**Birthday Girl**

Thought I'd show some photos of The Birthday Girl ... enjoying her special day.

This is the gorgeous horse stamp I recently bought to make her card.
She absolutely loved it as I knew she would. Whispers brush markers were used to colour it and Papermania papers provide the background.

Her brother chose this teddy bear card from my 'Grab'n'Go' box ... made from a Create and Craft card kit so a bit of a cheat really.
Her cake was, (of course), horsey themed ... absolutely delicious it was too!
All Chocolate cake and filling and very very Yummmy!!

Her party at Claytime was a huge success with all her pals ...

... we'll go back next week to collect all the items when they have been fired and glazed and believe me they will look even more gorgeous.
Can't wait!
I had a wee play too and did an 'Elliebank' LOL!

Here she is on the phone to one of my precious CB friends, saying thanks for this gorgeous card ...

Sarah aka Tiggertastic is one of the kindest, most generous ladies I have ever known.

... and this is the card received from another CB friend Natalie aka Sequin.

As you can see it is beautiful and perfect for our horse loving daughter. Thank you so much ladies. Once again you have made a young lady feel even more special than she already is.

The Pony Show

Took this photo at the Pony Show on Wednesday.


As I videoed her actual events I haven't got any photos of Naomi in action, (couldn't manage both cameras at the same time I'm afraid LOL), but here she is before her dressage wearing her new gear.

She didn't get placed in the dressage which was a bit disappointing, but went on to win a 2nd place in the show jumping so she was pleased at the end of the day.

Well done Naomi and Sparky. The speed and accurancy of your round was really exciting. Had no idea you were so brave!

I would love to show you some of the horses but I didn't think to ask permission from the owners so I'd best not. You can't be too careful these days.

BookATrix & Photo Album

Here are another couple of BookATrix cards both of which have matching boxes.

The burgundy one uses more of the lovely Brenda Walton paper and some super leather effect burgundy card which is super quality for boxes.




I struggled to get a decent photo of the silver holographic box for the lilac feathers and flowers version and nearly went blind trying ... so decided not to torture you with it. I will be taking them to the Pony Show and hope not to bring them home again.

Another wee quickie project to show you ...


This is a photo album made using DCWV paper stack and papermania cardstock.
It was a good excuse to break open the Big Bite 2 I bought a few weeks ago.

The photo sleeves are simply self seal card bags trapped between the 2 pieces of cardstock ... cool huh? I should probably have popped a couple of photos in for display purposes ... WHOOPS!

I am going to enter it in 'This Thursday It's'... Challenge 6 which is to create something which is beautiful and useful.
I may be pushing the definition of 'beautiful' with this entry, but it definitely qualifies for useful.
I suppose it would also have been perfect for last week's 'Altered' challenge.

Ponies

On Wednesday, my daughter will be competing in the Annual Pony Show at her local stables, an event she always looks forward to. Hopefully the weather will be kind to them although the forecast doesn't look promising.

I have kindly been given permission to promote some of my craft projects and cards ... and who knows I may even be lucky enough to sell some.


Presumably, horse cards will go down well with the visitors so thought I'd show just a couple of examples I've made today.

Congratulations BookATrix

I mentioned in a previous post that Jenny Hall from Crafts Beautiful magazine is moving on to pastures new.
I decided to get out one of my BookATrix boards to make a 'Congratulations' card to send along with the Keepsake Box made for the CB challenge.

The pretty paper used is more of Brenda Walton's designer paper but unfortunately the pattern is too subtle to show in the photograph.
The string of beads were adhered with Diamond Glaze adhesive and once again my trusty scallop punch proved useful.
Hope she likes it.

Quick 'n' Easy

Ooooh ... I'm on a roll this week after doing 3 challenges and a couple of cards too.

This has got to be one of the quickest cards I've ever made ... took all of about 10 minutes and used up the last piece of this gorgeous swirly foiled double sided paper from my stash.
I really love the design and the quality is fab ... if only they came in paper stacks rather than having to buy them individually then I would be happy.

A strip of brown pearlised paper is glued between the foiled patterns and a greeting popped on. Doesn't get any easier than that.

Tilda & Co. Challenge 29

The Tilda & Co. Challenge 29 theme is 'Bugs' ...

I used the Generous Tilda stamp coloured with brush markers which I placed onto some matting and layering of pink papers and purple cardstock.

Unfortunately I don't have any ugly bugs so had to make do with dragonfly brads and butterfly peel offs. Doodled some dotty trails and it's job done!

Challenge At CB

One of this month's challenges over at Craft's Beautiful is to make something for Jenny Hall, the Production Editor, who is leaving to take up a new position as Deputy Editor of an interiors magazine. We are all really sad that she is leaving the CB team, but want to wish her every success wih her new adventure ~ I'm sure she will prove to be an invaluable asset to her new team.

I wanted to make her something that was practical, so decided on a keepsake box for keeping together a few of her little CB treasures.

I have popped a few little postcards and envelopes inside which she can use to send short messages to her pals if they need cheering up. Sadly there are not enough to send to all the CB members who will miss her so much LOL!

The papers are by Brenda Walton from a K. & Co. Kit.

Better get it posted before she leaves in 2 weeks.

Isn't This Fabby?

Had to show you this horse card Naomi made the other day for her friend's birthday. I helped with cutting out the paper and card to size, but she knew exactly the look she wanted and layered it all herself ... isn't it fabby? Her friend was absolutely delighted and no wonder!
I just love the rosette idea she came up with and her 'doodles' with the white gel pen are super neat.

PollyCrafts Challenge #1 Fairies

I mentioned earlier this week about the 1st Challenge at Pollycrafts Blog ... and good golly Miss Molly ... Surprise ... SURPRISE! ... I've actually managed to finish something before the closing date. (Actually ... there isn't one yet but that's neither here nor there LOL!) I have missed so many great challenges recently I was beginning to get quite frustrated.

The supplies are from a QVC kit ... so all the matching components were together, (is that cheating?), but I did add a fluffy feather, a little vellum butterfly which is decoupaged and some little gems along the body to add a bit of sparkle.
Oh ... and I used my corner rounder to scallop the edge ... so that counts as crafting doesn't it?

Funky Fairy Inspirations Blog Candy

You have just GOT to check out this incredible blog candy offer at Funky Fairy Inspirations Blog ... it's just too exciting for words, especially if you love fairies !!

Blog Candy & Challenge

My CB friend Susie at White Ribbon Cards is offering some blog candy to celebrate her up'n'coming birthday ... so pop on over there and join in the celebrations.

There are also some lovely Christmas goodies to be had over at Pollycrafts Blog ... and Chris has posted her first challenge too with a fabby prize so pop over there and join in. 3 chances to get some free stash ... how great is that??

Foiled Card

Thought I'd just show a simple, quick and easy card made using a silver foiled 3 fold blank which was part of a RAK I received a while ago.
Sometimes I struggle with knowing what to do with such elaborate blank cards and worry I may spoil them.

I silver embossed my favourite silhouette flower stamp onto black cardstock which I then cut out leaving a narrow border. Black ribbon, a few small black gems and a silver embossed greeting were all that were needed to complete this card.

Card Holder

This project involved making a folder to hold cards and envelopes, something I have done before with 12" x 12" paper, but this time I wanted to see how it worked with A4 cardstock.

The result is shown here and whilst it is not as versatile as the larger version, I think it would suffice for smaller cards provided they aren't too dimensional as there is simply not the room inside for anything too bulky.

The papers are from a 6" x 6" K & Co. Designer pad and the closure is a simple length of organza ribbon wrapped around a brad.

Scallops, Punches & Pastel Chalks

HOORAY!!
Managed to find some time and motivation for a little cardmaking today.
My first offering is a simple floral design where I have been practicing using a corner punch to create scalloped edges as an alternative to decorative scissors.
Also used my scalloped circle punch for the main image ... (I'm determined to get my money's worth from that little investment LOL) ... which is mounted on foam pads for a little dimension.
Added some matching floral paper as a strip on the inside to show off the scallop, popped on a greeting and some little turquoise gems and we're done.
Simple but pretty result.

Next I dug out the Dovecraft chalks and had a play on an embossed card from my stash. Added a pretty flower with a little brad to a stamped greeting, on another scalloped circle, and lastly I popped some gold glitter around the border and in the eye of the embossed flowers.



Feels good to be tinkering with my stash again.

An Award ... or 4

Sorry for my recent absence but a combination of ill health and work / family commitments has kept me away from 'Blogland' and many of my normal online haunts.
I hope to be back in full swing soon and hope you haven't all given up on me totally.
What a lovely surprise to see that while I was away, I have been nominated for this fabulous award not just once or twice ... but 4 times!!

The Rules-
1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate al least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you've nominated.

Thank you very much Lauren, Jennifer, Tullavilla and Wendi for nominating me despite me being AWOL for so long.

After scanning my favourite haunts I see that most of them already have this award ... so I'm obviously visiting the right places * wink *

Therefore, I will pass this fabby award to all the visitors who pop by even when I'm not in. Your continued interest and kind comments about my work really make my day.

Now all I need to do is go and create something new for you all to look at and hopefully make your visits worthwhile.

"This Thursday Its ..." ~ Guest Designer

Guess what??

I've been invited to be a Guest Designer for "This Thursday Challenge Blog" in August ... isn't that amazingly exciting?
Well for me it is LOL!

Thank you Tracey and the This Thursday Challenge team ... I'm truly honoured that you asked me and will display your banner with pride.

Tilda & Co. Challenge 25 ~ Dotty

Over at Tilda & Co. Challenge Blog this week the theme is 'Dotty' and there is another fabulous prize on offer.
I found some pretty HOTP dottylicious paper and matted it onto pink card.
The side panel was pleated first to add some interest and then both panels were cut with scalloped scissors before mounting onto a pink blank card.

I used the cute 'Tingla' stamp and coloured it with Sakura pens. Pink glitter added dotty detail and glossy accents added shine to the wings.

A wide pink satin ribbon was also dottilly decorated with pink glitter and an adhesive greeting was added to pink card before cutting out with my trusty scalloped scissors.

More Blog Candy!

One of my CB friends is celebrating 1000 hits over at Cambiel's L'il Craft Diary and is offering Blog Candy ... so to be in with a chance of some early Xmas stash, just pop over and leave a comment for her and add a link on your blog.

**Blog Candy Winner**

Whoops ... almost an hour later than promised but here's the name of the lucky winner.
All names were popped into a shoebox and the first name pulled out was ......

Sharon.

Please e~mail me with your address details and I shall get this lovely desk frame kit by
K.& Co. off to you ASAP.

Hope you enjoy your prize.

This Thursday Challenge #1 ~ Fresh

There's a new challenge blog called
"This Thursday It's ... "
which opened it's doors last Thursday and as I hate to miss out on new things I had to have a go.



The 1st challenge theme is 'FRESH' and here is my take on the brief they set which is basically ... anything goes !!

I made an accordian ATC wallet using a selection of yellow, white and blue card and Provo Craft papers all tied together with yellow ribbon.

I also got to play with my scalloped circle punches too and that lovely Magenta silhouette stamp which I like ... a lot !


Hope you like it.

Gold Embossing on Black

I treated myself to a large wood mounted stamp a few weeks ago but haven't used it ... until today.

It is a large floral silhouette type design and the only markings on it are ©Magenta.

Gold and black together always look quite dramatic and perfectly suit this stamp, so I decided to have a play with my heat gun and gold embossing powder on some black card.

I quite like how it turned out but need to improve my technique for embossing the edges.

Blog Candy ~ 2000 Hits !!

Just realised my visitor tally is heading towards the 2000 mark. Yowza!
So ....following blog tradition I will be offering some crafty blog candy to celebrate.
Just leave a comment here to say you have visited and your name will be entered into the draw to win some crafty stash. Don't forget to tell your friends too!
Non UK visitors are also welcome and I will cover all postage costs.
Closing date will be midnight on Saturday 21st June UK time.
May I just say a huge 'Thank You' to everyone who has taken time to visit my little corner since I tentatively started blogging in March 2008.
Your encouragement and support is very much appreciated.

**Update**
At the close of this draw, my visitor total is sitting at 2247 ... how amazing is that?
Thank you so much everyone ... it's lovely to know so many people have popped by and taken an interest.

Blog Candy Now Closed.
Winner will be announced before 2pm Sunday 22nd June.

Tagged Thrice!

I've been tagged thrice this week by Ultamum, Enjay and Cambiel ... so here goes with some more useless and totally uninteresting information about little ol' me ...

The "Roolz" are as follows:

Each player answers the questions about themselves.
At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.


Ten years ago:
I was a Stay At Home Mum of 2, married to a hardworking husband and felt very lucky with my life. Blimey ... some things never really change!! Only difference now is I have a wee part time job.

Five things in today's 'to do list':
Didn't get around to making a list today.

Snacks I enjoy:
Anything savoury ... usually with lots of onions.

Things I would do if I was a millionaire:
Ooooh crikey ... make sure the family was looked after and would have to invest some for the future (always supposing I will be around to enjoy it). Dunno what else ... have never had loads of money so haven't really thought about it.

Places I have lived:
Stoke on Trent
Stafford
Fife

Now I'm supposed to tag 5 friends ... I always find this bit difficult but hopefully my choices have not already been tagged.

Ann
Tiggertastic
Copse

and a couple of newer blogger friends ...

Liz
Jennifer

Ooh~La~La Creations Challenge ~ Romance

This week at Ooh~La~La Creations the challenge is "Romance" ... so here's my entry.

The base card is a deckle~edged cream card which was coloured randomly with Dovecraft chalk.
Then I added some dark purple heavy weight paper, slightly smaller than the base card, which was torn around the edges.
Pretty Papermania Vellum and K. & Co. double sided paper were used to create a frame to which heart brads and lilac flowers were adhered.

Scalloped scissors were used to create a pretty edge which was then inked with a purple mini dauber for emphasisi.

The quotation is self adhesive from a book of vellum quotes and the 'Be Mine' message is a rub on.

If you want to join in then hurry hurry hurry ... there'll be a new challenge starting on Sunday.

Condolences

Sadly I have had to make 2 Sympathy cards this week ... never an easy thing to do.

Decided to make them both the same and keep to simple black and white.

Tore away the front edge and used black ink around the deckle edge. Popped a silver chain border peel off on the back section.

My thoughts are with the families at this difficult time.

More Blog Candy!

Stamping Caz is offering some lovely stamped images to 10 lucky winners ... so if you fancy some blog candy pop over and say 'Hi'

ArtyGirlz Challenge ~ Hint of Pink

After receiving slapped legs from my CB friend Sequin when I half joked about buying a shop bought card for my mum's 70th birthday, (shame on me!), I decided to get out some of my precious Papermania silk screened, double~sided paper and actually USE it.

Normally I reserve this paper for stroking and admiring before carefully putting it back in my stash ... silly I know but believe me, it's a common thing among crafters.
I was very brave and used it to make a card for my precious mum ... 'cos she's worth it!
This particular design is Pink Floral Metallic and has the most gorgeous golden sheen when it catches the light, but my photos didn't manage to pick that up very well.

Brads, ribbons, sticky black gems and vellum were all used for decoration.

Just so happens that ArtyGirlz have a 'Hint of Pink' Challenge this week with a fabulous prize on offer, so I think this qualifies.
Click on the link above to find it.

Tilda & Co. Challenge 24

I decided to open one of my new Magnolia stamps and have a play this afternoon.
I thought ... what better way to try it out than to enter this week's Tilda & Co. challenge ... Hmmmmmmmmmm.
I'm not so sure it was a good idea as this week the theme is 'Serendipity'.
Check out the Tilda & Co. website for an explanation and examples.

In my crafty naivety, I thought it would be easy peasy so dug out my scrap paper box and proceeded to tear and rip with glee.
I glued all the bits'n'pieces randomly onto orange card with relish, then set it aside to dry. Then, I stamped and gold embossed willy nilly all over the mosaic mess, in an effort to produce a workable base to chop into small pieces and use in a creative way.

Do you know what???

It turned out to be much harder than I imagined to actually create something I was remotely happy with ...
However, I didn't give up and did eventually come up with a result which I shall enter and see what happens ... and maybe I need to have a little more practice at this technique.

The Magnolia stamp was paper pieced with bits left over from the mosaic too but I reckon next time I will play safe and just use watercolour pens as originally intended.

RAK ... Random Act of Kindness

Some super surprises dropped through my letterbox this morning in the form of RAKs from my friends at Crafts Beautiful forum.

The first was all the way from down under ... sent by Lollies at Cards and Other Crafty Stuff. She is one of our youngest members and an absolute sweetheart.
Please pop over to her blog and say 'Hi' and check out her creations ... they are amazing for one so young.

She'll really appreciate the visit and would love to hear your comments.

The envelope was filled to bursting with loads of lovely papers, stick ons, buttons and .... well just look what she sent!

The second envelope contained the most beautiful tag made for me by Susie at White Ribbon Cards and, coincidently, I had been admiring this tag on her blog just the other day.

She is one very talented lady and if you get a chance then pop over to see some of the other stunning projects she has made.

Thank You both very much for your kindness.

Father's Day

Managed to sneak a photo of hubby's wee car to make his card for Sunday when he went out to collect Niall's birthday cake.
Hope he likes it ... and the new Registration Number LOL. If you click the picture you'll be able to read it.
Usual apologies for the reflection on the mirri card.

Sassycrafts Challenge

I was blog browsing last night ... following links ... as you do ... and came across a challenge on Sassycrafts Blog that sounded fun.

The challenge is to make a project using any 3 Dovecraft products.
So I had a go and made this card.

I used paper from the Dovecraft Fantasy collection (which I love) ... the Dovecraft Footprints Border Punch ... the Dovecraft Baby Block Stamp on the ribbon ... and Dovecraft Decorative Chalks (Bright) in green and blue to colour the front panel edges.
Added a few sparkly gems for a little bling and silver mirri card for matting .... and voila!
Will pop over now and post the link.
Wish me luck LOL!

Agony! Creativity!! Panic!!!

The Agony
Yesterday I woke up to an outbreak of my horrid skin condition Hidradenitis Suppurativa. Don't worry I won't be showing photos but if you decide to google for information, then be warned ... it isn't for the squeamish!
When it's bad like this I can hardly walk and definitely can't drive so no work for me. I'm still in agony so am popping painkillers and hoping that regular salt baths will have an effect soon.

The Creativity
As I was unable to go to work, I thought I'd make a start on a couple of challenges.
The Ribbon Challenge at Ooh~La~La Creations of course and this month's challenge at the MSN card group is to make a Spinner Card.

I need some Father's Day cards for Sunday and also need an 18th Birthday card for my son for Saturday ...

so I managed to combine Spinners with Ribbons and made one Father's Day card and an 18th Birthday card so not bad really considering I had to do them standing up. Sorry about the reflection in the gold mirri card. One day I'll manage to get a decent picture.

The Panic
My 12 year old daughter was representing her school at an Inter school Track and Field Event today in Dunfermline, just as she did last week and the week before. This is an out of school activity for which we have to give written permission before she can participate. They were due to return at approximately 4pm so I expected her home about 4.15pm as she has the last 2 Wednesdays ... but she didn't arrive.
By 5pm I was getting anxious and called the school to make enquiries about when they had returned but got no reply. I tried calling her friends but no one else had been involved in the sports event, so they hadn't seen her all day.
Hubby repeatedly went down to school and back over the next hour hoping to get some information but the only staff member he saw couldn't help and I continued to phone the school hoping someone would answer ... no joy.

By 6pm I was frantic ... she was 2 hours overdue and we only live a 10 minute walk from school. We didn't know what else to do so hubby called the police. They took details and tried unsuccessfully to contact the keyholder at the school to see if they could get any information.
At 6.30pm hubby once again went out to see if he could find her and went back down to the school. You can imagine his relief when he saw the coach pulling into the car park. Panic over and she is safe ... thank goodness ... but I am furious that no one from school made any attempt to inform parents that the children were going to be late back and rest assured there will be a strong letter of complaint landing on the Rector's desk very soon.
The police were also very surprised that the school had been so inconsiderate and hadn't even posted a notice on the entrance to let people know what was happening, but were pleased that she was home safe and sound ... AND they didn't make us feel like paranoid parents who were wasting their time, but treated our concerns seriously.

RIBBONS!!

If you have a passion for ribbons and you like a challenge, then head on over to the Ooh~La~La Creations Challenge Blog as they have just started a new weekly challenge and this week there are some lovely ribbons on offer as a prize.

Here's my entry ...