envelope box giveaway

Hello everyone! I'm doing a bit of blog visiting and have found this great giveaway. Tracy at Crafteezee has had some card boxes made up and is giving 25 away as blog candy. I try to avoid putting too much on my cards that can be squashed as I've never known how to make these boxes, so this would be great to win. 

So visit this blog if you want a chance of winning! 


Right i'm off to look round more of your blogs then I need to get going as I didn't make any cards yesterday. Have a nice day all of you xxx

Vicky made me spend more money!!

Me again! I just had to share this gorgeous website i've come across. Lovely Vicky at Vixx handmade cards is too much of a bad influence on me. She got me into nitwits paper and now she has made me spend more money that I shouldn't be spending at this gorgeous site:

Sew sweet 

I have been looking around for ideas to make some handmade Chrimbo decorations and when I saw the adorable little felt mittens that Vicky had bought from here as a make you own set, I had to have a look. 

Then I saw these ADORABLE reindeers, which come free with an order. (You get 1 for every £15 spent).


I think these are unbelievably cute and I will be buying them al next summer when Emma releases them all as sets for next Christmas.


Look at how beautiful these roses are as well! 

I have now bought a lovely selection of felts, buttons and ribbons and will get creative. I'll show any creations I make on here with you all. I've not sewn for ages so lets hope it comes back to me easily enough. 

I now need to sell some of my stuff that I've just listed on ebay to try get some money back! lol 

*nb* Don't blame me if you feel you have to buy something, blame Vicky. She started it! lol 

order cards (take two)

Hello everyone!! I hope you are all as well as possible xxx Well blogger is playing up for me today so this is the second try of doing this post. 


Thank you so much for such great advice on my last post and hello to all new followers. I'm so pleased to "meet" more of you and will have a nosey round your blogs later. 


So it seems I need to buy watercolour paper/card. There always seems to be more expense when I try new methods, as different card/stamping ink is needed for different materials, so more shopping needed! Although craft shopping is my favourite kind. I just wish I had the money! lol
I'm slowly building up a nice little collection of crafty bits for my niece for Christmas. She now wants a corner desk like Auntie Kezza has, so we will get her one when we can and I will give her a nice few crafty bits to get started with. Luckily i've found some cute little stamps in the sale, so she has some treats coming!! 


Right, I have some cards to share with you. These were for an order from a friends mum. I hope you like them. 

I just adore this stamp. I think it's one of my favourite of all time. It's so perfect for so many cards and I just love colouring him. I decided to go back and use my watercolour pencils for a bit of change. 

I haven't used this stamp in ages so thought i'd stamp it up for this card. I used watercolour pencils again, as it gives a nice gentle shadow etc.. 

_____________________________________

Somehow another Magnolia stamp fell into my online basket at the Glitterpot! Does this happen to you? They just make me buy them! So I hope to ink that up later and make another Christmas card.

Have a nice day everyone xxxxxxxxxx

somebody heeeeeeeeeeeelp me!!!

Hello bloggers!! I am here on my knees, begging for help and advice!

I've recently bought some distress inks as I see some people using them so beautifully colouring in images.

SO, i've tried and tried but I just don't know if I'm doing something wrong.

When I click on the larger pics on people cards, the colour always looks smooth, even and beautifully blended. BUT I CAN'T GET MINE TO LOOK LIKE THAT!! LOL

Can anyone who uses them give me some hints and have a look at these photos for me to see if what i'm getting is due to the wrong card, too much water, not enough water, or just me not getting to grips with them yet. 

This is after me trying to blend the ink. It really separates. If I use a normal brush, I can't spread the ink enough but if I used a water brush, then I have too much water and it bobbles the paper. 

The red has come out slightly better, but still not seemlessly blended. 

It looks slightly better not as close up. Is that the problem that i'm looking so close? The skin colour is really not blending well though :-( 

So any advice from you talented lot, who use them, please share your tips and wisdom with me! If it is the card, can I have recommendations for that too.

Thank you everyone. It's strictly time now, then X factor, then I'm a celeb, whilst colouring in images. Perfick Saturday night. xxx

Lily of the valley challenge

Here is my card for the LOTV challenge, of anything goes:

I just love this little bear. It's one of my favourite Christmas stamps. I love glittering that tinsel. I've also used some glossy accents to give the baubles a shiny look. 

Penny Black Saturday Challenge.

Hello everyone! 

I thought it was about time I joined in with some challenges again and found one I liked over at Penny Black Saturday Challenge. It was "green and trees".  I had to hurry up as it closes later, ready for a new one tomorrow. 

I hope you like it. I adore this stamp. The mice are my favourite penny black creatures and I fell in love with this last year when I saw him tucked up in his little walnut shell, waiting for santa. Just too cute!! I didn't have any PB stamps with trees, so I used this lovely paper and matching chipboard tree. 

I hope you all have a good friday night. Thank you for every comment left as always, as they really do mean a lot to me. xxx

I'm feeling Christmassy!!

Hi everyone. All this Christmas card making is getting me so excited for the festive season. I just adore everything about it. I'll be putting my tree and deccies up on the 1st, so not long now and the countdown begins. 

Edited to wish all Americans a happy thanksgiving!! 

I've made quite a few cards now that I had a few images already coloured, so here are a few to share with you. I'm hopefully doing another craft fair on the 10th, so all these will be for that. ( I apologise for the naf quality of the photos. It's always so dark and I was busy making cards when it was daylight, so this is as good as they get tonight) 

I do adore this little stamp. It's so perfect for baby cards. (The glitter doesn't look as pink IRL. I need to get a stickles that doesn't have a colour tinge to it)

I'm hoping that if I use "relative words like mum, sister, dad etc.. then the cards may sell a bit easier if people can associate them with someone in their family). 

I also made a gift bag with some new, ultra cute papers and embellishments. 

Thank you all for get well wishes recently. The virus has gone I think but it's taken it out of me and I still feel like poo poo every day. Thankfully crafting is such a therapy and makes me feel like i'm achieving something at least.

I'm a little bit disappointed with the take up on my blog candy. I see so many having loads of entries and I was hoping for the same. I don't have much money, living on disability benefits, so it's not as great a prize as some I know.(it's taken me months to get it all together) My main hope though was to get more followers, as I love getting to know new people and sharing blogs. It's a way for me to socialise when I'm too ill to leave the house most of the time. So can I ask a favour. Even if you don't really want the stuff on offer, could you maybe put a pic on your sidebar for others to see? (god I hope this doesn't sound too desperate!)

I can't believe i've just missed Eastenders! lol I was engrossed in Emmerdale and didn't realise it was an hour long tonight. (yes I am a soap addict). Thankfully it's on BBC3 later! I can't wait for I'm a Celeb tonight. I've been loving it. I really don't like how Pat has been acting. Trying to get a laugh, or get noticed, by making someone else look silly is not my idea of a nice person. The trial looks great tonight though. 

Anyway, i've rabbited on too long. I hope you are all well and managing to avoid the horrible bugs about. I'm hibernating so I can try to avoid as many as I can, esp. that norovirus that scares me silly.

Take care xxxxxxxxxx

Pay it forward blog candy.

Hello everyone! It's blog candy time. I have been lucky enough to win some candy in the past so I thought i'd "pay it forward" and hopefully make some new blogging friends along the way.

So who fancies winning this lot of goodies?? 

In this bundle there is:


-A Stampin' up Terrific tags stamp set
-2 LOTV stamps (one mounted) "Rosie with cake" and "By the river"
-Stampavie, Lily and Milo stamp
-A Marianne design cat stamp
-Personal Impressions Christmas "tinchies" swirly snowflake stamp
-2 Dovecraft glitter rub on sets, sugar and spice and tea house
-Jillybean soup Christmas labels
-Paperchase Christmas embellishments
-Basic Grey birthday rub ons
-30 heart pins from the ribbon girl
-4 heart paper doilies
-doodlebug christmas ribbon
-Fizzy moon glittery red ribbon
-A roll of pink raffia ribbon
-3 skeins of Making Memories scrapbook yarn
- a gelly roll metallic sakura pen
-2 large and 5 small wooden hearts
-5 wooden butterfly buttons
-bows and flowers
-11 charms
- and last but not least OVER 71 stamped images and sentiments from "Elzybells stamps" (which are now discontinued), Whimsy stamps (Christmas ticket sentiments and the banner sentiments), Penny Black, Woodware.

EDITED TO ADD, I WAS UNAWARE THAT YOU AREN'T ALLOWED TO SHARE STAMPED IMAGES WITH SUGAR NELLIE, SO HAVE DELETED THAT. THANKS FOR LETTING ME KNOW POPS. 

Right here are the rules:


(1) you must be or become a follower (but only genuine please)
(2) add a link and pic to your sidebar to spread the word
(3) leave a comment for me so I can have a nosey at all your creations and put your name into the draw!

My niece wants to draw the winner out of a hat, so I will take photos of her doing just that and will share them with you. 


Closing date for entries is 3rd December, so that the winner can have the bits in plenty of time to use the Christmassy bits. 


Good luck and I look forward to "meeting" more of you! 

yet more illness and colouring!

Hello bloggers. Thank you for lovely comments on my last post xx It always puts a smile on my face when I see comments have been left.  thank you to you all for those compliments about my photos. Keryn,(I still love our shared, but spelt different name!)  It is another hobby of mine, but I don't get out enough to take as many as i'd like :-( I did a photography evening course nearly 2 years ago, when I was having a slightly better time healthwise, and passed the BTEC with a credit. I completely loved it and learnt a lot and when I improve health wise i'll be taking more photos. 



Right, well health update. I've got a nasty virus on top of everything else now, as you know. Well we then thought it may be glandular fever, as my niece was diagnosed with it recently, but she has improved a bit and we are doubtful if it was the correct diagnosis, so hopefully that too means that I don't have it either.
I have felt very very poorly though, with an awful throat, bad ears, cold symptoms, light headedness, nausea and all the rest. Just yucky and it's wiping me out more than I normally am.
So, I've done nothing all week apart from lay watching tv and colouring images. I'm finding it so relaxing and keeps me occupied when I'm too ill to do anything else. I do find it so hard just laying there doing nothing.

Anyway, I thought i'd share with you some photos of the images i've done so far. I am starting to slowly get to grips with promarkers now and am finding my own technique of using them how I like to. I still have a while to go until my colouring is as good as some I see on blogland, but I'm happy with them more now. I hope you like :


(ooops, I pressed publish, before finishing my post. My brain barely works when I'm this tired).

I adore this image from sugar nellie, but I need to work on how to make it look fluffy and knitted. I tried to make the pen bleed a bit around the heart to make it look fluffier, but it didn't really work. 

This is another GORGEOUS sugar nellie stamp. I do love a chubby, jolly santa image.I've added a bit of sparkle to him as well on his buckle and boots and on some of the gifts.
(I'm sorry the photos are a bit dark, but i've taken them this evening.)

Two of my favourite Tilda's in different colour ways. She is just so cute and I love sitting them on things to add some dimension to cards.

Finally I adore this LOTV stamp and loved colouring him:

OOOooo before I forget! I made a card the other day!! My lovely godson was 6 last month, but i've been so poorly and didn't have the money to get his prezzies, so they are very late. :-( Hopefully with his new DS game he won't mind. This is the card I made him:

Before I go I need some advice please. I have seen so many people get such lovely colours using distress inks, so while Craft Obsessions was having an offer on them this past weekend, I ordered a few. I got them today, but when I've gone to use one on the card I use, it just separated and didn't look smooth and even at all. I know they are meant to have a bit of a distressed look, but on tutorials I've watched, they have given lovely deep, even colour. So is there a certain card I need to be using with distress inks and a paintbrush? I'm got some coated card from Rymans (I followed advice from the lovely Vicky on that). Is the coating on it causing this problem? 


Here is a photo to show what I mean, but it's not great:

I hope i'm explaining myself well enough. It just didn't seem to spread very well and went very gappy. When I've seen others use them they get a much smoother finish with them. I hope i'm not being stupid and this is how they work. Any advice is very welcome. 


I hope you are all as well as possible and avoiding all these yucky bugs going round. Thank you as always for taking the time to read my blog xxxx

Duvet crafting.

Hello everyone! Thank you to those who have left messages. They are so appreciated. Welcome to new followers too. It's so lovely to meet more people and find new blogs that inspire me.

Well, i'm still feeling pretty grotty. My 11 yr old niece has just been diagnosed with glandular fever and I am now getting a lot of the same symptoms. Having ME makes me far more susceptible to viruses and bugs, so my auntie took me to the Dr's. What a waste of time that was! He said that there isn't any point testing to see if it is, as there isn't anything they can do about it anyway.
He said that most people get it in their lifetime, many who don't realise, and that even if I had anti bodies in my blood, then it could mean I've had it before or have it now.
I've since been told by a few people that he's talking rubbish and they were all tested for it. He is a condescending man and I won't be seeing him again.

So I don't know if I do have it as well or not, but I do know i'm feeling pretty awful. I've made a bed up in the living room from sofa cushions and blankets and spend most of my day laying watching tv or sleeping. I'm so fed up but I always remind myself that there are many worse off, so I will just cope each day and hope to boost myself up a bit soon.

I have kept my promarkers and stamped images next to me and have been doing bits of colouring when I can, so that's all I have to show you at the minute, craft wise :-( 

Here is one of my adorable new Magnolias. I just love these stamps so much. I just can't afford them quick enough! lol.

Excuse the poor photos, but just snapped and cropped on here.

As i've not got any card photos to show you, I thought I'd share a few i've taken in the past few weeks:


Isn't autumn just so pretty! 

This is me, with my little Millie moo moos, My niece Emily with her shiloh, my auntie Jayne with her Lucy and my lovely mum with my sister's other doggie, weebo. It was so lovely to get out for a nice walk with the dogs. I was very ill the next few days, but it is always worth grabbing the special moments and paying the price. I will not let this illness take away all of my life. 

I am lucky to have such a great bonfire night in my village, as I just love it. Millie isn't scared by it at all, so i'm lucky. 

Right, I don't want to bombard you with photos!! I hope you are all as well as possible and i'll be back soon, to put my blog candy up!