Polka Dot Spots

Yet another challenge from the Just Bex forum- Your challenge is to create a card or a layout featuring polka dots or spots

Once again, all materials are from the Doodlebug range. The Bazzill, paper and sticker were all from the Christmas 'Let's kit together' kit, which is gorgeous!!

Hang It On The Tree

Big Challenge 2 from the Just Bex forum was- Your challenge is to make a Christmas decoration to hang on the tree . Your decoration can be made however you like, as long as it hangs, and is small enough to go on the tree.

To start I had a plain piece of Basic Grey Chipboard in the shape of the snowflake. I covered it with Bazzill Bling and spent a gruelling (lol) hour and a bit cutting around the snowflake with my craft knife!!! I attached the hanging ribbon using a diamante brad and then placed sticky gems on the other 'arms' of the snowflake. I then tied a few lengths of ribbon around the centre to finish.

Paisley Crazy

Here is October Challenge 1 from the Just Bex forum... So, basically the challenge is to use something Paisley on your card, whether is a patterned paper, a die cut, ribbon, Paisley embossing, whatever you want. Its taken me an age just to take part in the challenges this month, so am quite pleased now.

Everything from the papers to the ribbon to the haunted house is Doodlebug Hallowe'en lol... so no big list of materials this time!!!

Button it for Christmas- Part 2

For some reason I can't seem to post these in the last one, so have done two separate lots. Both of these cards were made using the DCWV Christmas stack. The image is a Penny Black stamp, coloured with Sakura gel pens and some I Kan'dee chalks for the actual cat. The greeting is from the Hero Arts 2007 set. Finished with a Doodlebug button.

Button it for Christmas- Part 1

This challenge was from last friday on the Just Bex forum- Simple one this week - all cards must include BUTTONS. Any buttons, whether normal or novelty. Each card is made using a Penny Black stamped image. I had quite a few left over from last year, so thought I'd put them to good use.


This one was made using the DCWV Christmas stack. Some ribbon and a gorgeous little Doodlebug button.





This one is Doodlebug papers and again another DB button with some grosgrain ribbon.













I used the DCWV stack again for this one. The image is coloured with Sakura stardust pens. Finished with some dark green satin ribbon and a green button.

A blue one

I've had these papers sat in my drawer for ages, finally had a play. Not sure if I like this one yet though.

The papers are from HOTP Christmas Cardmakers Creative Pack. Same with the 'JOY' tags. I added a few Bazzill brads and some blue organza ribbon.

Challenge cards

These two cards were made as part of a Challenge Swap on Cardmaking Friends forum. Basically you make a card up, send your partner the same materials and see what they come up with and vice versa.

This is the card I made using my gorgeous Woodware 'Girlie fun' stamps, coloured with Sakura pens. I made the card using some pink Bazzill from the Doodlebug colour range. I cut a few circles from a darker pink and edged with black ink. I added handles to the circles to make them look like spacehoppers and finished with some gems. I then cut and layered my girl image.

The materials for this card were sent from my partner on the forum. I was stunned when I saw the papers and images and it took me a while to come up with something. With the deadline looming I forced myself to make a card lol. I believe the papers and images are from one of the Joanna Sheen Christmas CD's.

Green and Pink Christmas

Not been around for a while... to be honest, I haven't really been in a cardmaking mood. But I seem to be back on track again.

Really enjoyed this one... to start I grabbed some Bazzill from the Doodlebug colour ranges. I stamped on the pink one using my Hero Arts Christmas stamps and my green Dew Drop.

I mounted a Penny Black Stickeroo onto the green bazzill and edged with some pink ink. The strip of pink and green is from the same Stickeroo sheet.

To finish I edged the whole card using green ink.

Tagged... and a hello

I just got this from Leigh... thanks, it made me lol

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) Radar Ford

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Mint Oreo

3. YOUR "FLY Guy/Girl" NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) Swil

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Pink Cat

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Diane Ely

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) Wilso

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put "The") The Orange Malibu

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) Bill Ned

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favourite candy) Ghost Kinder Egg

10. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's & father's middle names ) Anthony (mum doesn't have one)

I will list my taggees later as I can't think who to tag yet lol!!


And a quick hello... not had any inspiration the last week, but will be posting a few cards if I manage to make any this evening lol!! Hope you're all well.xxx

Get Tearing

A new challenge from the Just Bex forum... I quite enjoyed this one- You've guessed it...cards or LO's tear them to your hearts content.

I used some of the 'Tis the Season' Dovecraft papers for this one. The tree is actually a Basic Grey chipboard tree and I have covered with paper, layered onto my torn piece of paper. I tied a small piece of grosgrain ribbon around the trunk of the christmas tree.

To finish I added a few Doodlebug gems and inked around the edges of the card, tree and torn piece with green ink.

Hiding lol

Ooooops not been on for a few days... smacks hand lol! I have a few 'creations' in the pipeline, so will get them posted as soon as they are finished!!

Hope you are all crafting away!!!

Christmas Cards- Using Laurie Sketches

OK so I had another play tonight with some more sketches over at http://laurieunger.blogspot.com/. I decided to make a couple more Christmas cards.

For this one I used last years Papermania Christmas papers for the base of the card, and then for the triangle piece, also for the middle layer of squares. The first and third square are cut from the white Bazzill Bling, edged with lilac and pink Dew Drops.

The snowflake is from the Basic Grey Christmas chipboard pack, I inked it using the Dew Drops and stuck to the top card. I then cut a circle of the Bazzill Bling and stamped a Hero Arts greeting onto it.

This one was made using the white Bazzill Bling as the base of the card. I cut two triangles out from the darker blue Bazzill Bling and stuck them down. I then layered a Penny Black Stickeroo onto some more white Bazzill Bling and layered that onto the card. I finished with some blue ink to the edges and a few snowflake stickers from the same stickeroo sheet.

And another lol

OK so I seem to be on a roll tonight, this one is a sketch from the same blog as mentioned on the previous post.

The large snowflake appears to be on whiter cardstock than the other white, but it is in fact the same white Bazzill Bling. Its scanned that way as the snowflake is mounted on 3D foam.

Again using the same materials as the previous two cards... the Penny Black Stickeroo is from the same sheet as the snowmen.

Another Blue one!

I used the sketch from http://laurieunger.blogspot.com/ for this one... all materials are the same.

Penny Black Stickeroos, Bazzill Bling, Hero Arts stamps and Dew Drops... yummy

A Blue Christmas

I don't think I've EVER made a blue Christmas card, but there's a first time for everything. I'm actually quite pleased with the way this one has turned out.

The shimmery card is Bazill Bling in white, and then layered onto it is some lovely blue. The ribbon is actually from a really cheap Papermania Winter ribbon pack I bought ages ago.

The cute snowman is a Penny Black Stickeroo layered onto some white Bazzill Bling and edged with blue Dew Drop. I then added a few snowflakes from my Hero Arts 2007 stamp set.

A Basic Grey Christmas

Ah, that time of year is coming... and I have just made my first Christmas Card of the year, using my new Basic Grey papers!! The scan is slightly wonky, so apologies for that!!

The gorgeous paper is the Basic Grey 'Fruitcake' collection. I used both sides of it to make sure the first two layers co-ordinated! The tag was also from the same collection... I then thread some brown grosgrain through and stuck down with some eyelet brads.

I inked around the edge of the paper with my 'Coffee Bean' Dew Drop and used it along with one of the new Hero Arts 2007 Clear stamp set.

Another work of Art

Drawn by my brother Daniel Cole, another Limited Edition... he really is fantastic I think!! As before any feedback is very helpful to him!!

Woohoooo... Invites done!!!

Well I made myself do the Hallowe'en Party invites this evening. I must admit I didn't enjoy colouring in loads of the same image the other night, but tonight with the layering it was OK lol! Just pleased these ones are done... now all I have to do for Hallowe'en is the Happy Hallowe'en cards!!

So here's a picture of the finished products... as always the papers are Doodlebug, the card is Bazzill. The images are my ghost Whipper Snapper stamp. I coloured each image with my Sakura pens. The striped ribbons are Doodlebug and the rest are from various craft shops... finished with a 'Tangerine' Doodlebug gem.

New Brads!

My friend Nicki from Cardmaking Friends bought me the most gorgeous brads back from her visit to the USA. She then challenged me to make a card using them... I have to say it wasn't much of a challenge as they are so gorgeous!!!


So this is what I came up with. As you can see the brads are to die for... they are quite large and material, from K and Co. I started by covering the card in some pink Bazzill Bling, layering a cut of white card and edging with my pink Dew Drop. I tied some lovely ric rac from a recent swap on the forum.

I attached the brad to a Making Memories bloom and a small Prima daisy. To finish I added 3 baby pink gems.

Button It!

A new Just Bex challenge- Cards, LO's or whatever you want for this challenge as long as you use buttons.

I really liked doing this one, seems all the Hallowe'en stuff has turned me orange mad lol!

For this one I used some orange Bazzill Bling and plain black Bazzill. The flower was one of the Creative Imaginations Swatchbook rub-ons, which I then added an orange button to the centre.

The faux stitching was done using my trusty black and orange Sakura pens. And to finish I added a HOTP clear stamps greeting from a QVC TSV a couple of months back.

Nice Matters Award

A massive thank you to Beth at http://astampingoodtime.blogspot.com/... who nominated me forthe 'Nice Matters Award'. I must admit, I visit Beths blog every day religiously... she does some stunning work!!! Its amazing how people from different places all over the world can connect over the same interests!! If any of you get time, please take a look at her blog!!

Its now my turn to nominate 5 bloggers to carry on this reward...

1) Leigh @ http://leighslittleblog.blogspot.com/... I had to nominate Leigh first, she showed me the world of blogging after all lol!!
2) http://craftyincalgary.blogspot.com/
3) Stamping Granny @ http://stampinonthemountain.blogspot.com/
4) Deborah @ http://adepts.blogspot.com/
5) Kate @ http://noseycritters.blogspot.com/

I would love to nominate everyone I know, but rules is rules lol!!!

I copied this bit from Beth... If participating in these games is a hardship for you, my feelings will definitely not be hurt. These good tidings are sent with fun in mind. ;)

Been busy

Hello everyone... been a bit busy the last few days... hubby is making me do all the Hallowe'en party prep, lists etc.
He has told me I need to get the invites made by next week (shock, horror lol) as people need notice to organise a costume. Hubbys costume is hilarious...

I am in the middle of making my Hallowe'en Doodlebug house atm... all I can say is wow!! They are so much fun, the windows are a bit fiddly, but its worth it! Hopefully I can have it finished tonight and blogged tomorrow!

Not sure if I'll be around much this weekend as I am on 'toddler duty'. Hubby has his first rugby game of the season tomorrow, so won't be seeing an awful lot of him... although it gives me a bit of time for crafting tomorrow night lol!!

Anyway catch you all later!!!

Hallowe'en Cards

OK, so my mojo is working overtime right now... here are a few more Hallowe'en cards... both using the Whipper Snapper stamps... and of course Doodlebug papers and ribbons lol!!!

A Little Gem

Another Just Bex challenge- We would like you to make a CARD or LO with GEMS use as many or as few as you like.

I loved this one, pretty simple card I might add. I used the most gorgeous flower rub-on from the Creative Imaginations Swatchbook. Adding several sticky gems to the centre of the flower. The text is using a Studio G stamp.

To finish I added 3 more gems to the side and edged the cardwith black ink.

Touchy Feely

We want cards and LO's good enough to touch, feel and stroke. It's all about textures for this challenge.

OK, so this challenge wasn't my particular favourite as I wasn't sure what I could use... but I had some gorgeous Velvet Ric Rac from a recent forum swap. I then used 3 blooms in various sizes and added a pretty little crystal brad for the centre.

The text is using Doodlebug rub-ons.

Tantalising Tangerine

Just Bex Challenge- Now Orange is not a colour I tend to craft with, but rename it Tantalising Tangerine and it takes on a whole new persona. Your challenge is to create a card using an Orange colour scheme and 1 point will be awarded for completion of this challenge.

I really enjoyed this challenge as my new Whipper Snapper stamps arrived from the States this morning. So I thought I'd make a lovely Hallowe'en card!!

I coloured the image with my Sakura pens and edged with black ink. The card is covered with some scrummy orange Bazzill and Doodlebug striped paper. The ribbon is also Doodlebug.

To finish the card, I added 2 purple gems and edged the whole card with black ink.

Letters

This challenge is from July on the Just Bex forum- Think of a word...maybe your name or initials..then either use wooden blanks from somewhere like http://www.woodenletters.co.uk/ or chipboard letters, maybe you can cut some out or robo them, you decide and then TART them up!!

I decided to make this for my daughter Ceara. I thought it would look lovely on her bedroom door!!!

I bought a large chipboard letter, this one measures 8" tall. I then covered it with a dotty sheet from my DCWV Nana's Kids stack. It looked rather bare still so I decided to ink around the edges with my pink Dew Drop.

I then added a large bloom, with Doodlebug rub-ons spelling my daughters name in the centre and some various pink and orange ribbons and ric-rac behind. I then added a few bright flowers and some sticky gems for the centres.

Sugar 'n' Spice

The Just Bex challenge is... Anything edible for this challenge please.

So here is a card with my new Doodlebug stamps. The background is from my DCWV Nana's Kids stack. It actually co-ordinates really well with the Doodlebug colours!! I have used the Frames and the Birthday stamp sets, stamped with Doodlebug ink lol. The ribbon and sequins are also DB lol!!!

The Winner..

of the Blog Candy is

CAKVD said...
Congrats on the 1k! Now the hit counter will rise much faster! You've got a great blog here.Cheryl KVD
05 August 2007 18:44

I have emailed you through your blog, so please reply with your address!!!

Thank you to all who entered and well done to Cheryl KVD!!!!!

Mmmmm Doodlebug

I got two sets of the Doodlebug clear stamps today. I won them from a US seller on ebay, and got them for half the price of buying from UK, and same postage rate too!!! I got the Birthday set and the Frames, and they are both delicious!!! I already have a few sets, so these will go nicely lol!

I can't wait to have a play with them tonight!!!!

Blog Candy!!!!!

OK, the hit counter now reads 1003, so here it is.....

All I want you to do is leave me a comment below... please only one comment per person otherwise I'll be here forever lol!!! If you pass this onto your friends and they mention your name in their comment, you will get entered again!!!

Easy peasy, it'd be silly not to when there are Love, Elsie 'Betty' embellishments going for grabs!!!

I will close this on Tuesday evening at 10pm and give the results on Wednesday... so come on, get commenting lol!!!! And I am happy to send anywhere in the world too!

I forgot to add.... you'll also get a card made by me using some of the Love, Elsie stuff!!!!

Watch out... Blog Candy

I'm just off to the In-Laws in a bit, but tonight I shall be putting on my first ever Blog Candy... this is to celebrate my upcoming 1000 hits and to say thank you for all the fantastic comments I have received!
Old and new blog visitors are welcome... and tell a friend... if they say you told them, you get given another ticket. I'll givev full details later... but keep an eye out...


And one clue.... Love, Elsie!!!!!

More LO's

Here are the ones I made yesterday, again I made a few more, but if I showed them all you'd get bored lol!!!

Another LO of my precious daughter. Again these pages are for my holiday scrapbook.

The paper used for this one is Rob and Bob. The chipboard frame and ribbon slide are Dovecraft. Then I thought I'd try something different and tied 3 different ribbons around a section of the main ribbon. The results are quite pretty!

These monkeys were soooooo gorgeous but had the sharpest teeth you could imagine lol!!!

Very basic page, See-D stamps were used for the title and brown Sakura pen for the doodling.

Stash!!!

Woohooooo, I finally got my stash parcel today... I have been waiting patiently, wondering if it would make it through the strikes lol!! No pics tonight I'm afraid, but I will tell you what I got...

Hallowe'en Doodlebug chipboard house!!!!
Doodlebug Christmas papers
Love Elsie chipboard buttons- Riley and Betty
Love Elsie gel stickers!

Then I went to the Papermill to get some DST, naturally ended up getting a few more things...

Dovecraft Christmas brad packs
Dovecraft Christmas chipboard stickers
Red and Green buttons

So after a nice little spend up, I came back and have made 3 LO's and a card!! I will pop them on tomorrow as lighting isn't the best at this time of night.

A few from tonight

Ok so I've not done any crafting for the past few days, hence the lack of entries... but I am back, here are two of the 4 LOs I've made this evening...

I adore this picture of my daughter lol... so I used some bubblegum Bazzill for the strip down the middle. Some more paler pink Bazzill to mount the photo on and then the lettering 'On the run' using my Urban Lily stickers. I then had a try at some doodling using my Sakura souffle pens... I'm rather pleased with the results!

I used some blue Bazzill for the strip down the LHS on this LO. The 'Smile' stamp is from my Doodlebug clear stamp set. The gorgeous 2-tone flowers are from bumper packs at Craftsulove, then finished with sticky gems.

Oooooh Hallowe'en

I'm so excited, we've never celebrated Hallowe'en before but it seems quite a big deal where we live atm... so we're having a Hallowe'en party. YIPPEEEEEEEE!!!

I have ordered the large Doodlebug Chipboard House with Hallowe'en embellishments and papers. Also some cute little Hallowe'en charms from ebay.

I feel like a big kid lol!!!

Chocachino Colour Challenge

I know, yet another one, they are running me ragged lol- There is nothing nicer than a scrummy choccachino from Thorntons and your challenge is to create a card in the colours of this scrummy drink.

The papers, stamps and ribbon are all from the HOTP QVC TSV from June this year. A really simple card finished with a flower and large brown brad.

Sorry about the wonky picture lol

A Kids Present

Another July Challenge from Just Bex- What we want you to do is MAKE/CREATE a pressie for a child...maybe your own or a neice or nephew or one to sell on your craft tables.

It took me ages to come up with an idea, but here it is. I took an old cube from my daughters toy box. I then covered it with the DCWV Nana's Kids stack. Then I simply stuck on the Doodlebug Zoofari cardstock stickers.

Now I have a nice new toy for my daughter to play with... name the animal!

Introducing.....

My brother, Daniel Cole, has recently sold his first certified Limited Edition artwork... I am so proud of this picture and have number 4 in pride of place in my living room!!! Daniel is in the process of setting up his own website so he can sell on an even wider scale than he already is!!!

Some feedback would be fantastic and orders even better lol!!!!

How Charming!

Last one for tonight from Just Bex- Here's a nice straightforward challenge for you - make a card of any kind, using a charm.

The background paper for this one was from my K and Co Tim Coffey 'Young Girl' paper pad.

The image was 'Souffle the bear' and then coloured with I Kan'dee chalks.

I then tied a piece of narrow white ribbon near the base of the card, adding a 'Congratulations' charm.

Succulent Strawberry and Kool Kiwi Challenge

And another... Your challenge is to come up with a card featuring a succulent strawberry and kool kiwi colour combination...yum

I love this colour combination. This one is very straightforward, the background is from the DCWV Nana's Kids stack and the flower motif is also from the stack.

I have finished with some subtle green ribbon.

Scissor Sisters Card Challenge

Yet another challenge from Just Bex- Okay ladies, root around and dust off those scalloped or zig zag scissors...yep this challenge is to produce a card using your decorative edged scissors.

The background paper for this was from the K and Co Tim Coffey 'Birthday' paper pad. I then used my decorative edge scissors to make a 'ribbon' using the Limeade Doodlebug Trios Bazzill card.

I stamped the Hero Arts stamp directly onto Bazzill using the Limeade Doodlebug ink pad.

To finish I added some Limeade Doodlebug gems... can you tell I LOVE DB???

It's Hip To Be Square

I'm on a roll tonight... another challenge from the Just Bex forum- Create a LO featuring 9 squares in a 3x3 grid, at least 2 of which must be photos. Easy


I loved this challenge... the nine squares were cut from Bazzill cardstock. I cut each square to 6cm x 6cm and backed them onto an 8"x8" scrapbook page. The wording was cut using my Quickutz with the Moxie alpha. To finish I added some faux stitching to the text squares.

Altered Notebook Challenge

Another Just Bex challenge- Your challenge...should you choose to accept it is to find a truly disgusting notebook and turn it into something beautiful.

OK so its not 'truly disgusting' but a bit on the plain side lol.

And here it is... I have used DCWV Nana's Kids stack to cover the front, and the 'C' is also from the stack. The gorgeous green and purple ribbon is Doodlebug... drool. And finished with 2 flowers and a brad.

Just Bex Jewellery Challenge

Challenge from the Just Bex Forum- Your challenge is to buy a piece of jewellery/badge/keyring etc and incorporate this into a scrapbook layout.

I got this Elephant necklace from Blackpool Zoo a few weeks ago...

And I then made this Elephant page for my scrapbook, the paper is HOTP 20079- Wild Things Elephant. The little squares on the right are actually Dawn Bibby Alphabet brads and spell 'ELEPHANT'

Doodlebug Chipboard Houses?

No pictures I'm afraid, just a question... have any of you made these chipboard houses?? And if yes, please can I see them!! I am about 80% sure I want to get one for Hallowe'en, I just need pushing that little bit lol. I know my daughter would love it, and I know all the other kids would too.
So any input is happily received!!!

Goodbye Penny Black Stamps

Well it has taken me AGES to decide what to do, but I have FINALLY listed all my Penny Black stamps on Ebay... I must admit, I still like them, I just never use them anymore, so I may as well make room for other goodies lol!!!

Another Altered Notebook

I hope Leigh doesn't mind, but I REALLY wanted to show off the notebook I received from her... you can perhaps tell that we talk to much by the fact we have chosen the same colours lol...

This notebook is gorgeous... thanks hun

Altered Notebook

This is the Notebook I made for Leigh in the 'Altered Notebook Swap' on a forum I am on.

I started out with a plain pink notebook from Tesco. I added some 'Big Board Paisley Chipboard'.
I covered the chipboard in Glossy Accents and then sprinkled fine black glitter over the top... once that was dry, I added Glossy Accents to the inside of the large Paisley and some white glitter.

A few sticky gems and ribbon down the spine to finish it all off!!!