Challenge Creation and Blog Candy Reminder

Hello, and welcome!

Before we get to today's business, here's a little reminder about my 

Breast Cancer Awareness

BLOG CANDY!!!

You can find all the details 

here 

but please make sure you read to the end of the post to get the full information.

Card Crafter's Circle has another challenge for you and this week the theme is 

BLACK, WHITE AND ONE OTHER COLOUR

As always, we have a very generous sponsor .......

Our randomly chosen winner will get their choice 6 cute images to keep for ever and ever.......happy ending, or what!?

My card uses the sweet little Kirby's Rose and I wanted to be in keeping with 

Breast Cancer Awareness 

so I chose PINK to go with the Black and White theme

I started with a white card blank and added some black and white paper that has been in my stash for the longest time....I have no idea where it came from.....must have been one of those packs that have bits that you don't particularly like..hahaaa!

The centre is layered with a strip of pink and white paper, backed with white cardstock............

I used Promarkers to colour up this little cutie, and added some white dots to her shoes and some glitter to her headband.........and I really need to sort out my photography!!.....sorry.........

You might just be able to see that I used a die cut embossed frame (Craftwork Cards) and rubbed a little pink chalk on the raised areas.  I layered three flowers (stash) and added a black button........

I forgot to take a close-up of the pretty butterfly.......oops.......but it has three teeny black pearls in the centre......I wonder how butterflies manage to flit about with all those embellies on 'em?

Hope you are going to give this challenge a go, and if you need a bit of inspiration, pop over to the challenge blog  and take a dekko at what the rest of the Design Team have been up to....you will not be disappointed!

Don't forget to get your comment in for a chance to be stuffin' all your stash into that fabulous bag!

hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Challenges:

http://paperplaychallenges.blogspot.co.uk/  Simply Cute

http://craftsandmechallenges.blogspot.co.uk/  Anything goes

http://cinspirations.blogspot.co.uk/  Anything goes

Bag a Bag for Breast Cancer Research!

Hello, and welcome!

I doubt there are many women who have access  to the Internet who are not aware that the whole month of October, every year, is devoted to Breast Cancer Awareness......and if there are, they are certainly not Bloggers......hahaaa!

Those of you who have been comin' around here  for a while will know I am a breast cancer survivor, and feel extremely blessed.....but there are very many more women....and men.....who are still courageously fighting their own battles.

In honour of these people, and to show my solidarity with their cause, I am offering a little something to help raise awareness of the reality of breast cancer, and of the need for funding for the on-going research........research that WILL find a CURE.

Many of you know that I have a wonderfully talented daughter, Leigh-Anne, who has a Facebook page that showcases the handcrafted quilts that she lovingly makes.....she also makes and sells all kinds of bags, baby taggies, cot quilts, etc..........and you can feast your eyes on some of her makes at 

http://www.facebook.com/sewdelight

and tell her I sent you.......you'll be made very welcome!

Anyway, the point is, I asked Leigh-Anne to create a lovely tote that I could offer as BLOG CANDY for all my wonderful Followers.I told her I wanted something that would be large enough and substantial enough to hold any crafty goodies that the winner wanted to put in it.  She readily agreed, and promptly ordered some beautiful fabric.....she doesn't really need an excuse...hahaaa!......and gave me the honour of making the final choice.

I love what she created and will have a hard time parting with it..........

My photos....as usual....are certainly not the best,  and don't do this lovely tote justice........trust me when I tell you it is beautiful.......the fabric is 100% cotton and there is a layer of soft wadding that helps to give shape and substance........

Isn't this fabric gorgeous?

And it's fully reversible.....bonus!  

Don't be too disappointed if you don't win it.......Leigh-Anne is selling these for £20.00 at

 http://www.facebook.com/sewdelight?   £5.00 from each sale will be donated to 

 http://supportus.cancerresearchuk.org/fundraising-for-us/fundraise-for-breast-cancer-awareness/

Okey-dokey.......how does this little beauty end up in your hot little paws hands?  

Easy-peasy.........make sure you are a Follower and  leave me a comment.  But not just any comment.......

My life was saved because I had a routine mammogram........I want you to tell me ....honestly......that you get your breasts checked.....whether that be by having a scan, mammogram, doctor, or self-check........and if you haven't, promise me that you will.

You will have until Wednesday 17th October to take part ......I will then randomly choose a name and post the winner on Thursday 18th October.

Another thing.....please don't become a Follower if you are only here for the candy........I have lovely, warm relationships with many of my Followers and I value them.....please don't spoil it for me....thank you.

I'll put a reminder at the top of each post, and you can leave a comment on any post between now and next Wednesday to be in with a chance.......Good Luck!

hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Christmas is definitely a season......

Hello, and welcome!

Christmas is definitely a season....the best season of the year, in my humble opinion.....so for this week's challenge at 

Twist of Faith

I chose to use a lovely little  Prim Snowman  image from our newest sponsor

Patti is the very talented artist and owner of  http://pholkartblessings.blogspot.co.uk/p/etsy.html and she is offering our randomly drawn winner 2 digi images from her delightful range....too good to miss out on!

The theme we want to see you create a card for is

FOR ALL SEASONS

Don't forget that we need to see a topical scripture, or an uplifting message that goes with our theme.

I do know that a member of our Design Team chose to make a card with Spring in mind, and another has made something for Autumn....you really do need to go take a peek at all the inspiration on the challenge blog......and of course, I chose Christmas.....yaaaaay!

You know that I really do like to use traditional colours for my Christmas cards, but I thought that I'd ring the changes and go for this blue and brown combo....and I quite like how it turned out!

The card base is kraft and I also used it to layer the papers, which are from Nitwits Collections (I think they were freebies, last year)......

Isn't this little fella just the job?  I think he looks a little surprised to be left out in the snow....hahaaa!

I used my Promarkers to colour him up and added some fine white glitter, just to make him happy......he's sitting on an X-Cut oval die cut which I edged with my almost-dry Marvy marker........and I added a blue ribbon tab to the top........

Did I ever mention that I have a humungous amount of buttons?  Yep, so this was a good excuse to use this one......and I poured a little of that fine white glitter onto a dot of glue, inside the star shape.    I love that brown hessian......trying to use it very carefully, because I have only a little of it......love it!

I did some of my hand-stitching around the layer that the hessian is sitting on, and rounded two of the corners......

It still amazes me that a scripture may be found for every occasion, every circumstance, every emotion.....and you just have to know that I would love this one!  See?.....it's a commandment to have snow....hahaaaa!

The final touch was to put this pearly snowflake button into the top corner....and that's another card to add to my growing stash!

Please come over and join us in this fun challenge.....I'd love to see your creations!

hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Krafty Molly

Hi, and welcome!

Seems I don't get here as often as I'd like.......sigh........and I'm really missing you all, (this message will self-destruct, once you've read it....so there'll be no proof that I'm a big softie)......so I'm just hoping that you are all still there.  

I also want to apologise for not having the promised BLOG CANDY up and posted.....but, it will be worth the wait!  

I've been concentrating on making my Design Team cards, trying to get well in front, because I've promised myself some blocks of time to do Christmas crafts for gifts......there just don't seem to be enough hours to get everything done, as I'm sure you'll be aware, hahaaa.......and there's truth in the days getting shorter, this time of year, lol........

Today, I'm showing a little card that I made with a gorgeous Molly Bloom stamp that came with 

this wonderful package.........

I think it can be ordered on-line, but I bought mine at W.H.Smith........and well worth the money it was!......

I started with a dark brown card base and added a piece of dotty kraft paper from the LOTV Christmas range.  

It isn't a Christmas card........I know!....not like me, at all........but the paper isn't overtly Christmas, 

so just go with it, haaaa!  I made a tag from kraft card for Molly to stand on ......ripped a piece of lighter coloured kraft paper, and a piece of pink stripy paper and layered them at the bottom of the tag.

I love these sweet stamps.....they are so full of character!  I own only two distress inks, and neither was the colour I wanted to use, so I scribbled a bit of my Marvey le Plume brown markers onto a plastic lid, added a little water, and painted away......

I just ealized that I didn't get a clear piccie of the sentiment......but it's pretty!

A little bit of pretty pink ribbon, a piece of jute string and a button.....voila!.....a cute embellishment for the top of the tag.......

More kraft card was used for the lacy border, which was cut with a Martha Stewart punch and edged with brown ink......

I used the matching corner punch.....more kraft......and added a tiny dark red punched heart......all done!

Would love to know what you think......be nice!

hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Challenges:

http://divasbydesignchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/  Use texture

http://totallygorjuss.blogspot.co.uk/  Anything goes

http://incywincydesigns.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/winners-plus-anything-goes.html  Anything goes

http://pinkgemchallengeblog.blogspot.no/  For the girls

http://craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/  Hip to be square

Colours of Autumn

Hello, and welcome!

It's Friday, so that means another chance for you win a prize in our latest challenge at Card Crafter's Circle which just happens to be..........

AUTUMN COLOURS

We have two lovely sponsors for you, this week........MelJen's Designs and Oak Pond Creations!  That means there will be 2 wonderful prizes up for grabs!

One randomly drawn winner will receive their choice of 2 digital images from Oak Pond, and another randomly drawn winner will receive 4 uncoloured digi images from MelJen's.......well worth playing for, if you ask me!

My card was created using a lovely little image from MelJen's.......

Cinnamon Harvest Mug

I've just bought myself a little light box with two lamps, so I'm hoping that, once I get it set up in a suitable place, I'll be able to take much better photos of my cards......this one is diabolical....hahaaa!

Just kept the card very simple......no fancies or fripperies, here, me lovelies.......

A brown card base covered with some textured, orange paper........

The sweet and yummy image was printed, then cut out and coloured with Promarkers.....a small scalloped Nestie, and a larger scalloped and holey thingie......and a pretty ikkle leaf brad pushed into one of the holes.......got a packet of these, donkies years ago, and this is the first time opened....lol.....

I think I got the sentiment in a pack from QVC.....yonks ago!  The sentiment is up on foam, and I added a burlap tab....just 'cos I wanted to.....done 'n' dusted!

Over to you!

hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Challenges:

http://doyoustackup.blogspot.jp/  Warm Colours

http://craftsandmechallenges.blogspot.co.uk/  Use a sentiment

http://ilovepromarkers.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/challenge-137-autumn-colours.html  Autumn colours

http://kaboodledoodles.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/challenge-139-colors-of-autumn.html  Colours of autumn

http://craftycreationschallenges.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/challenge-190-colors-of-fall.html  Colours of Fall

http://simonsaysstampandshow.blogspot.co.uk/  Leaf inspiration

Angels from on high!

Hi, and welcome!

How are you, on this cold and blustery day?  Another looooong bout of torrential rain for we Brits, today, and that wind certainly has teeth...hahaaa!

Have you ever met an angel?  I most certainly have......some of them were strangers, and others came in the guise of my family or friends......but, angels they most certainly were!

I do, indeed, believe in angels.....whether they walk the earth, or come straight from heaven.....I know that they exist.

This week's challenge at 

TWIST OF FAITH 

is giving us a chance to let our hearts soar by creating a card that includes an angel....plus a scripture or uplifting sentiment (on the front OR the inside).

Our Design Team was given some beautiful images to play with from this week's sponsor

Our randomly drawn winner will get to choose one of the gorgeous images that have been used by our team this week.

 I chose this beautiful Charity Angel  to be the focus of my card...........

I used a white card base and a piece of light tan paper for the background....layered on three panels of K&Co. papers which I hand-stitched and edged with ink............

I love this big X-cut nesting label shape......I embossed the white card with a Cuttlebug Swirls folder, and cut a smaller label from some of the K&Co. paper.........I coloured the beautiful angel with Promarkers and Spectrum Noirs.  I used a Creatables die to cut out the image, but miscalculated the size of the image....oops.....which left a row of holes along the bottom of the dress!  Out came a length of yellow organza ribbon which was threaded through the holes.....sorted!

The gorgeous poinsettia is from a MCS CD from last year.......printed, cut out, inked and shaped........the centre was made with a tiny flower punch (two) and a yellow gem........love it!

I coloured the stars on the beautiful sentiment (freebie) and used a snowflake punch on the side, and also rounded the corners......I then used a scrap of sequin waste underneath for a bit of subdued sparkle......it's a Christmas card, after all....hahaaa........

I rather like this pretty card.

Please pop over to see some truly beautiful angels cards, created by our Design Team .....there's definitely a feeling of Christmas in the air......heehee!

Please remember that this is a CARD challenge blog.........and have fun!

hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Challenges:

http://www.gingerloftchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/  Stitching real or faux

http://robynsfetishchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/  Sewing real or faux

http://createdwithlovechallenges.blogspot.co.uk/  Christmas

It's a Boy!

Hello, and welcome!

Yes, it's a boy!!  I gave birth to a baby boy........okay......it was 33 years ago....hahaaa!.....but, I bet that got your attention!

Yep, 33 years ago our first son (3rd child) was born in St. Mary's Hospital,  Manchester, weighing in dead on 10 pounds, (he wasn't my heaviest!) and I fell head over heels in love with him.

We named him.....wait for it.........

Mark Kenneth William Francis Michael Laurence Lewis

Yes, indeedy.......and the only one I got to choose was Mark....hahaaaa!

There has to be a story behind these choices, right?  

My Hubster (Ken) was the last male to be born to the Lewis family and he was then 30 years old.  His only sibling had 3 daughters, and no more children were planned for that family.

Ken and I had 2 little girls.....and Ken really wanted a son.  His dad also really wanted a grandson........and I really wanted a third child.  

This was years before it was possible to find out what gender the baby was, so we waited.

In the meantime, I made it clear that if this was a boy, I wanted to name him Mark....I love that name!

The Hubster readily agreed.

Both our girls had middle names, so we wanted a middle name for our third child......and the Hubster wanted  his son to be named for him, so Mark Kenneth it was.

Shortly before Mark was born, Ken's dad died, very suddenly, aged just 60 years old.

We felt impelled to give his name to our future son, so we now had Mark Kenneth William.

I knew that my dad had been secretly disappointed when his only grandson had not been named for him.  My dad was Scottish, and there is a strong tradition of using family names through the generations.

So, we now had Mark Kenneth William Francis.

A year before Mark's birth, Ken and I had been baptised into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

One day, a few weeks before my due date, I read this scripture........

 6 Behold, my sons, I desire that ye should remember to keep the commandments of God; and I would that ye should declare unto the people these words. Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first ^aparents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were ^bgood.

 7 Therefore, my sons, I would that ye should do that which is good, that it may be said of you, and also written, even as it has been said and written of them.

It really touched my heart!  We wanted Mark (if this baby was indeed a boy) to bear his forefathers names....they were good and righteous men, and this scripture validated those sentiments.

We were close to the two young missionaries who had introduced us to the Church......Michael and Laurence.....and Ken insisted on adding their names........oh, my poor child!  Hahaaaa......

My beautiful boy has lived up to his glorious names.........he is upright and good, and walks in faith......what more could we ask?

If you are still reading, then, thank you......and here's the card I made to celebrate my boy's birth........

A cream base and various bits 'n' bobs that I found on my scrap mountain....it was a loooong climb to the top.......

 I embossed the caramel coloured card with a Cuttlebug folder.....can't remember the name, but it's the one with the sprockets and gears......I tied some baker's twine around it, after mounting the embossed card onto brown card.........

The funky little sentiment digi was a freebie from Happileigh.....I coloured it with a mix of Promarkers and Spectrum Noir.......

Nearly forgot that I did some faux stitching around the blocks, lol.  I just love that ticket strip......it's from My Mind's Eye, and I punched out the stars on each one......cute!

And here are the punched out stars.....waste not, want not!

Easy-peasy card for a male......done!

Hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Challenges:

http://kaboodledoodles.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/challenge-139-colors-of-autumn.html  Colours of Autumn
http://digihaven.blogspot.co.uk/  Use a free digi (my birthday sentiment)
http://craftybootschallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/hello-and-welcome-to-another.html  Use 3 of something (my stars)
http://cupcakecraftroom.blogspot.co.uk/  Anything goes in Autumn (my Autumn colours)
http://totallygorjuss.blogspot.co.uk/  Punches/Dies
http://abc-challenge.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/y-for-y-chromosome.html  Y Chromosome (Male theme)
http://frosteddesigns.blogspot.co.uk/  Embossing
http://www.emmascardsuk.com/p/emmas-crafty-challenge.html  A Man's Card