My lovely followers x

Saturday, 11 October 2014

OAK HOUSE STUDIO - Mini 'ONE STAMP' event.

Morning everyone, happy Saturday....
There is a 'mini ONE STAMP' event on today, over at 
The idea of the 'one stamp' event is to use ONE stamp in as many different ways as possible....this time it's the turn of the lovely CHRISTMAS CORNER.....available HERE
These are my DT cards using the Christmas corner stamp.....hope you like them.



ALL cardstock is from
Heat-embossed and coloured with Colour Chemistry inks from
Oak House Studio




Same method, then coloured with Cosmic Shimmer....(the pic doesn't show up the lovely sheen on the flowers)
The sentiment stamps are also from Oak House Studio, of course.




As above but a bit more 'clean and simple'





My least favourite, but I'll send it to someone whom I don't like, hahaha
I've used pearl silver embossing powder on this one and acrylic inks from Oak House Studio.
Don't forget to pop over to the blog and see the fab inspiration from the rest of the team. You can also join the facebook page - Inkspired by Oak House Studio - to keep up to date with offers etc. 
Catch you all soon,
Barbara x

Friday, 10 October 2014

New Challenge at Lavinia Stamps....

Hi-di-hi everyone......it's ages since I blogged, so hope you're all still with me ;-)
We had a fab holiday in Morocco, and came home refreshed and ready to crack-on with stuff that we've been putting off for months....ie decorating, clearing the garden, going for long walks with Finn.....all those things that are better done in Summer of course, but we just didn't have time then...hey-ho!
 I'm also gonna have more time to craft now, as we've employed a full-time manager in the pet shop, and I don't need to go in 3 days a week...yeah!
Anyway, onto this month's challenge at LAVINIA STAMPS...
the theme is AUTUMN COLOURS.
As usual, the prize is a whopping £40 to spend on Lavinia products, and you don't need a blog to enter, we also take email entries. 
You need to use Lavinia products to enter, so grab your stamps, and get busy....
I've made a couple of tags this month...hope you like them.
                              
                           
On this tag I've used the stamp
  Nigela Damascena
      HERE 
 one of the tiny star stamps, a sentiment,
and loads of copper embossing powder and spray inks 
from
 
This tag uses the same spray inks
with the Zen, large mushroom house,
and a couple of the foliage stamps.

I absolutely LOVE the Autumnal colours, but I don't like Autumn very much....it's because no matter how pretty the colours are, the trees are closing down for Winter and everything is dying.
Anyway, not much we can do about it, so may as well just enjoy the colours, and look forward to CHRISTMAS!!! 
Catch you all soon,
Barbara x

Friday, 12 September 2014

New challenge at Oak House Studio

Morning everyone, and what a great day it is, 'cos we're going on holiday today .....yay! Morocco here we come. Last time we were there, the temperature reached 49 degrees......It won't be so hot on the coast, but that's fine....it's the break we need, as opposed to the heat.
Anyway, best get on and tell you that the new challenge at OAK HOUSE STUDIO  has started, and the theme this month is 'Autumn'.....There are FIVE prizes of £10 to spend on Oak House Studio products, and you DON'T have to have a blog. Pop your creation in the album on the Inkspired by Oak House Studio facebook page here to be in with a chance of winning....oh, and of cousre you have to use their products.......
Here are my DT cards for this challenge.....


All cardstock from PAPERMILL  
All inks, stamps and embossing powders from
Oak House Studio




Love this sentiment!

    Catch you all soon....maybe a post from Morocco! 
Barbara xx

Tuesday, 2 September 2014

A new challenge at Lavinia Stamps....

Morning everyone.....the sun is shining, whoohoo!
Today sees the start of the September challenge at LAVINIA STAMPS and as usual, there is a fantastic prize of £40 to spend on whatever you want from the Lavinia website.  The theme this month is 'USE SOME RIBBON'...easy peasy!
Lavinia products MUST be used, and you can enter via your blog, OR by email. So, without further ado, here are my DT cards for this month....



ALL cardstock is from 
Inks and embossing powders are from




Hammered cardstock give a great 'blotchy' effect when inked. 



The Lavinia stamps I've used on this card are
Vine ( here )
and
Dandelion ( here )
Sentiment (one of my faves) ( here )



Cardstock & inks same as above.....
Lavinia Stamps used are
Leaf trail ( here )
and
Fairy dust silhouette ( here )


So everyone, hope you like them.
Please pop over to the Lavinia Stamps website as there are LOADS of new stamps available. ( I'm watching for the postie, as I write this blog, waiting for my new images being delivered )
Please checkout the rest of the DT creations, they're amazing...

  
Back soon
Barbara xx

Saturday, 30 August 2014

I'm back.......!

Hi everyone.....well, finally I have a few minutes / feel well enough / have the energy to blog....first time for over 3 weeks! Everything seemed to come at once, and although I've THOUGHT about blogging, I just haven't had the time.....or the inclination. Feeling much better now, thankfully, and trying to get back to normal before our hols, in two weeks ....YAY!
So, a quick blog to show a couple of cards I made as part of my DT work for PAPERMILL, weeks ago. Very simple cards to show the hammered effect on white cardstock.  (still one of my most favourite designs)
                                      



I like the 'clean' look to this card. The polka dot was printed onto white cardstock too.

White 'hammered' again, with flowers from
and a Jofy sentiment.
Well. I did say they were simple cards, didn't I ?? LOL

I'm taking part in a blog hop this weekend....if you have time, pop over to the facebook page of
and checkout the fabulous inspiration. I'll be working my way around them all later tonight.
BTW, Papermill have another fab offer on this week, checkout the website for full details. (link above)

Catch you all in a day or so, but until then, have a good weekend,
Barbara x

Thursday, 7 August 2014

THREE great offers from Papermill this week......

Hi everyone, PAPERMILL have THREE fab special offers on this week......
1) Antique White Pearlised - 300gsm - small box, 75-80 A4 sheets - £7.50
2) All 'essentials' - ie white/cream hammered/linen cardstock. 10% off all orders.
3) A chance to win a great pack of hand-crafted flowers from PETAL-LU - check the Papermill blog for details.
Here are a couple of cards made with the 'Antique Pearlised'





I have inked the cardstock with spray inks from OAK HOUSE STUDIO
The stamp is from Little Claire.














All Oak House Studio inks and stamps (except the LOTV sentiment)
Both cards have Papermill 'Mocha Brown' bases.









All white hammered cardstock, including the polka-dot background, which I ran through the printer as a digi-background.
The 'HOME' die is a Sizzix Bigz. I cut 6 pieces and piled them on top of each other to give depth.




Back soon with a few more samples,  made with 'essential' carstock....don't forget to stock up while the 10% offer is on.
Barbara
x

Saturday, 2 August 2014

Lavinia Stamps challenge.....Add some glitter

Hi everyone, back again with my second post in 2 days......I can't quite believe that I used to blog every day! Where did I find the time?
Anyway, the new challenge has started today at LAVINIA STAMPS.....the theme is 'add some glitter'.
As usual, a fab prize of £40 is up for grabs.... however to be entered into the draw, you must use Lavinia Stamps, of course.
These are my DT inspirations for this month.....

All cardstock is from

I just wanted this card to be simple and elegant. I still love cards with lots of white.
'White linen' works so well for this type of card.



This is the FUCHSIA stamp from Lavinia, still one of my favourites.






All inks on these cards are from
Lavinia Stamps used are :-
Cherry Blossom, Vine, Nigella Damascens, Dandelion
Here is a close-up of each one....



Well, that's all for today....enjoy your weekend.
Catch you soon,
Barbara x

Friday, 1 August 2014

New 'special offer' from Papermill......

Morning all, how's things?
Have you been over to the fabulous, brand-new PAPERMILL website yet?......( HERE ) It's full of gorgeous products....envelopes, papers, and top-quality cardstock in some amazing colours. (good cardstock helps make your creations look so much more proffessional ). Pop over and checkout the weekly 'Special Offers', there's always some bargains to be had.
This week, it's a mixture of lovely summer colours.....In the box you will get Bright Orange, Raspberry Pink, Pale Turquoise, Dark Violet, Daffodil Yellow and Ocean Blue.....a 'midi-box' for only £21.60 which is a saving of 10%. Of course there are lots more offers on the site, so hope you can find time to have a little look.
These are my DT projects, using some of the special-offer cardstock....


Bird mobile.....using lots of summer colours. the sun was too bright on the day I took this pic, so the colours don't show up too well.




I wanted this card to use 'rainbow' colours,

On this little set of cards I used the large daisy stamps, and coloured inkpads all from 


Hope you like these projects.....I'll be back soon with the new challenge from Lavinia Stamps.....it starts tomorrow x
Barbara.
I'm entering these projects into the following challenges :-
Art Impressions
MOO-MANIA
Stampotique Designs
Kraftin' Kimmi
Deep Ocean Challenge

Monday, 28 July 2014

Oak House Studio, and Lavinia Stamps challenge finishing soon........

Morning everyone......just a quick post to remind you that the challenges at 
and
are coming to an end on 31st July......so still time to get your entries in......
A MASSIVE £40 prize from both companies, for the winner, so what are you waiting of??
The theme for the Oak House Studio is 'Wedding', so this could be a wedding card / stationery /or anything 'weddingy'.....if that's even a word LOL
These are my DT projects....
 


All cardstock, on every project, from 
Large 'Walesby Heart', sentiment stamps and Colour Chemistry Inks from



 A simple stationery set using 'Mountain Ash' stamp, Rose inkpad, and embossing powder from Oak House Studio.
Sentiments were computer generated.












 
The Lavinia Stamps challenge theme is 'Summer Colours'.....this was one of my DT projects.
Hope you can all find time to still join in these challenges....they both finish on 31st, so no time to waste.
Catch you soon, with details of a new promotion from PAPERMILL....
Barbara xx

Friday, 18 July 2014

Christmas in July.....another great offer from Papermill

Morning all, hope you're well, and surviving the heat....never happy, are we??
I have a very quick post today showing my first Christmas card of the year......very strange thinking of snow, in 26 degrees.....
Anyway, for those who like to get ahead on Christmas crafting, PAPERMILL have a great offer this week.
15% OFF ALL POSTBOX RED and FOREST GREEN CARDSTOCK and MATCHING ENVELOPES
Small Box (approximately 80 Sheets) only £5.73
Mid Box (approximately 260 Sheets) only £17.00
This is a fab offer and a chance to start early on Christmas plans.....I only got one card finished this week, don't know where the time is going at the mo, however I'll have a few things to show you in my next blog.
Don't forget to pop over and grab this offer, before it sells out,
Catch you soon
Barbara xx
There are some great inspirational projects from the rest of the DT, here are their blog deets xx

Tuesday, 15 July 2014

Oak House Studio.....so much going on!

Morning everyone, just a quick post, before I go into my craft room for the day.....
Wanted to say a big thanks to Lynnda Worsnop at OAK HOUSE STUDIO for another brilliant 'One Stamp' Challenge over the last weekend. This is where everyone used just ONE stamp, to create as many projects, cards, boxes etc, as possible ....this time it was the Walesby Heart HERE, and oh, there was sooooooooooo much inspiration from just this one stamp. Tons of pics on the Oak House Studio blog, and on the new facebook page HERE....please pop over and check it out if you have time.
These were the cards I made for the challenge

ALL cardstock from
ALL inks, embossing powders, and stamps from 
Oak House Studio




I wanted VIBRANT......do you think this 'fits the bill'??



Needed a few thank you cards for my Craft Fair boxes....these were so simple to make.



Hope you like these cards.....I'll be back soon with my DT cards for the brand new challenge at Oak House Studio....this time the theme is WEDDINGS. don't forget to pop over and checkout the blog xx

Friday, 11 July 2014

Teacher Gifts, and Papermill 10% Offer

Afternoon everyone, and welcome to my new followers.
Well, I can't believe I used to blog almost every day, and now it seems I'm down to once a week.....life is very busy at the moment, but hey-ho.
 I just need to quickly remind you about the Oak House Studio 'One Stamp Challenge', this weekend. Please pop into the blog HERE sometime over the next 2 days, to see all the fab creations made by the DT.....great inspiration!
Anyway today I want to show a few things I made a while ago, for teacher 'end of year' gifts.....so simple, even the kids could help.
By the way.....have you seen that PAPERMILL have 10% off small boxes of card! 
Pick 5 colours from the massive colour range, to fill up your box of 80 sheets
There's also a chance to win a £20 Lavinia Stamps voucher, just for commenting on the Papermill blog.....what are you waiting for, ladies??


ALL CARDSTOCK FROM PAPERMILL, of course
I made 3 different bookmarks, just with a computer-generated sentiment, stamps & ink.
Close-ups below.


A bottle tag, made with white linen, baby pink and lime-green cardstock


Teacher card.....
Post-box red, lime green cardstock....hand-cut apple and leaf stamp from 















Pan Pastel background, gold, fine-detail embossing powder and inks from
OHS and stamps from 









Pan Pastel background, stamps from Jofy.





Pan Pastel background, inks, stamps and white embossing powder from


Hope this has given you a few ideas of what to give your child's teacher for an end-of-term gift....checkout the fab projects by the rest of the Papermill DT

Thursday, 3 July 2014

New Special Offer from Papermill

Hi folks......get me, blogging twice in 2 days....it's a long time since that happened, LOL
Today sees another weekly special offer from
A4 Ivory Light Embossed - 230gsm
Small box - 80 sheets - £5.00
Midi box - 260 sheets - £13.50
Here are my DT projects for this offer.....



Ivory light embossed, mounted onto yellow and buff cardstock from
Papermill
The seed-head stamp is from Lavinia Stamps.



I've chalked the background on this card with Pan Pastels, and used a free stamp from IndigoBlu, which has been heat-embossed with gold, fine-detail embossing powder from









 I think the texture of the cardstock shows up beautifully with the PP's.





Gorgeous texture ;-)







Well, that's all for today, back in a couple of days with details of a new 'One Stamp Project' from Oak House Studio.
Barbara xx
Why not pop over and see what the rest of the DT have made with this fab cardstock xx

ANGELA - Polly Purple Horse
I'm entering this post into the following challenges :-

Meljens Designs
Addicted to Stamps
Moo-mania
Nutcrafters
Stampin' Royalty

Wednesday, 2 July 2014

Lavinia Stamps Challenge - Summer Colours

Hi everyone, I'm back......can't believe it's almost 2 weeks since I last blogged. 
Last week we had a fab break in Broad Haven, and I just didn't want to come home to all the usual routine....I LOVE  being at the coast!
Anyway, now we're  home, and I'm trying to catch up on all my DT work, starting with the new challenge at 
The theme this month is SUMMER COLOURS....and as usual, there is a £40 prize for the winning entry.
(you can also enter by email now, if you're not into blogging)
So, here are my DT creations for this challenge.......



 All cardstock is from 
Inks are Colour Chemistry by
I've used NINE different Lavinia stamps on this card.



These 2 colours remind me of my garden, so are definitely 'Summer Colours'


And, of course, these are my HOT summer colours, used with gold, fine embossing powder from
Oak House Studio....second to none, in my opinion.
Hope you like my challenge samples.

I'll be back later in the week with the new 'special offer' from Papermill, and details of a fab event at 
Oak House Studio.
Catch you soon,
Barbara x





I'm entering this post into the following challenges :-
Crafty Ribbons Challenge
Tag Along
Clear It Out Challenge
Through The Craft Room Door
Try it on Tuesday