Busy, busy, busy!......

Evening ladies, hope you're having a good week so far.

Well, where do I start? A bit of 'self- indulgence' I think! 

 Firstly I'd like to share the fantastic news that I've been invited onto the Lavinia Stamps design team...whoohoo!

I've known for a couple of weeks, but had to keep it a secret, which was very hard. The new challenge blog is going 'live' on Friday 1st March, so you really need to pop over to the website to find out all the details.

Secondly, my lovely youngest son Adam has just opened his 2nd business, a Pet Supplies shop in Bath.

He's already a very successful Animal Behaviourist, so this will only make him more widely known. Watch out, he plans to 'take over' the whole of the South West! I've been helping clean and re-decorate it, hence the reason I'm shattered :-(  My oldest son has a Pharmacy in Bath too, so pretty soon we might take over not just the South West, but the World! haha

Anyway, onto tonight's cards......(I have lots made, that I can't show until next week

 

I just love Clean and Simple cards, and I'm quite content leaving lots of white showing, rather than throwing everything on!

All the cardstock is from the amazing selection at Papermill  

......it really is second to none! 

Checkout the beautiful white'linen' card, and the fantastic array of colours.

The little charms were brought back from our Italian holiday last year.

I've made a few like this for different occasions, they're always big sellers.

 I have my first craft sale of 2013 to attend on Saturday.....

Well, hope you like them.

Thanks for taking the time to visit, and leave comments on all my previous cards, it means so much to me.

Catch you tomorrow, after I've been a 'shop girl' for a few hours, haha

Barbara

xx

Last Ones, Phew......

Hi everyone....

Welcome to my new followers, hope you're all having a great week so far.

The weeks are flying by so quickly.......we'll have a baby grandaughter in less than 7 weeks, whoohoo.

Anyway, as you know, I've recently been making some cards for the lovely Lynnda Worsnop of  

Oak House Studio

Tonight I want to show you the last two cards made with the very versatile 'Sunflower' stamp

 ( you can find it Here )

 

 Cardstock from Papermill

I heat embossed the sunflowers, but didn't want them overlapping, so masked each one off before stamping the next.

Heat embossed sentiment from Sheena Douglas

Coloured with Promarkers

This is very similar to above, but obviously done on black card, Papermill again.

I've painted this one with acrylic paints...not wonderful, but it was my first effort with paint.

I've really enjoyed working with this lovely stamp, there is so much you can do with it.

Well, that's about it for tonight, hope you can leave a comment, good or bad, I don't mind......well of course I do mind, and anyone who says otherwise is a big fibber!! haha

Barbara

xx

By the way, it's the last few days for the competition at Oak House Studio facebook page, why not pop over and enter?

Forever Friends

Morning everyone, an early post from me today......

It's Inspiration Day on the Crafty Bloggers blog, and I've made another little card with a sweet image from our sponsor

 Elisabeth Bell Images

The little sentiment tags are from Lili of the Valley

Ric-rac, twine and buttons from my stash

Image coloured with Promarkers

Cardbase and image topper printed onto white 'linen' from

Papermill

and backround papers from stash

Hope you like my little 'Summer' card.....reminds me of days gone by :(

Well, that's all for today, I'm dashing as usual, catch you all tomorrow.

Please leave a comment, to let me know you've visited, that way I can repay the compliment.

Barbara xx

Sunflowers Grow On You!..........

Hi everyone, it's Friday again....yay!

I've had a very busy week, in fact I've had a busy 2weeks.......so much has happened!

In the past few days I've been invited onto the design teams of Oak House Studio,  Petal Lu  and now Papermill !

To say I'm thrilled about all this is an understatement, and I do have another little announcement coming soon, but can't say anything yet :)

Anyway, enough of that......tonight I have another card made with the lovely Sunflower from OHS. I'm finding this stamp so versatile, and it looks good however it's used.

 

 I just wanted very suble colouring for this one.I used distress inks with a water-brush

The main image was stamped then masked as I didn't want to 'overstamp' .

I used the linen cardstock from Papermill, of course....it's fab for stamping on.

Just a simple sentiment to finish off, and of course those seed-beads....told you I'd use them again, didn't I ?  ;-)

Well, that's it for tonight...I'm off to bed, shattered. My son is opening a Pet Supplies shop next week, and we've been helping him this week to paint etc. I'm afraid my crafting has been put to one side for a few days, but hoping to get some new stuff done tomorrow.

Please leave a comment if you've enjoyed looking,

Catch you tomorrow

Barbara xx

Something Different........

Evening all.....hey, get me 11 posts in 12 days, I'm flying at the moment!

Tonight's card is one I made for Nick and Emma's friends baby, who was Christened at the weekend. It's a long time since I made a Christening card, and I always seem to get stuck with them so I reverted back to an old favourite of sentiment and gorgeous flowers from Petal Lu

These flowers are so beautiful, made from the most lovely hand-dyed paper and are handcrafted to order. Pop over the Petal Lu, to see the fabulous selection of colours.

The stockcard is, of course, from 

Papermill

Aren't these flowers adorable, they're so delicate.

Marianne doily die, computer generated sentiment,

ribbons and pearls from my stash, and that's it, finito!

Hope you like it......I would love it if you could leave a comment to show you've visited..

Catch you tomorrow,

Barbara xx
I'm entering this card into the following challenges ;-
Bunny Zoe's Crafts 
House Of Gilli
Make It Monday
The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop
There She Goes Clear Stamps
Ladybug Crafts
Through The Craftroom Door
Artistic Inspirations 

A Variation of the Sunflower......

Hi-di-hi campers and welcome to all my new followers.....How're you all doing this cold Monday? 

Thought I'd show you another 'sunny' card today, to brighten us up a bit......Spring is just around the corner!

Again, the Sunflower stamp is from Oak House Studio, and I've used it with a Script stamp, which I heat embossed.

 I've dyed the ribbon with a selection

of OHS inkpads

Think I stamped the Sunflower 3 times, once with gold embossing powder, and then cut right into it so that I could decoupage the petals separately.

Told you these seed beads would be used again, didn't I?

The background was made with cheap copier paper, which I soaked, inked, then scrunched up into a ball. Once opened out again, I sploshed some Mica powder on, then when it was completely dry, I ironed it!

The little info tag (above) was nicked off Google

There is still a 'Sunflower' competition on the Oak House Studio facebook page, if you fancy popping over....all you have to do is 'like, comment and share' ;-)

Well, hope you like today's card....would love you to leave a comment if you've enjoyed looking.

Catch you all tomorrow 

Stay warm, 

Barbara 

xx
I'm entering this card into the following challenges :-
Artisic Inspirations
Incy Wincy Designs
Make It Monday
The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop
Stamp and Create
There She Goes 

Sunflowers bring sunshine.......

Hi everyone, hope you're enjoying your weekend.

We've had a very lazy day.......I'm ashamed to say it was midday when I got dressed, and this lappy has been on my knee almost the whole day, although I did manage to pop into my craft room and make one card. Now we're just chilling after a lovely steak and a bottle of wine, so thought I'd blog my first card using the gorgeous 'Sunflower' stamp from Oak House Studio

If you pop over to the Oak House Studio page  on Facebook, there is the chance to win this stamp.

Thought I'd kick off with a very simple 'Clean and Simple' card tonight.

I stamped 'off the page' onto a 3" square of 'linen' card and coloured in with inks.

When dry, I triple embossed only the flower, and stamped the sentiment.

I have millions of seed bead in all colours, so thought the black ones would be great for the centre of the sunflower......you might see these beads a lot more in future cards ;-)

I love the clean effect of this type of card, and feel very comfortable leaving loads of empty white card, epecially when it's the gorgeous 'linen' card from Papermill

Would love to know what you think of it.

Please don't forget to go to the OHS facebook page..... all you have to do is like, share and comment to be in the Sunflower stamp giveaway

Catch you all tomorrow,

Barbara xx

I'm entering this card into the following challenges :-

Kraftyhands

Brown Sugar Challenge

Joyful Stamper

Another 'Daughter' card.....

Evening all, here I am...... back again like a bad penny! Can't believe I'm actually blogging every day at the moment.

 I've had a great day crafting, made 9 cards, whoohoo, and I've done my first 5 Christmas cards for 2013. Christmas cards are so much more enjoyable when you're not on a time-limit :-)

Tonight's card is the one my lovely cyber-friend chose for her daughter,,,,I made 3 for her to pick from, and got to say I liked this one best too.

The background card, from Papermill was inked and  then ran through a butterfly embossing folder.

Pink doily, gems, lace and ribbon are from my stash

Butterfly dies from Cheery Lynn, black doily die from Marianne, the sentiment is by Tsunami Rose and was cut with a Spellbinder classic circle.

I used some mica  mixed in with ink for the background colour, can you see it on the sentiment?

I love this gorgeous wired ribbon,,,,it just stays where it's put!

I really like this card..... pink and black always look so good together, and the pink is much more vibrant 'in the flesh', so to speak.

Well, that's it again for today....hope you like what you see.

Thanks in advance for all the wonderful comments that are left every day, I do really appreciate them all

Barbara xx
I'm entering this card into the following challenges :-
Charisma Cardz
Crafty Ribbons
DRS Designs
In The Pink
Moving Along With The Times
Paper Crafting Journey
Southern Girls Challenge
Visible Image 

More Good News.....whoohoo!

Evening everyone, hope you're having a good 'middle of the week' day.......it'll soon be Friday, although I am NOT wishing my life away.

I've had some good news today.....you know how I'm guesting on Oak House Studio blog, for the month of February, well Lynnda (the owner) has invited me to be a permanent member of the Design Team....I'm thrilled to bits.....I said YES of course!

I've already had some great fun using the fabulous products from OHS, and I have another few cards to show you, using the lovely Sunflower stamp.....(would be great for Mother's day cards)  Watch out for another giveaway coming soon, on the OHS Facebook page.

On tonight's card I've used a few products from OHS.

 

The background (of every element) has been made with 'Linen' card from Papermill, inked with  a selection of Ink Sprays, Here . I then ran the card though the Bigshot with an embossing mask.

I stamped the lovely 'floral' script onto a piece of inked card, and heat embossed the edges.

I chucked a bit of EP around the edges too. 

 Rolled a few roses, cut and embossed the leaves with a Spellbinders die and dyed some ribbon to match.....voila!

When I opened up the pics to do this blog, I wasn't keen on the finished card, something was missing (see pic above) So.....I made another rose and stuck it on, to balance the opposite corner. Thought I'd leave the 'old' pic on, to show you what I mean.

Now I'm happy with it! 

What do you think?

Hope you like it. I seem to have returned to my fave colours don't I, but hey....I craft to please myself, most of the time, so why not use the colours I love ?

Catch you in a day or so, until then, be good!

Barbara xx
I'm entering this card into the following challenges :-
Crafts and Me
Ruby's Rainbow
LEJ Designs
Loves Rubber Stamps
Papertake Weekly
Through The Craftroom Door 

It's Twinchie time!.......

Hiya peeps,  hope you're having a good day......

Today I'm showing my new Twinchies......and if you don't know what twinchies are, they're 2" x 2" squares of gorgeousness. That might seem small, but it's amazing what you can fit onto such a tiny space.
The winner of the last challenge was SANDEE....checkout her fab winning twinchie in the winners gallery Here

The theme this month at Show Us Your Twinchies is 'Love Is In The Air' ....I thought I'd make myself a little wall-hanging to go in my craft room :)

Firstly I inked a sheet of 'linen' card, then chopped it into 2" squares. I used a stamp which came free with a mag, then popped some dots of Cosmic Shimmer pearlescent glue down one side.

These hearts were cut out of glittered card, but it hasn't shown up on the pic, shame!

This was another stamp from the 'freebie' set.

This is my favourite sentiment at the moment.

The heart was cut out of a tomato puree tube with a Marianne die.

Da-da...the finished hanger......what do you think?

I love the background colours, but not sure about the heart at the bottom....might take it off and add another twinchie, we'll see.

Ok, phew, I'm off to do a bit of crafting...so many ideas so little time it seems!

Catch you all tomorrow with another card for Oak House Studios

Hope you'll call back soon

Barbara xx

I'm entering this hanger into the following challenges :-

The Cheerful Stamp Pad 

Created With Love 

Creative Creations

Incy Wincy Designs 

Kaboodle Doodles 

 Lexies Creations 

 Ooh La La Creations 

Creative Stamp Friends 

 

Messing about on the river.......

Evening everyone, and welcome back for the second time today.......I feel like this lappy has been stuck to my knee since I got out of bed this morning!

Just a quick post this time to show my DT card for Crafty Bloggers Network. This month we have been sponsored by Elisabeth Bell,  Here ......the theme is 

Anything Goes 

and the prize is 2 fabulous digi's from Elisabeth. 

Anyway, here is my card.......

The background papers have been in my stash for years......I cut the image with an X-Cut die, and the leaves with a Marianne die. Pearls and ribbon from my stash.

Isn't this a sweet image?

Well, that's it for today, I'll be back tomorrow with my new TWINCHIES! yay.....hope you can pop back to see them.

Please scroll down to see my earlier post.

Enjoy your evening,

Barbara xx

A card? A bird? No....A TAG!

Morning everyone, on a gorgeous sunny Monday.....4th of Feb already, it'll soon be Summer! :)......Welcome to my new followers.....loads of fabby crafters checking my blog now, whoohoo!

I have TWO posts for you today, so please pop back later for the second one.

 I've made a very quick TAG for Oak House Studio featuring the 'Stitch In Time' stamps found Here

The competition for this set of stamps ends today, so rush over now and leave a comment on the post 'NEW ERA' to be in with a chance of winning. If you're unlucky in the draw, Lynnda has reduced the set for a very short period, so 'GRAB A BARGAIN'....they're sooooooo versatile~!

Anyway, here is my 'simple' tag......

 

 A fab start was the Colour Chemistry inks ....I do lots of creations in these colours, I LOVE 'em, as you all should know by now! (I'm a LEO) I inked a tag with red, yellow and orange spray inks, then used a mask to add red leaves. This time the heart stamps have been used to make a flower.  Add a few more die-cuts using the same inked card, to finish it off, and you've got a very simple, bright tag!

I filled the centre with Cosmic Shimmer Pearlescent glue

 I have about 14 butterfly dies, but this one from cuttlebug has always remained my favourite.

The ribbon was originally white, but I couldn't resist using the Colour Chemistry ink pads to colour it......Great inks by the way, soooooooooooooooo juicy, and fabby colours! (Need them all!) check them out in the SHOP ...Here

Well, that's it for now, I'll be back later with my DT card for Crafty Bloggers Network......and inbetween I need to complete an order....HELP!, not enough hours in the day! xx (obviously not going to do any housework today ) haha

Barbara x
I'm entering this tag into the following challenges :-
Anything but a card
Corrosive challenge