All Dressed Up...New Challenge

I hope you've all had a great start to the week.  I was determined to start the new week feeling better but unfortunately not - I'm getting fed up now, it's over a week & that's just not on!  I have so much stuff I want to do but my craft room looks like a bomb site & I just haven't had the energy to sort it & I really want to play.  Luckily I made my card for the new All Dressed Up Anything Goes challenge a lil while ago :o)  I used Birthday Monkey, I love this cute image.  If you haven't seen Wendy's gorgeous images you can check them out HERE & if you want to "try before you buy" there are some fab freebies HERE :D

The challenges:

Crafty Friends - Animals/Birds

Lacy Sunshine - Anything Goes

Simply Papercraft - Anything Goes

QKR Stampede - One for the Kids

Crafting with Friends - Anything Goes

Brown Sugar - Anything Goes

Suzy Bee's - Anything Goes (twist add an animal)
Ellibelle's Creative Moments - Critters & Creatures

ABC - A is for Animals
Passion for ProMarkers - Show us Your Favourites

Card Recipe:

All Dressed Up Birthday Monkey Image

ProMarkers & Chalk 

Circle & Small Scalloped Circle Dies (Spellbinders)

Memory Box (Poppy Stamps) Meadow Leaf die

First Edition Animal Antics Paper Pad

Kraft Card Blank

Wednesday Again!???

Yes it really is Wednesday again & I don't know where that week went.  Today I'm sharing a couple of male cards, they are similar & I kept them CAS, most guys don't like a lot of sparkle & bling (I did say most! lol I know some do :o).  I hope you've all had a good week so far, on Saturday I went for a singing taster workshop which was great fun - I love singing! I'm always singing while I'm at work, crafting etc... not at the moment though cos I'm not feeling well :o( with head/ear/throat ache - it is that time of year unfortunately (roll on Spring!) but I'm dosing myself up, drinking lots & thinking positive so hopefully I will soon feel better.   

The Challenges:

Cute Card Thursday - Just Boys

Crafter's Cafe - I've got the January Blue

Crafting From the Heart - Anything Goes

Crafting When We Can - Celebrating any Occasion  

Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes

Creative Card Crew - Anything Goes

Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes 
Inspiration Destination - Anything Goes 
Mod Squad - Masculine Birthday 
Simon Says - Anything Goes 
Karleigh Sue - Anything Goes 
Little Red Wagon - They Say It's Your Birthday
 

Items used:

Docrafts Digital Designer Wellington Past Times collection

Craftwork Cards Sentiments  

Kraft Card

Bakers Twine

Brad

Clock charm from First Edition Silent Night Embellishment kit

Papers from stash

I've Got That Wednesday Feeling :o)

I love Wednesday cos it's my day off & today started well  with brunch out with friends & now I'm in my craft room crafting & listening to the radio :o) - it doesn't get too much better than this (apart from family time of course).  The cards I'm sharing today were made with a gorgeous image I saw while I was blog hopping from A Day For Daisies who are kind enough to offer a freebie to use in their challenges.  I dusted the sewing machine off, it hasn't seen much action lately (even though I keep saying I want to do more sewing, hopefully this year I will be able to fit some in). 

The challenges
Digi Choosday - Stitching 
The Crafter's Cafe - Male Cards
Our Crafty Corner - Anything Goes
Melonheadz Friends - Cool Colours
Make My Monday - Stitching, real or faux
The Cutie Pie - Krafty Cuties
Dream Valley - New
A Day For Daisies - Stitch It Up
Cardz 4 Guyz - Blue is the Colour
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes

The challenges:
Fan-Tastic - Anything (twist make it girly)
Crafty Cardmakers - New 
Crafty Boots - Ribbon or Lace
Crafting From The Heart - Anything Goes
Get Creative - Something New
CCC Digi Creations - Use Die Cuts
Crafting Musketeers - New Beginnings
Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
My Time To Craft - Tag It
Scrap & Craft - New Beginnings 
Southern Girls - One for the Girls

Card Recipe:
Papers - First Edition Up & Away & Summer Breeze pads
Digi image - ADFD freebie
Tag & Baby-grow - Die-namics Notched Tag die
It's a Boy Stamp - Hero Arts
Lace - Fairy My World
Brilliance Ink pads - Pearlescent Sky Blue & Coral 
ProMarkers
Extras - Button, pearl, ribbon flower, brad  

Favourite Christmas Present :o)

If like me you were lucky enough to get some crafty goodies for Christmas I wonder what your favourite was?  Mine was my huge glass cutting mat which is fab, not only for cutting but you can put your inks on it & blend them & everything just wipes off :o)  At the moment it has 2 part started cards on (& a few other bits & pieces that really need tidying lol).

While I'm here I'd like to share a card that I made for another friend using another pre-coloured Lili of the Valley topper, a heart doily, some die cut hearts & a mini envelope & I am proud to say I made the crochet flower myself (I'm proud cos I've wanted to be able to make these for ages & now I can!).

The challenges: 

Lemon Shortbread - Anything Goes

Crafting With Friends - Anything Goes

QKR Stampede - Lots of Layers

Simply Papercraft - Anything Goes

Crafting With An Attitude - Anything Goes

DRS - Heart to Heart

Inspiration Destination - Anything Goes

Bunny Zoe - Hearts

Crafting From The Heart - Anything Goes

The Crazy Challenge - Celebrations
Craft Rocket - Happy Anything

I hope you're enjoying your weekend.  It freezing here, hubby's game of football was called off so we're now going to watch a movie, drink tea & eat cake :o)

Happy Weekend!

 

I'm so glad that week is over, it wasn't nice being back at work after the Christmas break (but I least I had the few days in between Christmas & New Year off - first time in 14 years!).  I don't like January/February & can't wait for spring to come but this time of the year I feel is always a time for reflection & keeping positive (sometimes easier than others lol) :o).

Today I'm sharing another Pocket Letter I made this time it's a nautical theme, I do like making these but I'm did having a little break cos I had a couple of swaps where I didn't actually receive a pocket letter back which was a bit disheartening especially as they're quite time consuming to make (fun though!). Just in case you haven't come across Pocket Letters you can find some info HERE.

The challenges:

Creative Fingers - Anything Goes 

Crafting With Attitude - Anything Goes

Scrapper's Delights - Anything Goes

Morgan's ArtWorld - Anything Goes

Polkadoodles - Anything Goes

As You Like It - Anything Goes

Hiding in My Craft Room - Super Scraps 
Leinzlove Tear Bears - Anything Goes (1st Challenge)

Back of Bookmark

Thanks for looking & have a wonderful weekend xx

Time to Relax...

Well I've had my relaxing over Christmas & now it's back to the daily grind but I'm sure I'll fit in some relaxation (hopefully in the form of crafting) somewhere :o)  "Time to Relax" is also the name of this gorgeous image for All Dressed Up by the super talented Wendy. Unfortunately my mojo has gone walkabout so I'm not happy with this card & you will see that the other DT members have done a much better job of showcasing it. I used some scraps of paper & some satin hearts I've had forever (New Years resolution coming into play ;o)  & finished off with a die cut flower, brad & some pearls.  

The challenges:

Whimsy Stamps  - Winter

Pile It On - Anything Christmas/Winter

Scrapbook Cardmaking (Bastel-dream) - Winter

Sisters Of Craft - Anything Goes

Oddball Art Stamps - Christmas or Winter
Crafting From the Heart - Anything Goes 
Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes 

I hope you've had a great start to the week xx

Favourite 5 of 2015

Debby at A Scrapjourney has done a post where you can link up your favourite card makes from 2015 so I thought I'd join in :o) (It did make me realise that my photo's aren't really up to scratch lol).  Too be honest looking back I thought I'd made a lot more than I had, I'm hoping to do better this year (if my mojo returns).

Crafty New Year Resolutions

I always make the same New Year resolutions: eat healthily, worry less, redesign the kitchen (well that has been on the list for a couple of years lol)... & I thought I would make some crafty resolutions this year too & they are to use more of the stuff I already have, be more organised & try & blog at least once a week (the last one is going to be the hardest but I'm going to give it a good go!).  

I'm starting by sharing a card I made recently for a friend's birthday.  I used a Lili of the Valley topper (I find myself having less time to colour lately, especially as it takes me ages so these are really handy).  The papers are various from my stash & I finished with a greeting, pearl, flower & button.

The challenges:

Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes

Craftyhazelnut's - Patterned  Paper 

That's Crafty - Anything Goes

4 Crafty Chicks - Anything Goes

The Paper Shelter - Anything Goes

Deep Ocean - Anything Goes

Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

 I hope you've had a wonderful start to the New Year xx

Happy New Year!

Last All Dressed Up Challenge Before Christmas

Hello, sorry I've been AWOL but I had an accident on my bike when it was icy early in the morning on my way to work & have been out of action for over a week, I'm still struggling & can hardly walk & I can't drive (& definitely can't bike, not that I want to at the moment anyway).  I did go back to work this week but it is very tiring.  Anyway on to the challenge, which is Anything Goes as usual (+ an All Dressed Up image).  I haven't been able to do much crafting but I just about managed to colour this gorgeous image called Little Angel & recycled a card I had made a while ago.  I hope you can join us :o)

The challenges:

Winter Wonderland - Add Some Sparkle & Bling 

Crafty Hazelnut - Use Die Cuts or Punches (the tag is a punch)

Sparkle Creations - Anything (Christmas) Goes

Creatalicious - Merry Christmas

Cute Card Thursday - Fairies & Angels

Craft-Dee BowZ - Handmade Bow

Always Playing With Paper - Non-Traditional Christmas Card 

Inky Chicks - Merry Christmas

A Snowflake's Challenge - Winter/Christmas

I wanted to put our Christmas tree/decorations up at the weekend but couldn't, I definitely doing it this weekend but I think Mark (hubby) might be doing most of it - with my guidance of course! ;o)  I hope you're all having a great week xx

A Little Reminder...

There is still time to join in the fun of the All Dressed Up Blog Hop & the chance to win some fabulous images :o)  I little while ago I posted a pic of an elephant I made using one of Wendy's digital images (you can see the post HERE) & I tweaked the pattern a bit & here is the 2nd elephant (It's still a bit lumpy lol but I think elephants are a bit lumpy ;o)  I used an old scarf for his body & some scraps of fabric for the ears.

I hope you're all having a great week.  Thanks for looking xx

All Dressed Up Birthday Blog Hop! (Win, Win, Win) & a Freebie!

At All Dressed Up we are having a Blog Hop to celebrate our 2nd Birthday :o) & there is a wonderful freebie for you all, how cool is that!  There are also 4 gorgeous new Christmas digital images released to day & the lucky DT got to choose which image we wanted to use - not an easy choice cos they are all wonderful but I went with "Christmas Star",  I added lots of sparkle in the shape of glitter card for border, stars & wings & Glamour Dust on large star (well if you can't go ott on sparkle at Christmas when can you lol).  The image was coloured with ProMarkers & I finished off with some ribbon.

If you visit each of the DT's blogs & kindly leave a comment there will be the chance to win the image that they have used :D  How amazing is that - 14 chances in all!  So you need to start at the All Dressed Up challenge blog & visit the DT members in turn.  

So you should have arrived here from our lovely Shelia's blog & last on the list is Vannessa & I'm sure you will get lots of inspiration from her & all the other DT members gorgeous creations. The blog hop will run for a week so there's plenty of time to enter :o)

The challenges:

Unicorn - Christmas is Coming 

Card & Scrap - Christmas

Fan-Tastic Tuesday - Stars 

A Snowflakes Promise - Christmas/Winter

City Crafter - Getting Ready for Christmas

ABC Christmas - V for Very Cute

Fab 'n' Funky - Die Cuts or Punches

Southern Girls - Twine, Tape or Ribbon

Crafty Girls - Anything Goes

I also made a bookmark with the freebie:  I die cut a bookmark shape covered with DP added a bit of ribbon & a cupcake sticker & of course that gorgeous image :o)

Challenges:
Creative Knockouts - Lace, Twine, Ribbon
Sassy Studio -Anything Goes 
Not Just Cards - Anything Goes
Doodle Pantry - Digital
Cutie Pie - Pretty in Pink 
Deep Ocean - Chocolate, Coffee or Tea 
Crafty Addicts - Anything Goes/Use Die Cuts
Cute Card Thursday - Food/Drink

Thanks for looking & I do hope you will join in the Fun :o) xx

Christmas is Coming...

& I really need to get a move on with my Christmas crafting!  Luckily All Dressed Up have some gorgeous Christmas images & I chose "All Dressed Up For Christmas" for my card for the new Anything Goes challenge (using an All Dressed Up image or papers).  I did some paper piecing & added lots of gems to the tree.  The papers were from my stash & I finished off with some Glamour Dust, fabric greeting, bow, die cut poinsettia & brad.  

All Dressed Up is now 2 years old - can you believe that - and to celebrate we are having an extra special Birthday Blog Hop starting on 7th November to coincide with the November New Release.  

Wendy is very kindly giving you all 

a fabulous freebie

(want a sneak peak?.......)

Isn't that exciting :o) I can't wait & I hope you will be able to join the Blog Hop (& the challenge) 

The challenges:
Cute Card Thursday - Sparkles
A Snowflakes Promise - Winter/Christmas
Time Out - Christmas (option of pink/purple)
Winter Wonderland - Anything Christmas 
Crazy for Challenges - Christmas
Crafting for all Seasons - All Dressed Up/Girly
Christmas Cards All Year 'Round - O Christmas Tree
Crafty Hazelnut - Christmas
Crafty Time - Embellish It
Emerald Faeries - Oh Christmas Tree
Allsorts - Christmas

Don't Forget...

to join the latest All Dressed Up "Anything Goes" challenge :o) You do need to use Wendy's fab images or papers BUT don't worry if you haven't got any you will find some fab freebies HERE, so there is no excuse to join in the fun ;o)  (& there is the chance to win 3 images of your choice too!).  I so love making things & mixing and matching crafts & when I made a card with the "Tall Like You" Image I thought I'd try & use the elephant as a pattern for a soft toy or cushion & this is the result.  He is a bit wonky but it came out better than I was expecting (I have tweaked the pattern to make another one & will blog that when it's finished).

Challenges:
Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes  
Not Just Cards - Anything Goes
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes 
Crafting From the Heart - Anything Goes
Inspiration Destination - Anything Goes 
Brown Sugar - Anything Goes
 
If you didn't know there is also an All Dressed Up Facebook group too so we would love to see you there.  I hope you've had a lovely Sunday (though they do tend to go way too quickly lol)

My VERY Favourite Pocket Letters :o)

We all like happy mail & those who read my blog will know that I have recently got into making Pocket Letters (which are a sort of cross between ATC's & scrapbooking...with little goodies included) & you can imagine how excited when I received 3 envelopes in the post addressed to Nanny Tracey.  My 3 adorable grandchildren had all made me a Pocket Letter.  You can see that we are a crafty family & all love art & craft & are always creating something :o) 

This one is Ryan's who is 10

This one is Abigail's who is 7

& this one is Bethany's who is 4

I've nearly finished the ones to send back to them & will post pics when they are finished.  I hope your all having a great Saturday & enjoy the rest of the weekend :o)

Keep Calm & Scare On...

Front

This is a Pocket Letter I made for a Halloween swap.  I used some free printables from the net, papers from my stash & the spiders web with the word shock was from an advert in a magazine.  The skeleton & spider were from Poundland (with lots of other bits & pieces). These are such fun to make & swap :o)

The challenges:

Creatalicious - Halloween 

Our Crafty Corner - Getting Ready for Halloween 

Get Creative - Halloween

Creative Corner - Halloween

Crafts Galore - Halloween

That Craft Place - Halloween

Pile It On - Funky &/or Freaky

C.R.A.F.T. - Halloween...etc

Aud Sentiments - Halloween Sentiments

Dragons Lair - Halloween

Try it on Tuesdays - Halloween
Corrosive - The Dark Side 
Sweet Ideas - Spook tacular
Crafty Calendar - Halloween

Back

I hope you're having a great week.  I've had a few days off work which has been great & I've been catching up with jobs that I've been meaning to do for ages (sorting out airing cupboard etc).

Gorgeous New Images at All Dressed Up

Today is the release of 4 new images at All Dressed Up & they are all so fabulous it was difficult to chose which one to use but I went for "Paris" I coloured the background with chalk & the girl with ProMarkers, the paper was a freebie I found online HERE.  I made a  pocket & put at a small image of the Eiffel Tower that I found in my stash.  Be sure to check out the new images & all of Wendy's other gorgeous digis too :o)

The challenges:

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - Animals

Bunny Zoe - Teens & Tweens

Brown Sugar - Shabby Chic

Sisters of Craft - Anything Goes

Petal Lu - Anything Goes

Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Doodle Pantry - Anything Goes (digi)

Whoopsi Daisy - Hand Coloured Image

Thanks for looking, I hope you're having a lovely week xx

All Dressed Up Challenge Time :o)

 Yey! The All Dressed Up new Anything Goes challenge starts today & I hope you can join us.  I used Wendy's "Tall Like You" image, isn't it cute & elephant's are my favourite animals :D  I paper pieced the animals & clouds & chalked the background.  I kept the card simple to focus on the image just adding a ribbon & woolly flower.

The challenges:

Oh La La - Get Krafty

Make My Monday - Autumn Colours 

Tuesday Throwdown - Clean & Simple

Freshly Brewed - The Great Outdoors 

Crafting for all Seasons - Autumnal Hues 

Scrap & Craft - Colours of Autumn

Fussy & Fancy - Autumn Colours

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - Animals
Inky Impressions - Dots & Stripes

I'm so glad it's Friday evening, it's been a rough week, I've had a horrible head cold & did feel awful.  Luckily I'm coming out the other side now & am really looking forward to having a nice relaxing weekend.  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend too xx