Card Crafter's Circle/Challenge #12 BUTTONS

Hello, and welcome!

This past week seems to have been a very long, tedious one so I'm particularly happy to confirm that, yes, it is Friday, and yes, it's challenge time again, at 

CARD CRAFTER'S CIRCLE

and this week the challenge theme is

BUTTONS 

Woohoo!  I love me some buttons, and am really lookin' forward to seeing what you all come up with, this week.

I'm doubly delighted, because we have the fabulous

www.bugaboostamps.com

as this weeks sponsor.....yaaaaay!

Our randomly drawn winner will get to choose 7 fabulous digi stamps.....now that's a prize worth having, in my humble opinion!

Our Design Team have done an awesome job this week, so I'd love it if you popped over to see what they've done....loads of fantastic inspiration for you!

Here's my creation.........

The card base is cream, and I used some papers from my scrap pile, (scrap mountain, more like!), inked the edges, and added some faux stitches......

Who could resist those ickle faces...aawww!  All coloured up with my trusty Promarkers, and cut into a scalloped circle with my Nestie die, and chalked a little, for definition.  Oh, and that's a cute ickle wooden peg...it was plain wood, so I coloured in red with a PM.......

I knew these yummy apple buttons would come in handy, one day, heehee........I sewed them, using green thread, to those cute felt flowers, which I'd cut out with dies........sweet, eh?

The sentiment is a sticker....not sure where I got it.....it's been lurkin' in my drawer with quite a few others, so I thought I would bring it out to make you Smile.......haaaa!

Hope you have a fun-filled weekend planned....we may be getting some snow on Sunday......hurray!

Hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Challenges:

http://polkadoodle.blogspot.com/  Spots and/or Stripes (I have striped paper & spots on my ladybird...ha!)

pixieduststudiopixiechallenge.blogspot.com  Buttons, Buttons!

http://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com/2012/02/week-143-its-your-choice.html Anything goes

 http://crafts4eternity.blogspot.com/2012/03/r61-digital-delights.html  Use something digital (my image)

http://divasbydesignchallenge.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/challenge-24-spots-andor-stripes.html  Spots or stripes (striped paper and spotty ladybird)

With Deepest Sympathy

Hello, and welcome!

I was so very sad to hear of the death of Davy Jones, one of the members of the famous Monkees group.

The Monkees were part of the sound of my teen-age years......and Davy was a firm favourite of mine.

If you remember his speaking voice, then that is exactly my accent.....he grew up a few streets away from  where I grew up, in Manchester.

Of course, he was older than  I was, and we never met, but one of his cousins went to my school, and was in the  year above me, and she was extremely proud of her diminutive older cousin....the whole family were tiny!

Such a shame that yet another gifted, and genuinely nice person had to die, unexpectedly and much too soon.

Do you remember this card?

 

http://little-applefalls.blogspot.com/2011/09/someone-special.html 

It was a card that I made for a special friend, Elaine, (you can read the post at the above link), for her birthday, last year.

Elaine told me, yesterday evening, that her mother-in-law had died, suddenly, aged 91 years.

Elaine's husband, Allan, is the eldest of 3 sons....one brother died a couple of years ago.........and Allan isn't coping too well.

He has just turned 73 years old, but says he wasn't ready to let his mum go.  I don't think any of us is ready, even if we are expecting it.

I had just had my 59th birthday when my Dad suddenly died, and I remember telling people  that I felt 9 years old, not 59.....I just wanted my Daddy to hold me.

I feel I want to do something to help Allan, but can offer only comforting words.....Elaine attends my church, but Allan is not a believer in a god of any kind......so I feel rather helpless.  He seems so lost.

Today, I made this simple card for them........

Cream card base, layered with K&Co papers, and inked around the edges........

I used a Wishmade sticker in the corner......they already have some dimension, so it is just popped on......

I have a ton of these skeleton leaves, and have not really used them, so thought I'd give one a try....I lightly inked the edges, and put it behind the main image......

Another Wishmade sticker, and three oval pearls.....as I said, simple!

Thanks for looking, and I want you all to know how very much I appreciate the comments you leave.

Hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Spring....really?

Hi, and welcome!

Our weather is certainly weird, right now!  We are usually still shivering in our winter woollies. and my patchwork quilts are folded on the bottom of  our bed, but today has been more like May than the last day of February.....weird, indeed!

Still, as I said yesterday, the spring flowers are making an appearance, and the local farmer is preparing for his new lambs, so the seasons are on the turn...........

Which brings me to today's creation...haha!.......and this is made for a lovely challenge over at http://www.foldedpaperprintedpixels.com/2012/02/challenge-time.html 

Sara has a lovely free digi stamp that you can use for her challenge, so why not click on the above link...after you've finished reading the rest of my guff, of course!........and join in the challenge....great prize up for grabs, too!

Oh, this was fun to make!  Both images are from Sara....cute, eh?

The papers are from my scrap pile, inked with a soft yellow chalk, and layered with the pretty K&Co ribbon......

I coloured with PMs, and fussy-cut the sweet girlie on the swing......I used a Making Memories die to cut a tab shape, and attached to the top of the swing ropes...all up on pop dots......

I used the Marianne's lamp post die for the swing support.........

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And this is the freebie that Sara has provided.......couldn't resist it...ha!

Again, coloured with PMs, and a dinky flutterby to embellish....done!

Go get the freebie, and join the challenge....and don't forget to take a look in the store, too....lots of cutie must-haves in there!

Hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Other challenges:

promarkerchallenge.blogspot.com  Pastel colours

ladybugscraftsinkchallengeblog.blogspot.com  Pink and girly 

onestitchatatimechallenge.blogspot.com  Use a digi/Spring/Easter

http://flutterbywednesdays.blogspot.com/  Use a butterfly/fairy/angel

Mother's Day is a-comin'!

Hi, and welcome!

There are lots of very pretty crocuses along the borders, in our lane.....creamy yellows, bright yellows, purples, and white....they look so gorgeous, gathered in large, and small, groups, and serve to remind us that Spring is not too far away.  

I know I wax lyrical about the white, fluffy stuff, and  nothing will ever change my love of pristine snow......but there is something about those hardy little crocus flowers that warms my heart....and I do actually love Spring, even though she can be a fickle season, here in North West England.

I think most Britons have a love of Spring.......the lighter, less chilly, days.......the little splashes of colour from the spring flowers......the bursting forth of the forsythia bushes.......the new-born lambs in the fields........."Oh, to be in England, now that Spring is here!"....okay, I changed "April" to "Spring".....but you get my drift.....that was by the poet, Robert Browning, by the way...........

and what comes around, every Spring, (here in the UK, anyway)?

Mother's Day

I am so very blessed to still have my Mam with me.  She's had a couple of health scares, recently, but has bounced back, hale and hearty, and with her own brand of  joie de vivre......and I love her for it!

Today's card is for my Mam........

The card base is cream, and the papers are from K&Co......I distressed the edges, and used a Martha Stewart border punch, with a scrap of my third paper, and lay a length of pretty pink and cream trimming across it.........

Isn't she cute?  She's from Mamidoodles....did you know they are closing, soon?  Such a shame.

I coloured her with my usual  Promarkers.

The sentiment is from a Hot off the Press paper pad,  and I cut with a Nestie, and inked the edges.......

The pink diecut is a Marianne's Creatable, and I stuck a pretty flower, and a matching blue gem on top.......the flower was from a headband that was bought for £1 at Primark.....still got loads of the flowers left...bargain!

A closer look at that trim....came on a roll that I got at the local market.......

I've just re-discovered another market, in a town about 15 miles away.......since I was last there, they now have 3 fabric stalls, and 2 craft stalls...woohoo!  I went last Saturday, but will  be making another trip, tomorrow.....might share what I buy, if you are interested, haaa!

Hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Challenges:

ceschallenges.blogspot.com  Blues and creams

thepapershelter.blogspot.com  Add a sentiment

simonsaysstampschallenge.blogspot.com  Use 3 different papers

allsortschallenge.blogspot.com  Anything goes

2sisterschallengeblog.blogspot.com  Anything goes

hidinginmycraftroom.com  Spring 

http://partytimetuesdays.blogspot.com/  Anything goes

mamidoodles.blogspot.com Use 3 different papers

Card Crafter's Circle/Challenge #11 PHOTO INSPIRATION

Hello, and welcome!

Is it Friday?  Yep.....certainly is, which means it's time for another great challenge at

 CARD CRAFTER'S CIRCLE

and it's a lovely one this week.........

PHOTO INSPIRATION 

and here's the piccie.......

Bet that made your eyes pop....haaaa!

We are being sponsored, this week,  by the fantabulous 

and our random winner will receive $10 to spend in the store...woohooo!

All you have to do, to be in with a chance of winning, is use the Photo Inspiration to create something lovely....easy!

Here's my DT creation........

 You will find some delightful stamps in Di's store, and this is one that I already had...cute, or what?

I layered up the background paper (scraps!) with the pink dotty triangle, and used a chipboard flower as the base for the digi image........the layer at the bottom is cut with a Martha Stewart border punch, with a piece of yellow cardstock at the back........

Blue flower, layered with a red one, and a button popped on top....I didn't really need to tell you that, did I?...heehee......

Isn't she cute?  I love the freckles...nearly as many as me...ha!  She's coloured up with the usual Promarkers......

All topped off with a bright chipboard greeting, and a dash of pink ribbon!

Okay, go get your stash out, and create!

I really love it when I've got my Design Team member hat on, and I spot one of your entries on the challenge blog....it's like popping in on an old friend....hello!

Lookin' forward to visiting you. :)

Hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Challenges:

http://craftyannschallengeblog.blogspot.com/  Bold and Bright

http://www.doitwithdigischallenge.blogspot.com/  Don't be square

http://simplycreatetoo.blogspot.com/2012/02  Add sunshine to your day!

http://polkadoodle.blogspot.com/2012/02/week-8-summer-fever.html  Summer Fever

Christmas Joy

Hello, and welcome!

It's been very spring-like today.......sunny and warm.......balmy, even!  I'm still waitin' for snow.....haaa!

Speaking of snow.....yes, I have to get it in somewhere, don'tcha know.......I felt the need to make a Christmas card, but with not a single white flake in sight.....how did that happen?

I've actually still got Christmas stash on my desk, and in my work basket, which lives at the side of my telly-watching chair.  My work basket has quilt blocks, and a bit of cross-stitching in it.......I can't abide sitting with nothing for my hands to do!  Having work in my sticky little fingers stops me from snackin', too........er........okay, maybe I'm stretching the truth a little........if I dig deep enough into my basket, I can usually find a few Smarties, or M&Ms........haaa!

Here's the card........

The red paper is actually deeper and richer looking, IRL.....looks a bit washed out in the pic...sorry.

The Christmas trees in the background are gold embossed on acrylic........I've had a stash of the sheets for ages, and was "saving" them for something special....never gonna happen, so I'm starting to use 'em........

I fell totally in love with this beautiful image when I was fortunate enough to get to use it for a DT challenge....it's from Whoopsi Daisy, and is named "Winter Cloak".....love it!

The ribbon is self-adhesive, and has been in my ribbon stash for an age; since I had my huge sort-out, I'm beginning to use up all the fabby goodies I've been hoarding......are you proud of me?

I used red glitter card to cut the pretty Nestie shape, and topped it with a cute sentiment which I'd stamped onto kraft, and coloured with PMs........

Another find from my hoarded stash......chipboard sentiment (think it's Cosmo Cricket) and this was the starting point for choosing the colour combination for the card........done!

Card Crafter's Circle Challenge is up, tomorrow....see you then!

Hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Challenges:

thepapershelter.blogspot.com  Add a sentiment

http://thesisterhoodofcrafters.blogspot.com/  Use a digi

http://theprettylittleribbonshop.blogspot.com/  Anything goes with ribbon

http://lilredwagon.blogspot.com/  Use chipboard (the sentiment)

Definitely Girlie!

Hi, and welcome!

I've been feeling a bit discombobulated, recently.........go on,  ask me why?  Okay, since you insist, I will........

I think it's mainly to do with the age I'm at..........37............why are you laughin'?

I feel as if I'm neither one thing, nor the other.........my Mam still talks to me as if I'm 9, my kids seem to think I'm gettin' frail, and my grandkiddles think  I can mend everything, know everything,  and can walk on my hands!

That's how it all seems to me, at times..........a state of discombobulation, indeed!

Don't mind me.......I'll be back  to my usual state of just plain get-on-with-it, soon....haaaa!

Had to take Mam for a hospital appointment today....she's had some "lady trouble", and was scheduled to have 4 small biopsies today, but, after she was examined, her consultant  told us that everything was cleared up, and she just has to use the steroid cream he prescribed.........pheeeew!.....what a relief!

We weren't at the hospital as long as I thought we would be, and I took Mam to Roseanne's, where she had been invited to stay the night.  Drove home, through the horrible, dark and dank, rainy weather, and crept up to my lovely craft haven.........a while later, and.....taa-daa!.........

I got a free stack of these gorgeous Lili of the Valley stamped images with a magazine, and was really looking forward to using 'em....couldn't resist this little cutie!

The background paper is from Nitwits (love their goodies!), and is layered onto some pink dotty paper......

Her name is Milly, and I coloured her up with the usual Promarkers, (think I'm going to need some new ones, soon).......

The ticket was from my stash of freebies, chalked in pink, and that sweet button added, just for fun..........

This is my new Memory Box ribbon buckle die, but I popped the green button on, instead of threading with ribbon.........

Cream seam binding,  coloured pink with my Promarker, with a matching bow, and more of the really pretty lace that came from Walmart in New Jersey, (a 20 minute bus-ride from Manhattan, and well worth the trip!)....and there's my very definitely girlie card, finished!

Hope you enjoyed!

Hugs,

Anne-Marie x

Challenges:

http://totallypapercrafts.blogspot.com/2012/02/totally-papercrafts-challenge-104.html  Ribbons/Bows
http://pennyschallenges.blogspot.com/2012/02/challenge-73.html  Anything goes