She's here!

Hello, and welcome!

Ten days overdue......7.5 pounds, blonde and bonnie........

Introducing

  RILEY MAE LEWIS

Riley is our 18th grandchild and is so precious to us.....she was born at 10.19 pm Tuesday 5th February, a sister for 2 year old Bevan.....we are so happy she is safely here!

Moments after this photo was taken, Tanys, Riley's Mummy (that's her above, so happy to have her baby girl) had a massive bleed.  She lost consciousness and was quite poorly for a while.....it took most of the night to stabilise her.  She's fine, now, and enjoying time with her gorgeous little girl.

How thankful I am to a loving Heavenly Father who took care of this precious mother!

How very blessed we are to have our 8 beautiful and precious granddaughters and our 10 handsome and treasured grandsons!

hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Colour of Love

Hello, and welcome!

I have some really exciting news.....well, I'm excited about it, anyway...hahaaa!

A few weeks ago, I was invited to become a Design Team member for one of my favourite challenge blogs

http://perfectsentimentschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/

Jennipher has a fabulously talented Team and I'm so looking forward to working with, and learning from them.  They've already made me feel right at home......thank you, Ladies!

So....let's get right to the details of the Challenge........it's a very appropriate one for this time of year...heehee.....

PSC65: The Colour of Love

Create a card with a sentiment of love or anything appropriate for Valentine's Day. You must include your sentiment on the front of your card. Use Red and White for your colour scheme to design your card. You may incorporate black or any other neutral tones but your dominant colours must be red and white. 

Nice one, eh?

I like that, as a DT member, I have the flexibility to choose an image from the sponsor, or go with something that fits the theme, from my own stash.

Our Sponsor

will award one lucky random winner 5 free digis of their choice!

I was petrified nervous about making this, my very first DT creation for this wonderful challenge blog......but, here goes........

I used a sweet Tatty Teddy stamp from "Me to You" that came as a freebie with a recent craft magazine.....the papers are from the same mag....and you know how I like my freebies, lol.....

I stamped the image using Archival Ink in black, then did a little colouring with my trusty Promarkers......the white card strip was embossed with a Cuttlebug folder and a strip of red grosgrain ribbon was placed along the bottom......

I twisted two lengths of this lovely red ric-rac together to make a little rosette, and added the die-cut leaves....

Have I mentioned that I am a sticker hoarder?  Found this cutie on a very old sticker sheet.....am surprised it was still sticky, hahaa.......

I found the little felt flower in my stash.....I wonder who keeps puttin' all this stuff in there?....can't remember ever havin' seen this before......and topped it with a piece of Card Candi.......

A bit of titivating inside.....and we're done!

I do hope you'll go and take a peek at what my lovely new Team Members have come up with for your inspiration......some serious yumminess, there!

hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Challenges:

allsortschallenge.blogspot.com  Cute

sweetstampinchallengeblog.blogspot.com  Love is all around

cardmakinmamas.blogspot.com  Love

craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.com  Anything but square

deliciousdoodleschallenge.blogspot.com  Red, Red and more Red

totallypapercrafts.blogspot.com  Make Own Embellishments (ric-rac rose)

incywincydesigns.blogspot.com  Love is in the air

ooh-la-la-creationschallenges.blogspot.com  Love story

http://digistamps4joy-sa.blogspot.co.uk/  Romance is in the air

http://fabnfunkychallenges.blogspot.co.uk/  Valentines/Hearts

Blessing of Heaven card

Hello, and welcome!

My house is currently snuggled under a beautiful blanket of  SNOW....and the fields around us look pristine and so very peaceful......sigh.

We have a new challenge for you, over at TWIST OF FAITH     hurray!

This week is a our challenge for you is:

Your Favourite Scripture/ Inspirational Words

(your creation must include a scripture, inspirational verse or positive words of healing, encouragement, or support

" The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face to shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace. " 
                              ~ Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV ~

The above scripture was chosen by our Boss Lady,  Pauline, and may be used on your creation if you feel so inclined.

We are happy to introduce a new sponsor ... Digi Darla's Designs! Our random prize winner will receive their choice of  FIVE images! DigiDarla is the brain child of Kim Eskola and her daughter Emilea.

You really should treat yourself to a pop over to the store....so many lovely possibilities with the fabby images!

For my DT card, I chose to use the lovely Blessing of Heaven 7........

I used a white card base and added some lovely pink and white paper that came in a freebie pack .......

I truly believe this lovely sentiment to be true, don't you?  I used a Nellie Snellen die to cut the scalloped label......

Promarkers were used to colour this gorgeous little image and I cut around it and mounted it onto the lovely swirly label, which was cut with a Nestie scallop....how cute is that?  The embossing was done with a Cuttlebug folder.....

I used the same embossing folder to make the white layer, and placed a Joy Crafts heart onto it, and that pretty yellow butterfly decided to have a rest on it, lol.  Some sparkles and a bit of chalking were added.....

I love this "ombre" ribbon.....it has a sweet gem flower sticker to finish it off.........

A touch of decoration inside, and I called it DONE!

I think I like this little card......what d'you think?

Theirs a great variety of makes with this sponsor's images, over on the Challenge Blog....go see!

hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Challenges:

Is it Spring yet?

Hello, and welcome!

There's a challenge with your name on it at 

CARD CRAFTERS CIRCLE 

Are you fed up with the winter?  How about getting out your lovely papers, markers and pretty embellishments and creating something that will bring Spring to mind?

This week the theme for the challenge is 

SPRINGTIME!

Our sponsor this week is joining us at Card Crafter's Circle for the first time... please welcome Digital Delights!  We are so happy to have you here with us!  Here's a little about Digital Delights....

Digital Delights by Louby Loo is your one stop shop for all your digital stamps, paper piecing and digital products which are instantly downloadable. We also have a wide range of digital papers and cut files for all your crafting projects. Our low prices reflect our belief that crafting should not only be fun but affordable too!!  Other services include custom blog design and custom watermarks. Why wait for snail mail? Start creating with our instant downloads today.

Here's my card........

This is a cream card blank with some pretty ladybird paper (from my stash mountain) and green dotty paper that I found on my desk (wonder who left that there?), layered with red dotty card......

How cute is this Easter Lara digi?  I had a lot of fun colouring this, and went to town with the white gel pen on the egg house, lol......all coloured with me trust Promarkers........

Love this button........might try to encourage the Hubster to climb up and put a flower on our chimney...hahaaa!

I generated the sentiment on the ol' 'puter, and printed it out onto Safmat, then cut it into the banner shape....cute, eh?

Three pretty pieces of Card Candi........I think the ickle ladybirds like 'em.......

There's a small tag of ribbon on there, too........all done!

Very Spring-like, methinks......

and now......your turn!

Don't forget to take a look at all the inspiration from my Teamies!

hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Challenges:

http://mygraficocrafts.blogspot.co.uk/  Anything goes
http://totallygorjuss.blogspot.co.uk/  Flowers
http://simonsaysstampschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/  Anything goes

Cinderella had the Right Idea!

Hello, and welcome!

I hope this wet and  windy Tuesday (in England, anyway) finds you happy and well, my friends.

Life just seems to get busier and busier for me, lately, so I cherish any time that I can filch to slip into my craft room...........aaahhhh.....peace!

Doesn't last long enough, though, so I'm usually scrabbling to catch up with DT cards and family birthdays, and this week was no exception......it's my Mam's birthday on Sunday (not made her card yet) and our grandson, Harrison's, 12th birthday today....and he's ill with the horrible Norovirus, poor thing.

I did, however (thankfully) manage to make a card for this week's challenge at

TWIST OF FAITH

and the theme is a colour challenge. Our chosen colour is:

GREEN plus

a scripture, or uplifting verse, or positive words of healing, encouragement, or support.

We are so happy to have Bugaboo Stamps joining us with their sponsorship for you! Our random prize winner will receive their choice of SEVEN Bugaboo images!

My card was made using Cinderella Block Sentiment.......love it!

I used a scalloped card base from Craftwork Cards and layered a piece of green and pink paper (from my scrap stash) onto pink card..........

Love, love, love J.J......she has the best expressions...hahaa!  I coloured up the ever-so-droll image with Promarkers, including the ickle bitty-bits inside the letters, cut it out with pinking scissors leaving a white border which I then coloured, and edged the pointy bits with black marker.........Would love to know if you agree with the sentiment!

I pinched this lovely sentiment from another set.....follow the dots........

The second part of the sentiment is on the inside.....stay tuned for the story behind it.......

Many years ago, the only cutting tool that I owned was a Quikutz and the pretty shoe die is from one of the sets I bought at the time....works just as well in my Big Shot, now....yaaaaay!  After cutting, I popped the shoe into my SU embossing folder (Trellis), inked the edges with black marker,  and popped a couple of teeny pink pearls onto the strap.....the shoe is size 5 and fits me perfectly...hahaaa!

So, what's the story?  Well.......my DD #2 was my heaviest baby (by 2 ounces) when she was born.....10 pounds 2 ounces....but, I have to say, the easiest birth by far.  She was always much taller than her peers......oh, the stories I could tell!.....but she also had HUGE feet.....poor girlie.

It was a very much loathed task whenever it was time to buy her new shoes because she not only had long feet, but they were wide, too.

We always, always had to expect at least a week of trawling around the nearest towns, trying to find something that would fit.  My poor girl hardly ever got a choice of pretty shoes......nope......had to make do with whatever we could find to fit! 

Things came to a horrid head when she started at high school.......11 years old, size 7 feet, wide fitting.....and the school uniform called for  black lace-up shoes....aarrgghh!

We trawled the usual shops, and even went to stores 30 miles away, but couldn't find anything remotely suitable.....this was before the days of Internet searches or shopping......and we were both often in tears.

I had absolutely no other choice than to take my very feminine, tall and slender 11 year old girl to the men's department of Mark's and Spencer to buy a pair of black lace-up brogues!!!!

There's more to the story, but it could turn into a novel if I don't cut it short...heehee....soooooo.....ever after this awful experience, when it came time to buy her a new pair of shoes, my beautiful girl and I would kneel and pray, asking for a pretty pair of shoes that would fit perfectly.....and we would always find them.

That tall and slender 11 year old will turn 38 in February.  She is the tallest of my girls, very graceful, soft-spoken, slow to anger, and one of the gentlest people I know.  She is a treasure to me........and she has the prettiest shoes she could wish for.....a lot of 'em!

This card will be for her birthday.

Please take a look at all the other GREEN creations that my Teamies have made....lots of gorjusness goin' on, there!

This is my Gillian in Central  Park, New York, during our wonderful trip, last year....love this photo....love this girl!

hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Challenges:

http://canyoudigiit.com/blog/  Green

http://creativecardcrew.blogspot.co.uk/  Girly

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

Fairy delightful.....

Hi, and welcome!

It sees to have been one of those loooong weeks when I have been busy-busy, but don't really seem to have achieved much.....sigh......BUT....I did get to see the brilliant Les Miserables......twice!

What a surprise to hear the gorgeous voice Russell Crowe has!!

When he sang the evocative "Stars", I almost melted with delight.....ahemmm!

I read the book when  was 16 years old and it had a profound effect on me.  I also remember seeing an old film, and went to see the stage production when it was launched, 27 years ago.  It was wonderful to see Colm Wilkinson, who first brought us the character of Jean Valjean to the stage, playing the Bishop in the film.

I often shed tears during the film....but was brought to a drippin', sobbin' state when I heard one of the closing lines.....

"To love another person is to see the face of God."

Oh, my!

Anyway, it's Friday......hooray!.....and there's another challenge going on at 

Card Crafter's Circle

The theme this week is 

GREEN AND YELLOW

and we are so pleased to have one of our favourite sponsors back with us

Milk Coffee will provide a generous 5 images to our randomly drawn winner.....you'll have loads of fun trying to choose from so many!

I made a girlie card with the very pretty Tiffany Fairy......

I love green!  I started with a white card base and layered on some green Raspberry Road paper.  I cut the doily shape with a Nestie from a piece of Nitwits paper.............

A very pensive little fairy, lol.....I used a mixture of Spectrum Noir and Promarkers to colour her up and added some sparkle to her hair, wings and the flowers......I haven't fussy-cut for a while, so this made a nice change........

The sweet sentiment was cut from another freebie page of sentiments.  I added some teeny pearls to the corners and put a piece of green mesh behind......

A few strands of fibres, tucked under the fairy image, make her look as if she's sittin' in a nest...hahaaa!

A couple of flutterbies, cut from glittery pink card, are the finishing touches.

My Teamies have produced some really lovely cards for your inspiration, so please take a few minutes to check out their creations.

hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Challenges:

http://www.ladyanneschallenges.com/2/post/2013/01/our-3rd-anything-goes-challenge.html  Anything goes

http://www.ladyanneschallenges.com/sentimental-friday.html  Anything goes

http://qkrstampede.blogspot.co.uk/  Soft Pastel Colours

http://stampinfortheweekend.blogspot.co.uk/  Something girlie

http://canyoudigiit.com/blog/  Getting girlie

http://bythecuteandgirly.blogspot.co.uk/  Cute and girlie

Friendship Challenge at TOF

Hello, and welcome!

I'm very happy to say that we have SNOW decorating our landscape, but a lot of people have had much more than we have had, and are struggling to get out and about.  I'm usually very grateful that we live in a spot that is close to the Pennine Mountains, and we are on the lee-side, (in  God's own county of Lancashire...yaaay!), so we are sheltered from the extremes of weather that can come in from the very chilly Scandinavian countries, and Russia, across the North Sea.  If we lived just another 5 miles east of the mountains, we'd get very different weather!

Tuesday has come around again, and we have a wonderful, warm and friendly challenge for you at TWIST OF FAITH ....... 

This week's challenge is themed:

FRIENDSHIP
AND a scripture, or uplifting verse/quote or positive words of healing, encouragement, or support.


We are so happy to have Milk Coffee Stamps joining us with their sponsorship for you! Our random prize winner will receive their choice of FIVE  Milk Coffee images!

Milk Coffee consists of two artists who love to draw cute illustrations! They offer cute, quality digital stamps, which are perfect to papercraft... cards, scrapbooks,  or anything we can do with printed digital images  They make cute images for cute creations!



I am very blessed to have some lovely, supportive and loyal friends, and I am richer for having them.  I find it hard to imagine how different things would have been without my friends around me......they have seen me through some very difficult times but have also been there for my greatest celebrations.  We have known each other for almost 35 years and have always been a close group of 5.....sadly and tragically, our dear Jeanette died from a brain tumour 3 years ago.....she was diagnosed about the same time as I was diagnosed with my breast cancer.....I won my fight, but gentle, sweet-natured Jean didn't.
It gives me comfort of the sweetest kind to know that she is in company with loved ones and our Saviour.....her love for Him was an inspiration and a strength to all who knew her.

This little card is in honour of Friendship........

My friendships are all uncomplicated and straightforward, so I wanted my card to reflect this.

I used a kraft card base and simply placed a pretty floral doily (free packet of these pretty lovelies with a magazine!) in the centre.......

This little darlin' is Lily and Her Cat and is coloured with Promarkers.....I love pinks and greens together.....

I sometimes have a "yuk" moment when I see what I consider to be "twee" sentiment, but this one, from Craftwork Cards sums up my feelings about my girlfriends.....it's popped up on foamies......

Another little sentiment in a pretty banner shape, also from Craftwork Cards......

A little decorating on the inside and three pieces of Card Candi (from the same source as above) and it's complete.

Hope you are in the mood to make something for a friend of yours....we all need to appreciate our mates, don't we?

Take a look at what the talented Design Team has been up to for your inspiration.

hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Challenges: