My lovely followers x

Thursday, 29 August 2013

Fantastic New Papermill 'Special Offer'

Evening all, I'm back again with the latest offer from
Fantastic blue cardstock 270 gms and only £4.50 for approx 80 x A4 sheets.
This card is fab quality with no white core, which is what I love about it.....I'm not a big fan of navy blue, but this shade is really gorgeous, I'll certainly be using it again.
Checkout the offer at


The blue card is matted onto Papermill white linen.
I've used the Tim Holtz 'Tattered Flower' die and a Marianne leaf flourish.
I think the sentiment is by Sheena Douglas.


A few 'pearls' from my stash...job done! 
The cardstock doesn't need loads of 'stuff' thrown on it, it's lovely as a 'clean and simple' creation.

Hope you like it....don't forget to leave a comment if you've enjoyed looking, and also don't forget to pop over to the Papermill site to checkout this, and other special offers. 
Catch you soon, have a good weekend,
Barbara
xx

Wednesday, 28 August 2013

Hurry......Lavinia Challenge SIX Ending Soon.

Hi all, hope you're enjoying a crafty day!
I have a very quick post for today to remind you that the Lavinia challenge ANYTHING GOES, finishes on 31st August at 8am....so still time to get your entry in.
 'Anything Goes' is such a great theme, so come on, what are you waiting for??  
£40 for the winner....yeah!!



All cardstock from
Distress inks, and stamps from Lavinia Stamps and Stampendous (sentiment)
That's all for today....well I did say it was a quick post, didn't I?.....back on Friday with this weeks Papermill 'Special Offer'. 
Hope you can pop back then.
Barbara 
xx



Thursday, 22 August 2013

New Papermill Offer....

Evening all, hope you're having a good week so far......I have my lovely sis-in-law, Ros, down for a few days, 'cos Alan has gone to the Manx Grand Prix on the Isle of Man. Won't get much crafting done, but we'll have plenty of laughs.....
So a very quick post tonight just to promote this weeks 'Special Offer' from



The offer this week is for 'Dandy Embossed' white card 270gms.....An A4 small box for £5 (approx 75-80 sheets)
All cardstock from 
Papermill.






I quite like these CAS cards....there was absolutely no skill needed though so I'll probably make a batch of them for the Christmas craft fairs.
Well, that's all for now, hope you have a brilliant Bank Holiday weeknd.
Catch you soon.
Barbara xx

Friday, 16 August 2013

A 'Hindu' Wedding Card....

Afternoon everyone, hope you've all had a good week. Mine has been very busy, as usual....the best bit being a whole morning of baby-sitting our gorgeous little Eva. She really is the most delicious little thing (when she's in a good mood, of course. haha)
Anyway, today I wanted to show you a card I was asked to make for a Hindu wedding. The request was 'bright' with lots of gold.....After checking out some pics on the 'net, I realised why the customer said this......Almost every card I saw was either shocking pink or red/orange/yellow.
I decided to stick with my fave colours then added a bit of bling with heat embossing. 



All cardstock is from PAPERMILL 
I have inked 'white linen' with a selection of colours from 
the Colour Chemistry range by
(fab inks!)







The flourish stamp is an old one, sorry not sure who  by, the gorgeous little stars are from 
All the 'fine detail' gold embossing powder is from 
Oak House Studio (link above)

The sentiment is computer-generated



My lovely customer loved it, and I think it might be the only one of it's kind....unless some of the other guests know an amazing card-maker too, hahaha

Well, that's it for today, hope you've enjoyed looking.
Have a great weekend, catch you all soon
xx
I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges :-



Monday, 12 August 2013

Another Papermill Special Offer....

Evening everyone, hope you've had a good day....
Welcome to my new followers, and huge thanks for all the wonderful comments left on my last few posts, I appreciate them all xx
Tonight's post is to show the latest 'Special Offer' from 
A4 Embossed Natural White Pearlised Card - 200gsm
50 sheets for only £3!
This is a very quick, clean and simple card to show off the texture of the cardstock.



Bird stamp and sentiment from Pink Petticoat,
leaf stamp from Inkylicious


I like this little bird, and use him quite often x
If you click ONCE on the images you'll be able to see the texture of the card much better.
Thats all for tonight, catch you in a couple of days.
Barbara
xx

Thursday, 8 August 2013

Flowers Everywhere.........

Morning everyone, hope you're all fit and well on this gorgeous day. 
This is quite a long and flowery post, so please bear with me...I'm also surrounded by flowers as I write........but more about that later.
Todays card was made for a young girl to give the Bride and Groom at their wedding last Saturday..... she was a 'flower girl', so her mam asked for something flowery.
They both loved what I made, thankfully.....but because I'm a bit anal about things being perfect, this card had to have a touch up with Promarkers......can you spot where, by looking closely?
No, ok see if this helps....
Now can you see the little white piece showing near the top....I just couldn't let it go like that, so voila! out came the Pro's, and I just 'touched in', using similar colours to the patterned paper.....makes a huge difference though, don't you agree....haha.
So that's todays card......hope you like it.
It's been such a busy few days here.... as some of you will know it was my 'BIG' birthday on Monday, and I was dreading it....however Alan, Finn and the kids (Nick, Emma & Eva and Adam and Emma.....yes, I know, very confusing for me, 2 Emma's ) made it a weekend to remember by spoiling me rotten (I'd already had a week in Devon with all the above and my wonderful bro Colin and sis-in-law Ros as my treat, so didn't expect anything else)....anyway, no cooking all weekend, (loads of meals out) a day out on the Kennet and Avon canal on Sunday, and fabulous gifts and flowers....(good job I have lots of vases, as more have arrived since this pic was taken.)
All of my lovely hand-crafted cards from crafty friends are on the hearth x If you 'single-click' on the pic, you'll see them close-up.
The bright card on the mantlepiece is one of my own..... (made and blogged a couple of weeks ago with Lavinia Stamps)....I won't let Alan buy a crappy 'shop' card, so he always chooses one out of my stock. haha. I love the sentiment on this card, so he made the right choice.
WE MIGHT NOT HAVE IT ALL TOGETHER.....BUT TOGETHER WE HAVE IT ALL!
(from Lavinia)
And last but not least, our gorgeous little Eva sent these pics to my mobile on Monday....she's so clever being able to write & text at only 16 weeks, don't you think ?


Thank you Emma, and Eva for taking the time to do this....love you both loads xx
Catch you all in a couple of days.
xx
Barbara

Friday, 2 August 2013

Papermill new 'Special Offer'.....

Afternoon everyone, I'm back again with a quick post to tell about the 'Special Offer' at 
This week it's a beautiful green pearlised A4 cardstock  (pearlised and coloured on both sides)
50 sheets - 285gsm for £4!
Such a bargain as the quality is amazing.....but just what we've come to expect from Papermill.





ALL cardstock is from PAPERMILL, as usual. I've also used
Spellbinder corner dies, and a little sentiment tag.

The main stamp is my gorgeous new Poinsettia from
OAK HOUSE STUDIO
I just LOVE it, and I'm already thinking of different ways to use this all year round.
I stamped the image 3 times on pink and 3 times on the green pearlised with Versamark, then heat embossed with OAK HOUSE STUDIO white embossing powder.....cut it all out and decoupaged. I love using pink, white and green together, reminds me of cherry blossom.




We have a plant in the garden called Actinidia...the leaves start off white, change to pink, then onto green in late Summer, it's so pretty. This pic shows it last week, growing along the verandah.




Here is our daft-as-a-brush (but fantastic) dog, Finn, admiring it too.








Well, don't forget to pop over to Papermill, and checkout the new offer. I think this weeks 'special' will be great for Christmas projects too.
Catch you all in a few days......my BIG birthday is looming on Monday, and I'm not looking forward to it....(still think I'm 25, inside) I might have to hide away for a while to recover from the yukkiness of it all!
Barbara xx
I'm entering this card into the following challenges :-
Craftin' Boutique
Addicted to Stamps & More
Crafting By Designs
Ruby's Rainbow

Thursday, 1 August 2013

Lavinia Stamps August Challenge.....Anything Goes!

Morning everyone, think it's gonna be a hot one.... it's already a beautiful day here in Wiltshire.
Anyway, today sees the start of the August challenge at LAVINIA STAMPS.....the theme this month is Anything Goes, so lots of scope for you here.
The only stipulation is that you use one or more Lavinia stamps. Pop over to the website, there are some amazing stamps on offer.
The prize for the 'randomly-selected' winner is a MASSIVE £40 worth of stamps. (Well done to Elaine Maisey for winning the July challenge with her beautiful canvas bag )
Here are my DT samples for Anything Goes :-



I used PAPERMILL 'leather-look' cardstock for this tag.
Inks and Embossing Powder from  OAK HOUSE STUDIO



Isn't this ribbon gorgeous?

 Lavinia Stamps used.....
1. Believe
2. Mushrooms
3. Stars 1 and 2
4. Tiny Leaf (free with Creeping Vine)



Smooth white and black cardstock from
PAPERMILL
Same inks and ribbon on this tag as previous,
with a computer generated sentiment.
I've also used Glamourdust and Liquid Pearls.


Lavinia Stamps used......
1. Gaggle of Geese
2. Creeping Vine, used upside down 




Hope you've enjoyed looking.....don't forget to pop over to the Lavinia challenge blog and checkout the other DT makes, they're fab xx
Catch you all soon,

Wednesday, 31 July 2013

Have you entered the Oak House Studio competition??

Morning all, and welcome to my new followers....hope you enjoy looking at what I create.
Thank you all so much for all the fab comments on my previous posts, I love reading them.
Today I just have a very quick post, to remind you about the Oak House Studio competition......it finishes tonight!
Lovely Lynnda, of OHS is giving one lucky 'commentor' the chance to win SIX bottles of the fabulous Colouir Chemistry inks.
All you have to do is leave a comment on any of the July posts HERE to be in with a chance to win.
Here is another card made with the 'citrus' shades....they really do rival any other makes of ink on the market at the moment....I LOVE them!
All cardstock from Papermill, and inks & stamps from Oak House Studios. (sentiment from LOTV)
Well that's it for today, I'll be back tomorrow with my DT samples for the new Lavinia Stamps challenge.
Hope you can pop back then,

Thursday, 25 July 2013

Don't Forget The Lavinia Challenge......

Evening all.  Hey, get me....blogging 2 days running! 
This is another quickie though, just to remind you about the Lavinia Stamps challenge.....have you got your entry in yet?? The prize is a HUGE £40 worth of products.
You don't need to own hundreds of Lavinia stamps & you don't have to be an experienced crafter either.  The card below has been made with ONE set of stamps, and the sentiment.
So, come on everyone, what are you waiting of.....get busy!
Checkout the Lavinia challenge blog  HERE

All the cardstock is from
PAPERMILL
Special offer this weekend is FREE POSTAGE
on orders over £25 @ Papermill
Inks are from the Colour Chemistry range,  by



Hope you like the bright colours, ( I love them )
And, I love the sentiment too,  it typifies Alan & I
Catch you all soon, have a great weekend.
Barbara 

Wednesday, 24 July 2013

Fit for a Prince.......or Princess!

Afternoon everyone, from a very (still) hot Wiltshire....we haven't had the promised rain, and it's sweltering.
Just a very, very quick post today, as I'm helping in the shop again, and then going straight to baby-sit our beautiful little Eva. Lots of cuddles for me tonight......
Todays cards were made a few weeks ago when I was thinking 'babies'!  What better time to blog them, than after the new Prince has arrived?
I made a few to go into my stock boxes....they've since sold, so customers must be liking the CAS effect at the moment.





All cards made with white 'hammered' cardstock from





The 'girl' and 'boy' dies are from Sizzix, I've had them for years and never used them.







Computer generated sentiments.






 Jewels from stash.
That's it, what could be simpler?
Hope you like them







Well, that's all for today, said it was going to be a quick post, didn't I?
 Enjoy the rest of the week, catch up with you at the weekend.
Barbara.
xx

Monday, 22 July 2013

Last butterflies....for a while, anyway!

Afternoon everyone, hope you're keeping cool !
Before starting, I'd just like to thank everyone for all the comments on my last few cards (especially the green butterfly one) I love reading them, and appreciate each and every one xx
Just another quick post today, as I'm blogging between customers in the shop.
This is my last butterfly card for a while, as I have soooooooooooooo many new stamps and stencils to play with when I get the chance.
It's another card made purely with inks, stamps and embossing powders from 
And, of course, all cardstock is from 



This butterfly was another scrap from a previous card.



Such beautiful coloured inks.



I just added a piece of lace, a die-cut and a butterfly charm.
All the stamping has been heat-embossed, still one of my favourite techniques.




Catch you all in a day or two....enjoy the sun while it lasts.
Oh, and don't forget to pop over to the Oak House Studio blog, HERE to be in with a chance of winning a fab selection of inks xx
 Barbara xx
I'm entering this card into the following challenges :-
Challenges4Everybody
Penny Black
One Stop Craft Challenge
Alphabet Challenge Blog
Designs by Lisa
Creative Fingers
Make It Monday
My Craft Creations 

Friday, 19 July 2013

Using Up My Citrus Scraps

Hi everyone,  here again with a very quick post. (hello to my new followers xx)
I just wanted to show a clean and simple card I made with my inked scraps.....( at this point I'll tell you that I NEVER throw away even the tiniest scrap of inked card which I've made myself....they all go into a box separate from all my other scraps )  The squares were cut out of the scraps from my last card (below), and stamped with the gorgeous large butterfly from Oak House Studio HERE 
I also inked the American seam binding, to match.
If you're sick of the sight of butterflies, don't worry.....I only have one more to show you after the weekend, haha



All cardstock is from 
it's their beautiful White Linen.
The butterfly,  sentiment  & Colour Chemistry inks are all available from Oak House Studio.

Hope you like it.
Don't forget to pop over to the OHS blog, & join in with the competition to win a selection of these gorgeous inks. The colours are fabulous xx
Have a great weekend
Barbara

Wednesday, 17 July 2013

Oak House Studio Sample

Hi everyone, thanks for popping by today......still enjoying the heat??
I'm in Adam's shop today.... we sell pet supplies and judging by the amount of flea treatments/sprays I'm selling, it looks as if the heat has made every flea in the area suddenly wake up, YUK! However, business is booming on these products, so I'm happy....good ol' fleas! haha
Anyway, todays card is made using products from 

All cardstock from 
 Colour Chemistry Inks in
Citrus Lime
Citrus Yellow
Peacock Green
All found 



I've used 
White embossing powder
and stamps, English Garden and 3 Butterflies



What do you think then?? Aren't these colours fabulous?
Well that's it for today, I'll be back with another OHS sample tomorrow. Until then, enjoy the sun xx

I'm entering this card into the following challenges :-
Joanna Sheen
Through the Craftroom Door
Tuesday Throwdown
Created with Love
House Of Gilli
Imagination Crafts
Incy wincy Designs
Make It Mondays
My Craft Creations
Rhedd and Rosie

Monday, 15 July 2013

New Papermill 'Special Offer'

Good morning everyone, welcome to my new followers......hope everyone is enjoying the heat. Anyone sick of it yet??
Well today sees another blog post for 
to promote their latest 'Special Offers'
Why not pop over HERE, to checkout the fab 'specials' this week.
Here are the cards I made with the 'White Felt Embossed' and 'White Leather'



All cardstock from
 
I like the 'drama' of this card, with the black & pink on bright white.
The flower is a Sizzix die, and leaves are Spellbinder dies.





The butterflies and yellow/green 'mat' were punched from cardstock which has been inked with colours from the 'Colour Chemistry' range from
(there's a fab competition running at the mo on the OHS blog....why not pop over and check it out )






This card is using the 'Leather Effect' cardstock, it's so versatile.



The 'Love' is a brass stencil, used with Sweet Poppy white embossing paste and sprinkled with Glamourdust whilst still wet.
A little heart charm finishes it off.









Well that's it, for now, I'll be back later with some samples for 
but untl then, enjoy the sun
xx

Thursday, 11 July 2013

Gift for Teacher??

Morning all, just a quick post from me today as I'm home trying to catch up on all the washing, ironing & changing beds etc, then off into my craft room, hopefully. Not bothered that the sun is breaking the pavements, it's crafting for me today.
The girls at PAPERMILL DIRECT asked the DT to make a few little gift idea for children to give their teachers at the end of term......I thought these little bookmarks were a cheap & cheerful gift, although if the teacher was 'incredible' a bottle of Vino could be added, LOL (Got to say at this point, that I had no time for teachers whilst my youngest son Adam was making his way through school....almost every one said he made no effort, and would only be carried through life by his smile, so consequently he got little or no encouragement from them.....HOWEVER....he went on to get a University Degree and now has THREE businesses....I rest my case!) ( no offence to any teachers reading this, maybe Adam just didn't have the right ones)
Anyway, here is what I came up with....... Don't forget to pop over to the Papermill blog and see what else the DT have made, there's some fab inspiration x


All cardstock is from
and this one has been coloured with Pan Pastels and stamped with 2 foliage stamps from
The sentiment is computer generated.


These gorgeous inks are part of the Colour Chemistry range from
the lovely Lynnda at
I LOVE them!
Again, the stamps are a selection from 
LAVINIA


This last one is using 
 inks,
and a lovely selction of stamps, also from
OHS
The ribbon has been coloured to match.

Hope you like these little gifts, let me know what you think.
Catch you all in a couple of days, enjoy the continuing good weather.....
Barbara
xx

Monday, 8 July 2013

Where has the last week gone......?

Hiya everyone, hope you're all enjoying this fab weather....we shouldn't be surprised though, it is Summer after all ;-)
I had a great day on Saturday at Newbury Racecourse, with my lovely cyber-friend, Elaine (Elaine and I met on facebook, and meet up whenever we can, along with our 'partners in crime' Joan and Janet )...it was the Artstamps Exhibition......we spent loads of money on stamps, stencils & inks etc. now I just need to find time to use it all.
We said hello to Tracey & Kev from Lavinia Stamps and Lucy from Sweet Poppy Stencils, and of couse bought loads from their stands ;-)
Anyway todays cards were made to show that you don't need to have thousands of Lavinia stamps to join in with the challenges. Clean and Simple cards can be made with one or two stamps, as you can see here.



All cardstock from 
coloured with Pan Pastels
Sentiment - Sheena Douglas
Foliage Stamps - LAVINIA STAMPS




This card uses just ONE  Lavinia stamp, 
Creeping vine, 






Last but not least, this card is made using the Fuchsia  
The gorgeous inked background is made with Colour Chemistry Inks from 
I love all the new colours, they're so vivid....watch this space, lots more samples for OHS coming soon!



Well, that's it for today....don't forget to pop over to Lavinia Stamps Challenge Blog - HERE and enter the challenge....the prize is a whopping £40 to spend on Lavinia stamps!
Please leave a comment if you've enjoyed looking xx
Barbara x




Monday, 1 July 2013

Lavinia Stamps - Challenge No.5

Morning everyone, from a very sunny Bath.....I'm in the pet shop today working, so if it takes me ages to write this post, it means I'm busy with customers....Yay!
Anyway, today sees the start of Challenge No.5 over at the wonderful
The prize is a MAHOOSIVE £40 to spend on Lavinia products, and all you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is to create something with a DIE-CUT or PUNCH, using their stamps.
Here is my Design Team creation for this challenge


This card was made with 'white linen' cardstock from
and coloured with Pan Pastels. (Papermill card covers beautifully with PP's!)
I've used Spellbinders Grand Scallops and 2 sizes of Classic Circles, and of course my beautiful Lavinia Stamps.
The ribbon was coloured with PP's too, a little Glossy Accents on the flowers, and tiny sentiments from LOTV finish it off.
I've got to admit I LOVE this card, 'cos it's MY fave colours .... hot & firey (just like me, LOL)
Hope you like it.....don't forget to pop over  HERE to checkout the rest of the DT creations, there's some real 'works of art'!
Catch you all in a day or so.
Barbara xx
I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges :-