JULY challenge from Lavinia Stamps.....

Morning everyone, hope you're managing to stay cool....we've just returned from a few nice days in Edinburgh, but boy, was it humid up there!

Anyway, today is the start of the July challenge from 

LAVINIA STAMPS

The theme this month is 'Flowers', and as usual, the prize is a fab £40 of products from Lavinia Stamps. If you don't have a blog, you can enter by email, by following the link from the challenge blog HERE

Here is my DT project for this challenge.

As always, I've used card stock from

PAPERMILLDIRECT 

White 'super-smooth' - 300gsm.

A heavy card is needed for this type of project.

I used an old template to cut out the shape of the tissue-box, then scored and folded where necessary. The template needed to be cut twice, to make 4 sides.

I only joined one edge, to enable me to stamp on a flat surface.

Then I covered the complete piece with BRUSHO paints and allowed to dry thoroughly.

Next,  I used various LAVINIA stamps, working along the flat surface, from one end to the other.

A couple of die-cuts,  a white pen for highlighting, and the box was ready to assemble.

These are my fave colours, of course, but I also wanted a light (ish) background to show off the fab stamps.

Well, hope you like it.....if you have time, pop over to the rest of the team blogs, listed on my blog side-bar, there is some fantastic inspiration there.

Just want to remind you of this week's Papermilldirect 'special offer', too.....

At 315gsm this is a lovely heavy card with an embossing that we don't normally have in coloured card.

This comes in a small A4 box of approximately 70 - 75 sheets for only £3.96

Catch you all soon,

Barbara x

Time for another Papermilldirect 'Special Offer'.......

Hi everyone, it's that time of the week again, when PAPERMILLDIRECT

release details of another great offer......this week it's

White 'felt embossed' 210 gsm

A4 - small box - £4.50 - approx 80 sheets

A4 - midi box - £13.00 - approx 260 sheets

Here are my DT samples for this gorgeous card stock.....

I've used black smooth, and white 'felt' card stock for this card, along with two lovely stamps from

LAVINIA STAMPS 

Such an easy card to make.

Same products on this card, with the 'Chinese Lantern' stamp from Lavinia Stamps and a little sentiment from Kirsty Wiseman

Clean and Simple!

 The theme this week for the Papermilldirect DT was 'party invites' .

These ones are simple enough for a child to help with.

Look at the beautiful texture on this white 'felt, embossed' card stock, isn't it lovely?

Well that's it for today....don't forget to pop over to Papermilldirect and checkout the special offers. This white card stock doesn't hang around for long.

Barbara xx

It's time for another Papermilldirect offer

Hi everyone, and a big welcome to my new followers.....

Today sees the next 'Special Offer' from 

PAPERMILLDIRECT 

Our DT theme this week at Papermilldirect is 'Thank You' cards from kids.

I made a quick set of cards using scraps of various colours (I never throw scraps away!)

I'll list the colours I've used below.

The letters were cut with an X-cut alphabet die, but kids can simply write the letters by hand, if they want to do everything themselves.

Doesn't the texture of the white hammered card stock look fab?

A little bit of butchers twine on the bunting and job done!

Colours used are daffodil yellow, lime green, post-box red, raspberry pink, baby-blue, baby-pink, dark violet, teal and smooth black.....all from Papermilldirect, of course.

The weekly 'SPECIAL OFFER' is an

A4 Small Box Violet card 300gsm

This beautiful card is a very similar shade to our very popular Dark Violet card, but at 300gsm it is a must have for those of you who like their card a little thicker!

Approximately 70 - 75 sheets for the amazing price of £5.28

Hope you can find time to pop over to PAPERMILLDIRECT and checkout the range of colours....you'll be spoilt for choice... 

Back soon with some pics from Saturday's CHIPPENHAM WORKSHOP.

Barbara xx
I am supporting th
e following challenges with this post :-
Card and Scrap
Crafters Galore Encore Challenge
Ladybug Crafts
One Sweet Challenge
Paper Creator's Crafts
Through the purple haze
Scribbles Designs (Bunting)

One die....5 quick cards.

Morning again....whoohoo, 2 posts in 2 days, I must have some time on my hands, haha.

My post on the PAPERMILLDIRECT INSPIRE BLOG has gone live....you can find it HERE . It would be great if you could pop over and leave a comment.

The theme for the blog was Quick Cards, and you can't get much quicker than 5 cards in 30 minutes!

These are the cards I've made with just ONE die.....sorry can't remember where I bought the die from, or the company who makes it, but I'm sure someone will help me out with the name ......

All card stock is from 

PAPERMILLDIRECT 

White hammered, white linen, dark violet, daffodil yellow, black, and lime green.

 Don't forget to checkout their weekly

 'SPECIAL OFFERS'

Just a simple die-cut, from black, and mounted onto a scrap

of inked card left over from another project.

These are the fabulous TEDDY-BEAR blooms from

PETAL LU 

All handcrafted by Lu, and so many variations to choose from.....pop over and check them out!

Ink dusted background with a white die-cut plonked on the top....can't get much simpler than that!

The sentiments are from an old set of stamps I bought off a group, years ago. LOTV sell similar ones.

And finally, another 5 minute card to make, using the gorgeous buttons from

EMILY'S BUTTON BOX

Most of Emily's button are only 10p each, and they are fabulous quality. Such a fantastic range of designs too.

Hope you've enjoyed looking at my 'quick and easy' cards.....I'll be back on Friday with more Petal Lu creations.

Barbara x

I'm supporting the following challenges with this post :-
Crafting by Designs
Inspiration Destination Challenge
Mod Squad Challenge Blog
Moo-Mania
Kraftin'Kimmie Stamps
Papertake Weekly 

Lavinia Stamps new challenge - Any Colour You Like!......

Morning everyone, from a very wet, cold and miserable Wiltshire....hope it's a bit better where you are.

Today sees the start of the June challenge at

LAVINIA STAMPS

The theme this month is 'USE ANY COLOUR YOU WANT', so get out your stamps and inks....and create!

The prize, as usual, is £40 of Lavinia Stamps products, and don't worry if you haven't got a blog....you can now enter by email.....how cool is that?!

Here are my DT samples...

ALL card stock is from

PAPERMILLDIRECT 

I've inked through a stencil, then used stamps,

'Nissa', 'fern leaf' and 'fairy wishes'.

Some Rangers 'stickles', a charm and a scrap of ribbon and voila!

  

Stamps used on this tag are 'autumn leaf' set and 'the world is full of beauty' sentiment.

Various coloured inks and a little bit of masking for the hills. 

A very simple tag to make.

Well, hope you will have time to create something for the challenge....pop over to the challenge blog HERE to checkout the rest of the DT inspiration.

Back soon with new updates for Papermilldirect 'weekly special offer' and 'halfway inspiration' for the new PETAL LU challenge.

Barbara x
I'm supporting the following challenges with this post :-
Card Mania
Crafting from the Heart
Craft Your Passion
Not just cards
Crafty Calendar

 

New Papermill offer and some Quick Cards....

Hi everyone, I'm back again with details of the latest 'special offer' from

PAPERMILLDIRECT

This week it's a gorgeous Light Ivory pearlised paper, 120gsm (fabulous for inserts and wedding stationery)

Small box - 160 A4 sheets approx - £13.20

Midi box - 520 A4 sheets appox. - £30.00

The theme for the DT this week was  'Quick and Easy' cards, and they don't come much quicker than this.....

One die from Memory Box (Shrewsbury Stem)

White hammered & baby-pink card stock from

Papermilldirect

A sentiment stamp (company unknown, but LOTV sell similar).....

and a few gems.

FIVE MINUTES TO MAKE!

 Same die as above....

White hammered, lime green and raspberry pink card stock from

Papermilldirect.

A sentiment stamp tag,  Rangers 'Stickles', and a small piece of butchers twine.

Same as above two, with the addition of dark violet card stock.

Well, that's it for today, hope you like these simple cards, great for knocking up in a hurry.

I'll be back over the weekend with another set of 'quick cards', using a different die. Hope you will pop back then.

Barbara

x
ps....Papermilldirect have quite a few 'special offers' on at the moment, why not pop over and check them out?

Get ya sunglasses on........

Hi everyone, how's it going ? Hope you're having a nice, sunny day! I've been crafting with my friend Jean this afternoon, trying out my new Gelli Plate. The only thing we made was...... a mess! LOL

Definitely more practice needed, unfortunately.

Anyway, last Sunday Jean and I went to a workshop hosted by Visible Image, and expertly demo'd by my Lavinia Stamps teamie, Pauline Butcher. We had a lovely day.....but it passed tooooooooo quickly.

These are the projects I made......I love them!

Brusho background.
The horse in this tag and the next, were heat embossed to make them 'pop'

This is a brusho background too, mounted onto black card stock from PAPERMILLDIRECT

All stamps from Visible Image.
These are my favourite colours, of course....being a Leo!

The background on this card was created with distress inks .

The feather was heat-embossed, then 'fussy-cut'.

I love these cards, they are even more vibrant in real life.

Hope you like them too.

Back soon with a couple more creations with VI stamps.

Barbara x

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

CRAFTY RIBBONS CHALLENGE 

HANNA AND FRIENDS 

CITY CRAFTER CHALLENGE

CREATIVE CARD CREW

SWEET STAMPS BLOG

TIP TOP TUESDAY

It's time for a new offer from Papermilldirect......

Evening everyone, these weeks seem to be flying past and it's time for another 'special offer' from 

PAPERMILLDIRECT 

This week it's beautiful grey linen card stock 

A4 Small Box Pale Grey Linen Embossed Card 300gsm - £4.40 for approximately 60-65 sheets

This is a colour we don't usually get into stock, and as it's linen embossed it's even rarer!

DON'T DELAY if you like it.....

Here are my DT samples....with a wedding theme for this week.

 On this card I've used white linen, grey linen and baby-pink card stock.....a corner die from Tattered Lace, and these stunning new fuchsia flowers from PETAL LU

 This card and tag are made with white linen,  grey linen and again, the flowers from Petal Lu. The border die is by Sue Wilson for Spellbinders and the sentiment is from Stampin' Up.

DON'T FORGET the very first challenge from PETAL LU is now LIVE and the theme is ANYTHING GOES......

Well, think that's about it for tonight, I'll be back soon with some new projects made at a workshop yesterday, hosted by Visible Image and my Lavinia Stamps team-mate, Pauline Butcher....It was great, I really enjoyed it....and the creations are BRIIIIIIIIGHT! so bring ya sunglasses!

Barbara xx

Well, It's Finally Here.....The Very First Petal Lu Challenge!

Hi everyone, back again with news that the very first challenge from

 PETAL LU

has just gone live!

Lucinda of Petal Lu, handcrafts the most adorable flowers, which can be used on numerous projects and creations. Click on the link above to see the fabulous array of styles & colours.

Here are my DT cards for this challenge.

All card stock is from 

PAPERMILLDIRECT 

The sentiment is from Sheena Douglas, and I've used cream & gold flowers to tie in with the cream and gold base card.

This card was made for a little flower girl to give to the bride and groom. White and crimson flowers match the wedding colours.

This very first challenge has been sponsored by Petal Lu, (a fab box of flowers to the winner) and by

FAERY INK ,

who design the prettiest of digi-stamps, as seen on the Petal Lu challenge blog HERE

Hope you like my cards ....still struggling without a craft room, so crafting is not much fun at the moment...boo-hoo!

Catch you all soon,

Barbara xx

Lots going on here.........

Well, it's done.....all the hard work on our bungalow this past few weeks resulted in a great valuation from 4 different estate agents, so as from tomorrow we'll be 'on the market'....yeah!

I'm sooooooooo missing my craft room, and hope it's not too long before we're up and away into something bigger. Most peeps downsize at our (my) age, not us, of course, we need to go from 3 bedrooms to 4 or 5....crazy!

Anyway, enough shizzle....just wanted to tell you of a few things going on......

This weeks special offer from PAPERMILLDIRECT is 

30 Sheet Pack of A4 Bright Pink Paper 160gsm

This beautiful shade of bright pink paper will brighten even the dullest day and

 is available in a 30 sheet pack from only £2.25

Pop over to the Papermilldirect website, to checkout this, and other fab offers.

Tomorrow sees the start of a new challenge blog from the very talented Lucinda of 

PETAL LU

Lu makes all these fantastic flowers by hand....they're absolutely gorgeous. 

Checkout the Facebook page on May 15th, for more details.

And last, but not least.....Tuesday was Alan's birthday....A cousin of mine once said to him 'Alan you deserve a medal the size of a frying pan, for putting up with our Barbara'! and he was dead right.haha

This is the card I made him......Shaving foam background and Visible Image stamp.

Back tomorrow with pics from my workshop last Saturday....great fun, and some amazing creations.

Catch you soon, 

Barbara xx

 

 

 

A Gorgeous new offer from Papermilldirect......

Good morning everyone.....I have 10 minutes to blog before our busy day starts.

We have FOUR estate agents coming today to evaluate our bungalow, and there's not a speck of dust anywhere (my OCD kicked in).  Finn has been packed off to Adam's training centre, for the day,  at Avon Dog Services, so we could get rid of the last of the hair (it's moulting season...yuk!), and we're ready!

So before the first appointment, I just wanted to tell you about the gorgeous weekly 'special offer' at

PAPERMILLDIRECT

This week it's a fabulous Turquoise card stock

The beautiful shade  reminds me of a lovely warm sea, so it's ideal for all your summer crafts.

 A small A4 box of approximately 80 sheets is only £4.50

Here are my DT samples 

The background on this card is done with Brusho's.

I've used the Inkcognito butterfly stamps from Visible Image and a sentiment from my stash.

Isn't the turquoise card such a fabulous colour?

 This card has been made with turquoise, smooth black and white linen card stock.

The dies are from Spellbinders, Cheery Lynn and Couture Creations.

The sentiment is from Creative Expressions.

If you like the look of the turquoise card, don't delay as it will sellout fast.

Well that's it for today, I'm gonna have one last 'flit' around, just to make doubly sure that the bungalow is perfect, haha.

Catch you all soon with details of a fab new challenge starting on 15th May........

Barbara xx

I'm entering this post into the following challenges :-
Cuttlebug Mania
Through The Craftroom Door
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps
Crafts Galore
Crafting Muskateers
Happy Little Stampers

Lavinia Stamps - May challenge, and a weekend 'Special' from Papermilldirect

Hello everyone, and welcome to my new followers....

Well, here we are again at the start of another month, and another challenge from

 LAVINIA STAMPS

As usual, the ( very ) lovely Tracey & Kev of Lavinia Stamps are offering a fab prize of £40 to the 'randomly picked' winner. No matter how long you've been crafting or how experienced you are, all you need is a few Lavinia stamps to enter, and if you haven't got a blog, you can enter by email.

The theme for the month of MAY is PINK or BLUE (or both if you want)

Here are my Design Team samples....

ALL card stock on these cards is from

PAPERMILLDIRECT 

Pop over to the Papermilldirect web page for details of a fab weekend discount offer.

Lavinia stamps used on this card are the 

Zen Flowers 1 & 3

I've coloured with Promarkers, and mounted the white 'frame' with foam tape to give height and used white 'linen' card.

Stamps used on this card are

Zen Angelic Words

and

(will find out and edit later)

White 'linen' card again.....

.



Here I've done a quick bit of masking to create the hills and ground, with distress inks, and used the Midnight Meandering (rabbits) and

Christmas Tree Group.

I've also added some glaze to the rabbits and trees.

Can you see the lovely 'canvas' effect the white linen makes?

Last but not least, I chopped a few different sized circles out or a small sheet of card to make a stencil, which I then inked with distress inks.

The stamps used are 

Hanging Lanterns

and

Zen Angelic Words

Well, that's it for today, back soon with another Special Offer from Papermilldirect.

Have a great bank holiday weekend.....we are still decorating....yawn!

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

FUSSY & FANCY 

POLKADOODLES  (Anything but square)

STEMPELSONNE

IN THE PINK

Guest designer for Crafting by Designs.....and a new Papermilldirect offer.

Afternoon everyone, and welcome to my new followers....hope you enjoy what you see.

Today I'm showing you a few cards I did as a Guest Designer for

CRAFTING BY DESIGNS

One of my cards was chosen as a winner in their recent challenge, so I've followed up with a few more. 

THREE different companies...THREE different gorgeous butterfly stamps

All card stock is from

PAPERMILLDIRECT 

The beautiful 'Zen' butterfly (my very favourite)

is from

LAVINIA STAMPS

The sentiment is a Kaisercraft 'rub-on'

This 'Swallowtail' butterfly is from

Stampin' Up.

I've heat-embossed, then coloured it with

Dylusions Inks.

Another favourite stamp at the moment is this Inkcognito Butterfly from 

VISIBLE IMAGE

I've stamped it onto a background of 

Brusho inks.

Well, hope you've enjoyed visiting today, and thanks in advance for any comments you leave. I do appreciate them all.

Before I go, I'd just like to remind you of the latest Special Offer from

Papermilldirect.

A4 Midi Box White Card 300gsm

This A4 300gsm White card is a superb base for all your craft projects and at only £14.00 for one of our Midi Boxes it's a bargain as well! 

It always sells out fast though, so don't delay

xx

Back soon with details of the new 

LAVINIA STAMPS CHALLENGE

I'm entering this post into the following challenges :-
Aud Sentiments
Cute Card Thursday
Moo-Mania

Gorgeous new offer from Papermilldirect.....

Evening all, at last..... 5 minutes to do a blog post! We're getting our house ready to 'put on the market' (maybe)....and I never seem to have a minute at the moment...... 

Anyway, wanted to show a few cards I did as samples for my workshop last Saturday.....we had a fab session, all the pics are on my Facebook page HERE

 All card stock used is from
PAPERMILLDIRECT

Embossed images, brushed with distress inks .
The sentiment is from Inkylicious

Distress inks, Tim Holtz
and
LOTV stamps 

Distress inks and a Sheena Douglas
sentiment.

Distress inks, Dylusions mask and 'Scribbly Birds' stamp from Dina Wakley.

Hope you like them....

The Special Offer this week from PAPERMILLDIRECT is fabulous hammered card in blue..

Blue Hammer Embossed Card - 320gsm

A4 Small box - Approximately 75 sheets for just £4.50

Limited supplies, so don't delay!

It's gorgeous, but I didn't have time to make any cards this week, I've temporarily lost my craft room....boo!

Catch you all soon xx
I'm entering this blog post into the following challenges :-
Little Red Wagon 
Crafty Creations
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps
Creative Card Crew
Get Creative

Papermilldirect's new weekly offer.....

Evening all, just a quick post tonight to show you the latest 'special offer' from

PAPERMILLDIRECT

This week it's.....

White Seal Embossed Card 230gsm

There are two sizes to choose from:

A3 Box, approximately 80 sheets for £15.00

A4 Midi Box, approximately 260 sheets for £23.00

There is a  limited stock of this product and they are unlikely to have it in stock again, so get yours while you can!!

 I stamped and coloured the image, then mounted onto cardboard and Papermilldirect smooth brown card stock.
The stamp is by Art Impressions.

I made the card for our lovely friends in Scotland, as a 'thank you' for a lovely weekend visit. Fiona keeps chickens so thought the image was very apt.....her & I, gossiping!

Don't forget to pop over to the Papermilldirect website to checkout this and all the other offers.

Catch you soon,

Barbara

x



I'm entering this post into the following challenges :-
DEEP OCEAN CHALLENGE
IKE'S WORLD CHALLENGE
CRAFTY CARDMAKER'S
MAKE MY MONDAY
FAIRYTALE STAMPERS
ART IMPRESSIONS  (I used an AI stamp)

Lavinia April Challenge - Lemon & Lime

Evening all, just a quick post to share my Lavinia Stamps  DT work for April.

The theme this month is Lemon & Lime, and as usual there is a £40 prize for the 'randomly-picked' winner. You MUST use Lavinia Stamps on your entry.

It's such a fab chance to build on your collection of amazing products from

LAVINIA STAMPS

All card stock is from

PAPERMILLDIRECT 

The backgrounds have all been made with Dylusion Inks

and a selection of 

Lavinia Stamps which can be found on the website.

I covered the trees with a clear glaze.

This coloured panel was left-over from another project,  I loved the colours on it.

I didn't include this little tag in my DT work, as I stamped the sentiment crookedly, but I still like it!

Hope you've enjoyed looking at my Lavinia Stamps samples, I'll be back soon with another Papermilldirect 'special offer'.

Catch you later, have a great Easter weekend.

(we have gardening and decorating to look forward to...goody, goody....NOT!)

Barbara

xx

I'm entering this blog post into the following challenges :-
Fairytale Stampers
Great Impressions
Order of the Opus-Gluei
The Corrosive Challenge
Left of Centre