Jacque's New Blog Candy - CLOSED

The lovely Jacque is offering some more blog candy.
Up for grabs is:

• 1 Spring Time Hannah With Butterflies
• 1 April With Hearts
• 1 Martha Stewart Deco Fan Punch Around The Page Set
• A Handful of Organza Butterflies
• 4 Bunches of Mulberry Roses

To be in with a chance of winning, pop over to her blog here and leave her a comment before midday May 2nd.

Blog Candy From SCACD - CLOSED

The lovely Susana over at SCACD is offering 4, yes 4 blog candies over on her blog.

There aren't any pictures of the blog candy as they are as yet not-released stamp sheets.

Four people will each win 1 sheet of stamps!!

To be in with a chance of winning, head over to the blog candy post and let Susana know what is your favourite childhood memory.

You need to leave your answer by April 29th at 10:30 pm EST and leave your answer only on the blog candy post.

One entry per person only.

Kim's 2nd Blogaversary Blog Candy - CLOSED

The very talented and generous Kim is offering up not one but two blog candies to celebrate her second blogaversary.


Prize #1 consists of:
Oakley with Birdhouse WOJ Stamp (from the Store Kit #1)
Spellbinders Labels 4
Cuttlebug Spots & Dots Embossing Folder
3 Sakura Souffle Pens
1 Sakura Stardust Pen
Basic Grey Obscure Paper Pack
Heidi Grace Glitter Flowers
3 Rolls of American Crafts Ribbon
Martha Stewart Flower Gems
Champagne & Pink Cherry Blossoms (Wild Orchid Crafts)
2 Packs of Mighty Mounts (Cupcakes & Flourishes)
Assortment of Flowers
Assortment of Charms, spacers, and gemstones (you can see a close up below); and
TWO Angel Charms (handmade by Kim!)


Prize #2 consists of:
NEW Stampin' Up Border Punch
Spellbinders Labels Two
Cuttlebug Bird Call Embossing Folder
Assortment of Tulle (Red, Lilac, Gold, & Green)
Assortment of flowers & pearl stems.

To qualify for either of the blog candies, you need to:
1. Spread the word on your blog about Kim's blog candy (placing a link in your sidebar is fine)
2. Add your name to the blog candy post using the inlinkz button

Only ONE ENTRY PER PERSON!

You have until Sunday, May 2, 2010 at 11:59 pm to sign up!

Two winners will be chosen randomly and announced on Monday, May 3rd!

Blog Candy from The Stamping Boutique - CLOSED

I've been visiting the online shop of The Stamping Boutique for a while now as they have a stamp I really want - but it's always out of stock. I could get the digi stamp but I'd rather have the real thing!!!

Anyway, I visited their blog tonight and I found some blog candy on there. And not just any blog candy - Copic Ciao marker candy!!!

To be in with a chance of winning, pop over the The Stamping Boutique blog and leave a comment on the blog candy post.
If you become a follower, you get a second bite of the cherry!!
The blog candy closes on May 12th 2010.

Red and Blue Vintage Lady Easel

Thought it was about time I uploaded a card project, so here is the card I made for my mother-in-law's 70th birthday. She really didn't want to be reminded it was her 70th, so no numbers on this one! Just made it special, so this is an easel card.

I have entered this card into a number of blog challenges:

• A Spoon Full of Sugar - Challenge #100 - Happy Birthday
• Creative Card Crew - Challenge #48 - Happy Birthday
• ABC Challenge - S is for Sparkle
• Our Creative Corner - Blooming Blossoms

I started by decorating the panel that makes up the front of the easel card.

The edges of the card blank were stamped using a flourish stamp from the Autumn Leaves Rhona Farrer v1 Flourishes stamp set and Versafine Crimson Red archival pigment ink. The Vintage Lady image, from the Vintage Ladies stamp from Crafty Individuals, was stamped on cream card using the Crimson Red ink. The image was cut out using the Cuttlebug square stamp die, and matted onto a standard and scalloped square cut using Nestabilities dies.


A strip of blue Moroccan Tile paper from the K&Co The Best of K&Co Too paper pad was punched using the XCut scallop border punch and the edges coloured using Copic marker E07. This was then matted onto a panel of the floral paper, also from the K&Co paper pad. A length of cream lace was wrapped around the panel vertically. The image panel was attached over the lace.

A red silk flower (kindly donated by Alex) was attached in the bottom right hand corner of the panel using a pale blue Papermania pearl brad, and a smaller brad was attached to the blue border strip.
Using the See D's Alphabet stamp set, the word MUM was stamped along the border strip using the Crimson Red ink. The panel was then matted onto a panel of red card punched using the XCut scallop border punch. The letters, flowers and around the image were highlighted using Rock Candy Distress Stickles. This panel was then added to the front of the easel card.
I then started work on the inside of the card. I began by adding the flourish stamp around the edge of the card
I then started on the sentiment panel which acts as the anchor for the easel card.
Firstly, the striped frame from the Hero Arts Frames and Messages stamp set was stamped onto cream card using the Crimson Red ink and cut out using a standard square Nestabilities die. The 'Happy Birthday' sentiment, from the Hero Arts Birthday Messages stamp set, was stamped in the centre of the frame. This was then matted onto beige Core'dinations card and a scalloped square, both cut using Nestabilities dies.
A strip of the floral paper from the K&Co paper pad was punched using the XCut scallop border punch and the edges coloured using the E07 Copic marker. This was matted onto a panel of the blue Moroccan Tile paper. This was then matted onto a panel of red card punched using the XCut scallop border punch. Rock Crystal Distress Stickles were added to the sentiment panel.
Below you can see the front and side views of the card when standing.

Leanne's Blog Candy - CLOSED

The lovely Leanne is offering some of the new beautiful Tildas as blog candy to celebrate a year in Dubai and her two year blogaversary.



To be in with a chance to get your hands on these gorgeous stamps, all you have to do is:

1. put a link to Leanne's blog candy post on your blog (1 entry)
2. become a follower of Leanne's blog (2nd entry) - please do a separate comment with just saying 'follower'
3. leave a comment on Leanne's blog candy post. (one comment for entering, 2nd comment if you have become a follower)

This candy will stay open until 10pm May 31st. Will post worldwide.

Janiel's Blog Candy - CLOSED

The wonderfully talented Janiel is celebrating her first blogaversary and is offering some great blog candy over on her blog.

Up for grabs is over $100US of goodies, too much to list in detail, but some of what is available is:

a few items for you alter, buttons. eyelets, Prima roses,Prima roses, ricrac ribbon, chipboard buttons, 58 different ribbons, fancy brads, Heidi Grace flower brads,WE R Memories eyelets, K&Co paper lace, stick pins, memory labels, Monday's Metals, Metal trim labels, felt fusion, tags, rhinestones, felt flowers, crocheted flowers, 6 mini ink pads, the 6 new Mary Hall stamps, 2 WOJ stamps, 1 Magnolia stamp and the THANK YOU CARD that Janiel made for the Magnolia Down Under Challenge. It's an amazing amount of goodies!!!

HOW TO ENTER:

1.Link the candy to your blog. You can add as a post and/or in your sidebar. For this you will get one entry.
2. Leave a comment on the blog candy post here.
3. If you are a follower on Janiel's blog you may enter a second comment to double your chances to win. In your second comment you only need to write *Follower*.

Janiel has very kindly opened up this blog candy o everyone and will post worldwide.

This blog candy will run until 1st May 2010.

Freckleface's Blog Candy - CLOSED

I've found some more blog candy on my travels from the lovely Debs over on her blog.

Up for grabs is:

Sugar Nellie Daisy - unmounted rubber stamp
SNellie Gorjuss Girl Party Princess - unmounted rubber stamp
Lili of the Valley Rosie Posie - unmounted rubber stamp
PMania Capsule Collection - Mono paper pack (8" x 6")
PMania Capsule Collection - Mono Ribbon
assorted buttons from Woodware
10 white hat pins
10 pearlescent white heart pins
100 mixed 2 tone mulberry paper roses
100 white pearl spray

This blog candy will run until midnight on the 30th of April and the winner will be announced on May 1st.

The rules for Deb's blog candy are as follows:

1 - You can only enter once
2 - Add a pic of the blog candy and a link in your sidebar to "spread the word"
3 - (Optional) Become a follower
4 - Add you name and blog link to Mr Linky below the blog candy post

Squirrel's Blog Candy - CLOSED

Have discovered this lovely blog candy from the equally lovely Squirrel.

Martha Stewart Daisy Border Punch
Basic Grey Nook & Pantry 6x6 paper pad
Magnolia "Spring Tilda" stamp
Kraftin' Kimmie "Shy Emmylou" stamp
Sugar Nellie "Martha" stamp
Bildmalarna "Little Mimosa" stamp

This blog candy will close on 30th April.

This would be a great blog candy to win so I'm off to add my name.

Jacque's Blog Candy - CLOSED

The lovely Jacque is offering some absolutely amazing blog candy to celebrate her first blog birthday.


If you are the lucky winner, you will be getting:




1 Once Upon A Time Pink Scrap Tote
1 Stampology Layered Clear Stamp Set-Invitation and Party
1 Pastel Paper Pack from Crafty Secrets
1 Classic Paper Pack from Crafty Secrets
1 Making Memories Whimsy Embellishment Kit
2 packs of Metallic Adornments
1 pack of K&Co Paper Flower Brads
1 Pack of K&Co Flower Dimensionals
1 Tin of Making Memories Flower Shop Collection
1 Tin of Making Memories Butterfly Collection
7 bunches of assorted mulberry roses
2 packs of MS clear gems
1 Fiskars Tool Taxi
1 Pack of Making Memories Velvet Brads
A handful of miscellaneous charms
Stamps from the companies I represent:
1 Belles 'n Whistles Scarecrow & Little Wizard
1 Magnolia Wrapped Tilda
1 D'Amour Allure Flirty Valentine
1 Flower Soft Moments in Time Purr-fect
LOTS of Ribbon from my stash
1 MS Cornice Edge punch
1 MS Cosmos Garden punch

This lovely lady has been undergoing chemo and nevertheless manages to keep upbeat and crafting. Puts me to shame really, as there are days when I just can't be bothered!!

To be in with a chance of winning, add a post to your blog and leave a comment on Jacque's blog candy post here. This will be open until the midnight DST on the 29th April 2010.

Rach's Blog Candy - CLOSED

The very talented Rach has returned to blog land and to celebrate she has some amazing blog candy.

She has a set of Hanglar and Stanglar stamps (ssh, don't tell everyone!!) and a pad of the lovely Tim Holtz vintage shabby Idea-ology papers.

This blog candy will be open until 22:00hrs on the 2nd May.

The winner will be announced on either Sunday or Monday.

If the winner doesn’t come forward and claim the candy by Wednesday the 5th May 2010 then a new winner will be selected.

Tim Holtz Distress Inks Colour Swatch

I'm not sure if anyone else has published this online but Jenny, over at MyInkyHands blog, has uploaded a colour swatch of the complete set of 36 distress inks colours. You can see her swatch here.

It's great to see what they look like on paper as the colours on the lids really don't represent what's under the lid.

Thanks for publishing this Jenny - I know where to go next time I decide to add to my ever-growing collection of distress ink pads.

Pink and Purple Lacy Chandelier Thank You

Here is the little Thank You note card that I sent to Alex the other week after I received some goodies from here in her big sell out.

I am entering this card into the Stampin' For The Weekend blog challenge, which currently has a theme of Ribbons & Bows. Hopefully my ribbon knots will qualify!!


I decided to use one of the stamps from my new Papermania Chatsworth Furnishings stamp set. It's a lovely chandelier stamp, and I stamped it using the Versafine Imperial Purple archival pigment ink onto the pink distressed bubble paper from the K&Co The Best Of K&Co Too paper pad. The sentiment, from the Woodware Jane's Script sentiment stamp set, was stamped at the bottom of the panel also using the Imperial Purple ink.
The top corners of the image panel were punched using the Martha Stewart Eyelet Lace corner punch. The edges were then distressed using ColorBox Wisteria Fluid Chalk ink.
This was then matted onto panels of hot pink and purple Core'dinations card. Using the Cropodile Big Bite, holes were punched down the right hand side of the image panel and lengths of Anita's pink organza ribbon were tied through them.
Clear faux gems were then added to the corners of the panel.
To finish off the card, the right-hand edge of the card blank was punched using the Martha Stewart Eyelet Lace border punch and inked with the Wisteria ink. A panel of the hot pink Core'dinations card was then added underneath the punched area allowing the colour to show through.

New Watercolouring With Distress Inks Tutorial

I've just been directed to another great tutorial using Tim Holtz Distress Inks, written and illustrated by the great Janet Roberts over at Pink Gem Designs.

You can find the tutorial here.

Hanglar and Stanglar Blog Candy Giveaway - CLOSED

I don't really want to post this on my blog as I know it will diminish my chances of winning, but I suppose I must!!!

The lovely Yvonne is sharing her good fortune of managing to secure some of the most elusive stamps known to man, namely the Hanglar and Stanglar stamps, by sharing some stamped images along with some lovely Magnolia papers and ribbon.

To be in with a chance of winning, Yvonne would like you to do the following:

• become a follower of her blog
• leave a link on your blog to her blog candy
• leave a comment on her blog candy post here
  

The blog candy will run until 30th April 8.00pm (UK time/BST) when she will pick a winner at random.

Kellie's Amazing Spring Blog Candy - CLOSED

I've just discovered an amazing offer of blog candy from Kellie to celebrate 100,000 hits on her blog. On offer is the whole Spring Swiss Pixies kit of stamps from CC Designs. I love these stamps, so would love to be able to win this kit.


To be in with a chance to win you must do the following:

Add a post on your blog advertising the candy on offer using the picture above….Copyright to All That Scraps…

Link back to Kellie's post for everyone to get a chance to enter.

Add your post link including the candy on offer to Mr. Linky *NOT your overall blog*.

PLEASE do not link if you have only placed in your sidebar, as Kellie requires that you place an actual blog post. You can also pop it in your sidebar if you like but to be in with a chance to win, there has to be a link to your post.

Blue and Black Sarah Kay Spring Blossoms Easel

This card was inspired by a card that Alex made during a friendly cardmaking get-together at Julie's last year. I've been wanting to have a go at this technique ever since and finally got around to doing it the other day. Hopefully you'll like the results.

You can see Alex's original card here.

I shall be entering these cards into the Cute Card Thursday blog challenge, #107, which has Mono Mania as it theme this week.

I started by stamping the Sarah Kay Spring Blossoms image from Stampavie onto 300gsm watercolour paper using Tim Holtz Faded Jeans Distress ink and the colour was then dragged out using a damp paintbrush. Extra colour was added to areas to add shadow.

The image was cut out using the Mega Rectangles Nestabilities die and the edges were coloured using the Faded Jeans ink and cut and dry foam, leaving the die in place to create a white border.

A larger mat was cut from dusky blue card and the edges colour tinted with ColorBox Charcoal Fluid Chalk ink and stamped with a flourish stamp from the Autumn Leaves Flourish V1 Rhona Farrer stamp set using the Versafine Smokey Grey archival pigment ink.

A panel of blue hessian effect paper from the Hot Off The Press Floral Ultimate Cardmaker's Creative Pack was matted onto a panel of the dusky blue card stamped with the Flourish stamp. A panel of the blue hessian effect flourish paper, from the same paper pad, was matted onto stamped blue card and a length of black sparkle weave ribbon was wrapped around this and matted onto the larger panel.

This was then attached to the easel card and the Sarah Kay image panel was attached onto this.

A circle tag was created from the blue card using the Cuttlebug circle tag and stamped with the Flourish stamp. A white circle to mat on top was cut from the watercolour paper using the Sizzix Sizzlets Circles #4 Frames die. The sentiment was stamped in the centre of the circle using the 'Make A Wish' stamp from the Dovecraft Studio G 'Make A Wish' mini stamp set using the Smokey Grey ink. This was then colour tinted using the Faded Jeans ink and a length of the black ribbon was threaded through the hole and the tag attached to the corner of the image panel.

A touch of sparkle was added to the ribbon and flowers in the image by adding Craft Planet Iridescent Sparkle glitter glue.

To create the stop part of the easel, the blue hessian effect flourish paper was matted onto a panel of the blue stamped card and a length of the black ribbon wrapped around. A sentiment panel was created using the Mega Curved Rectangles Nestabilities die, coloured using the Faded Jeans ink with the die still in place. the sentiment was stamped using the Happy Birthday stamp from the 'Make A Wish' mini stamp set and the Smokey Grey ink.

This was actually the second version of this card that I made. The original version, above, was created without the full front panel, but I decided it needed the panel to make the image stand out more.

Here is the card from the side, showing the construction of the card.

(Apologies for the quality of some of these pictures - they were taken on my camera phone - I really must find my proper camera and USB cable for it).

Blue, Green and Brown Jungle Edwin

So, I thought it was about time I uploaded another card.

This time it is my dear hubby's birthday card and I decided I wanted to use my new Edwin stamp.

I have decided to enter this card into a couple of blog challenges this week.

The first is the Creative Inspirations blog challenge, which this week, Challenge #55, has a colour theme of blue, green and brown. Hopefully you think this fits into the theme!!

The second is the A Spoonfull of Sugar blog challenge, which this week, Challenge #98, asks for a card For The Boys.

I started by stamping the Jungle Edwin image onto smooth white card using Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink and coloured it in using the Copic Sketch markers.

• Hat/Socks: YG07, YG17, N3
• Shorts/Boots/Stick: E31, E35, E57
• Shirt: BG11, B41, B45
• Knife: C0, N3, BG11, E57
• Hair: E35, E57
• Skin: E00, E02, E21

I then added highlights to the image using a white Sakura Souffle gel pen (although these didn't look right on the hat so I coloured over them with the green Copic marker).


The image was then cut out and mounted onto blue Core'dinations card and beige card panels that had been die cut using the Mega Curved Rectangle Nestabilities.


A strip of the Light-Hearted paper from the Basic Grey Offbeat paper pad was matted onto a panel of the beige card and a length of beige hemp cord was tied around it. This was then layered onto a square panel of the Impromptu paper, also from the Offbeat paper pad and the beige card.


The sentiment, from the Daisy and Dandelion 'Marshmallow Does DIY' stamp set, was stamped onto the smooth white card using Versafine Vintage Sepia archival pigment ink and matted onto the beige card. A couple of small blue eyelets were set either side of the sentiment and short lengths of the beige hemp cord were threaded through them and attached to the underside of the panel.

Watercolouring With Distress Inks - A Tutorial

I've just found another great tutorial for watercolouring using the Distress Inks.

It's a very well explained tutorial showing how to colour a Tilda image, written by the very talented Kimmi and you can find the tutorial here.

Some Good News - Completely Non-Craft Related!!

Can't believe how long it is since I last posted but we had some very good news on Thursday so we spent the weekend celebrating down in Newbury.

Hubby was promoted on Thursday! [Smiley Face! :¬)]

We've been waiting for this for a few years now and to be honest I think he'd completely given up on it all. So, we headed down to the Regiment on Thursday afternoon and he and some friends decided that they should go out on the town in fancy dress!! Hubby started off trying on someone's real nurse's dress that he'd blagged off a nurse some years ago (that sounds dodgy doesn't it!), but the press studs wouldn't do all the way up (that was quite a sight to be seen I can assure you!!)

So, someone else then offered their ghost outfit and we headed into town with Buzz Lightyear, Thor, a couple of 'lady boys' and a very camp cowboy!! Unfortunately, the mask that went with the ghost outfit didn't allow for drinking , so he actually got called all sorts during the evening from Taliban to Jesus (ironic really!!)

Of course, this promotion will no doubt mean another house move, and most likely back down to Newbury - which of course means that I'll be closer to buddies Julie and Alex. Hooray!!! So, looks like I'll have to start packing again - at least in time for the usual October move!

On top of that, it's hubby's birthday today (well, yesterday now) and so we went out for a very nice meal to the Thai restaurant in Sleaford. It's the first time we've been out in the evening in Sleaford (we've only lived up here for 6 months!!) and the food was delicious. I can honestly say that Thai food is my favourite. Another bonus was that I found a flyer in there for a Chinese Supermarket in the centre of Lincoln so will be going there tomorrow with a bit of luck. I'm trying to get myself a new set of shelves for my craft room (the ones I have are open-backed and open-sided and things have a tendency to fall off so I'm after a bookshelf-style set. Seen one in the Tesco Direct book and in Homebase so off into Lincoln to see what else is on offer (for a bargain!)