoon everyone.
I hope you are all well.
Today I have a tag to share.
And 'No' it's not the Tim Holtz one I'm supposed to have finished....that's a work in progress......the February tag and the March tag are ongoing projects at the moment.
This tag is one using the fabulous Julie Nutting stamps.....well one of them anyway.

I spritzed, inked and stencilled the background then stamped the image on to spotty pink paper.....(I'm afraid this photo isn't very good) and cut her out mounting her onto the tag. I then cut out some of the flowers and leaves from the same papers. To finish off I added some ribbon roses, pearls and lace from The Hobby House.
I'm quite pleased with how she turned out although I was a little tempted to keep adding things but managed to stop myself.
Thanks Polly, you never fail to inspire me.

Thank you for stopping by.
Enjoy the rest of your day.

Waiting For Summer

Good afternoon everyone.
I hope you are all well.
The weather is so dark, cold and miserable here I thought I'd make a card with a summery feel to it.

I was digging around in my stamps drawer the other day and came across this little ray of sunshine so I coloured her with Promarkers, gave her a home and followed this sketch from Sketch Saturday.

The papers are from my stash......not sure what they are called....Sorry! and the image is of course a Magnolia stamp....I have so many of these stamps........I should really use them more often. The pearls are from The Hobby House and the sentiment is computer generated. 

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:~
Sketch Saturday ~ # 248 ~ A Sketch Papertake Weekly ~ Anything Goes

Thank you for stopping by.
Enjoy the rest of your day.

Chocolate Heaven ~ The Diet Starts Monday!

Good afternoon everyone.
I hope you are all well today. 
Well it's been a beautiful day here today, lots of sunshine.....still cold but lovely to see the sun!!!
No cards or crafty projects to share with you today but I do have some photos of the 'Giant' cupcakes my daughter made for her boyfriend's 18th and my partners birthday (I won't give his age away though).....
The 18th Birthday Cupcake

The 'Other' Birthday Cupcake

And A Close Up

And yes they taste as good as they look too.

Roll on Mother's Day.

Thank you for stopping by.

Have a lovely evening.