Sketch Saturday- Quiet moments

Hey hey hey! It's Sketch Saturday time!!!!!!!

I have a fabbie image from Sassy Cheryl to show you...

Cheryl very kindly gave us a digi to use for this week's challenge and this little cutie is called Quiet Moments. I coloured him up with copics and lyra for the grass. The background paper is MME Boy Crazy. Sentiment is Hero Arts. The border is the chevron Dienamic and then finished with a nestie star and button.

Close up!

Here's Alex's fab sketch.

Our amazing sponsor this week is SASSY CHERYL!

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Sassy Cheryl, Hero Arts); Copics; Lyra; Papers (MME); Assorted cardstock; Nesties; Dienamics; Button (recycled)

MMCS Challenge- Tickets!

Hey folks! Hope you're all doing good- a big hellooooo to my new followers! Here is my first card on the MMCS Challenge DT. This week's challenge is "Tickets".

As we are sponsored by Di's Digis this week, I have decided to use one of Di's designs called Off-Puttin. I have coloured with copics and used lyra pencils for the grass. The paper is by October Afternoon and I pretty much use it for every golf card I make!! The ticket stamp is by Hero Arts.

I'd like to enter this into:

Di's Digi Designs Challenge- animals acting as people

Crafty Ann's- inspired by a film title- The Legend of Bagger Vance

Stamping With The Dragon- animals

Deep Ocean Challenge- anything goes

Papertake Weekly- all creations great and small

Craft Your Passion- hip to be square

Close up!

We are sponsored by the wonderful Di's Digi Designs this week so come on over and join in the challenge and check out the fab designs by the rest of my teamies.

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Di's Digis, Hero Arts); Copics; Lyra pencils; Paper (October Afternoon); Assorted cardstock; Bakers twine; Charm (Ribbon Girls); Eyelets (Papermania)

Some Odd Girl- my very first!

What a dismal day it is today- I think it's been raining here in Essex for 48 hours non-stop. Just a wee bit depressing! Anyway yesterday I decided to make a card just for fun- you know- no DT work, no deadlines- just cos I wanted!! I've recently fallen in love with Some Odd Girls! Yes, I know I'm strange- why has it taken me so long? I can't answer but I have fallen for them in a big way so expect to see some more from me! So I decided to enter this month's SOG's sketch challenge.

I have used Picnic Mae and coloured her with copics with a few lyra pencil highlights. These pretty papers are October Afternoon Woodland Park. Fence, grass and banner die are all Die-namics. Sentiment is Hero Arts. Butterflies are one of the paper designs which I then simply cut out.

Close up. I hope I've done her justice with my colouring. Kristy is such a fantastic colourist- is that a word?!

The sketch!

I'd also like to enter this card into:

Make It Monday- anything goes

Challenges for Everybody- anything goes

No Matter Which Challenges- diecuts/punches

Cupcake Craftroom- pretty pastels

Heck of a Challenge- anything goes

Ladybug Crafts- anything goes

Natalie and Amy's Challenge- anything goes

Brown Sugar Challenge- anything goes

Marker Pop- anything goes

Crafty stash used: Stamps (SOG, Hero Arts); Copics; Lyra pencils; Papers (October Afternoon); Assorted cardstock; Fence, banner & Grass Die-namics (MFT); Gems (Prima)

Sketch Saturday- Cupcake Mouse!

Hope you're having a lovely weekend. Today's card is for Sketch Saturday. 

I've kept it fairly simple as it's for a friend's son I used Cupcake Mouse by Whipper Snapper and coloured him with copics and added lyra shadow. The papers are by MME called Fine and Dandy Boy. The sentiment is a Hero Arts one from one of their cupcake stamp sets. Added eyelets to finish.

I'd like to enter this into:

CRAFT Challenge- children

CCEE Challenge- food or drink

Dutch Dare- snips and snails

Inky Impressions- for a child

Close up. Love his whiskers.

Here is your fab sketch to work with this week

And our wonderful sponsor this week is Bugaboo Stamps! Yay!

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Whipper Snapper, Hero Arts); Copics; Lyra pencils; Papers (MME); Assorted cardstock; Corner punch (Woodware); Eyelets (Papermania)

Anything Goes- Make your own background!

Hope you all had a fabbie weekend and have been enjoying the glorious sunshine! Today's challenge over at Anything Goes this week is "make your own background". Now, I must confess, this is pretty much my worse nightmare challenge! As you know, I prefer to spend my time colouring but I thought the idea of a challenge is to challenge yourself!!! So why not make something totally different and completely not my style? So here it is.....

For this card, I used the Dienamics zig-zag border die and cut strips of cream and blue cardstock along with a sheet of patterned paper by Lily Bee Designs and glued them together to form a background. Kinda thought it looked a bit like a quilt. Then I got brave and stamped a sentiment from Hero Arts right over the top! The Butterfly is another Die-namic die and finished with pearls.

Do pop over and have a look at the DT's samples- this challenge is a great example of how we crafters can vary so much! 

Crafty stash used: Stamp (Hero Arts); Paper (Lily Bee Designs); Assorted cardstock; Zig zag Die-namic (MFT); Butterfly Die-namic (MFT); Pearls

Some cards and craft room developments

Hi all. Hope you're all good. I've got really bad back pain today so am not in the mood for crafting- shock horror! Thought I'd give you an update on my updated craft room which I keep banging on about showing you! Well.......errrrr...... you won't be seeing the updated look any time soon as it will soon be undergoing another update so thought I might as well wait and show you it finished!! I promise this was all my husband's idea but who am I to say no??! So my craft room was the smallest bedroom of the house but it actually had an ensuite. There are a few problems with the toilet, the shower leaks and the floor tiles are dodgy so we were going to have to fix all of those issues. So hubbie decided rather than fix them and the ensuite not be used anyway (I don't get THAT glittery when I'm crafting!!), why not get rid of the ensuite and give more crafty space to me?!!! So yay, I'm adding to my crafty space. I'm thinking of having a stamping area... my mind is going in overdrive !!!!

Onto cards.....

First up is a card I've made for a friend who is an events organiser- I thought Execubella was the perfect image! As usual coloured with mixture of lyra and watercolour pencils and outlined in a warm copic. This gorgeous paper is American Crafts. Don't you love that ribbon in the corner?!! It's from the freebie stash I got from my big (!) order to Stamping Bella. I've never seen it before- it's kinda rubber like. I stuck it with a spray glue but I love it.

I'd like to enter this for:

Sentimental Sundays- anything goes plus a sentiment

Crafty Pad- spots n dots (dotty ribbon)

Crazy 4 Challenges- flowers

Creative Inspirations- bling n glitz (hot fix crystals, say it in studs, gem)

Secret Crafter- neglected stash (haven't use this paper for yonks!)

Paperplay Challenges- show us your style (if Stamping Bella isn't my style, I don't know what is!!)

C.R.A.F.T- sketch

A close up!

An even closer look at my colouring!!

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Stamping Bella); Lyra pencils; Watercolour pencils; Copics; Paper (American Crafts); Assorted cardstock; Nesties; Flower; Say it in studs; Gem; Hot fix crystals; Ribbon (stamping Bella); Brad (Poppicrafts)

Next up is another Christmas card! I know it feels wierd posting a Christmas card now the weather is so gorgeous and sunny but I'm on a mission!! I've used Christmatini from Stamping Bella. I love the 'tinis, I think I have them all! I used my usual colouring mediums with a bit of sponged inking in the background. The sentiment is Hero Arts. Papers are by Stampin Up I won in blog candy from Michelle- thanks Michelle! I added some Kraft cardstock stars and a bit of glittery trim.

I'd like to enter this into:

Bellarific Friday- kraft cardstock

Winter Wonderland- colours of Christmas

Creative Inspirations- bling and glitz

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Stamping Bella; Hero Arts); Watercolour pencils; Lyra pencils; Copics; Papers (Stampin Up); Assorted cardstock; Nesties; Trim (freebie); Gems

Are you a cosmo girl?

Hi guys- just a quick post today. Mum is feeling the full effects of her chemo and is in bed with sickness and diarrhoea so am back on nursing duty and no time to chat! Two little cards to show you this week...

First up is a card I made for my friend who's just got back from New Zealand and has been looking for a job- she got one on Friday so I thought it was cause for a celebratory card! I used Cosmobella. I coloured her with watercolour and lyra pencils and copics. I then sponged ink around her. I really love the colours of this card- teal is one of my favourite colours.

I'd like to enter this into:

The Pink Elephant- sketch

Charisma Cardz- bling/sparkle

One Stop- spots and dots- polka dot paper

Simon Says- sketch

Here is a close up! I quite like the colouring on her jeans and her funky glittery flip flops!

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Stamping Bella; Hero Arts); Papers (DCWV); Assorted cardstock; Copics; Watercolour pencils; Lyra pencils; Nesties; Flower (The Cheap Shop); Stickles; Brad (Prima); Heart (recycled); Ribbon (recycled)

Next up is a very quick card I made for my mother-in-law. Well I had the image coloured and was waiting for a sketch challenge I could enter but our internet connection went down for a few days so I quickly cobbled this together on Sunday morning in the end! Image is Lily of the Valley- as usual coloured with mixture of watercolour and lyra and copics and again inked. Papers are by Abbey Road, I thought the colour combo was a bit unusual.

I'd like to enter this into:

Pollycraft Monday Challenge- use old/neglected stamp- LOTV

My time to Craft- Mum's the word

Creative Inspirations- Mother's Day

LOTV- Spring

Stamping for the Weekend- Mother's Day

Allsorts- Blooming blossoms

Stamptacular Sunday- buttons/bling & bloom

Crafty stash used: Stamp (LOTV); Watercolour pencils; Lyra pencils; Copics; Nesties; Papers (Abbey Road); Assorted cardstock; Sentiment (freebie in mag); Border (K&C0); Corner embelly (freebie in mag)

Hope you're all well xxxx

3 cards and my new colour guide

Hi everyone! Hope you're all having a great week. As usual in the Honey Bootique household it's a case of another day, another drama. Really at some point, things have got to settle down, it's getting ridiculous!! I ended up in casualty yesterday morning- a severe allergic reaction to anti inflammatories I've been taking for my back. I'm covered head to toe in ugly red big spots and my mouth and lips are all swollen!!!! Apparently when it reaches your lips, you're in trouble as if it gets to your throat you can have trouble breathing. I do have spots in my mouth but luckily it didn't reach my throat.

We do have some good news though- my Mum's drain has dramatically reduced in the last week. We reckon she's down from about 17ml to about 4ml now!! Yay yay yay!!!

Today I have 3 cards to show you and my new colour guide I made using my Bind It All. I think it's going to be really useful so I'd like to share it with you.

Onto my first card. I LOVE this Stamping Bella stamp. Now you know I can't get enough Bellas but I seriously think this is one of my favs. It's such a big stamp and I just love her smile. It's so wide, it cheers me up every time I look at it. I coloured her with watercolour pencils and used Lyra pencils for the grass and outlined the whole image with copics. I tried to make the coffee look like Starbucks and the donuts like Krispy Kreme! I adore this beautiful paper by My Mind's Eye and did plenty of paper piecing. The sentiment is Papertrey Ink.

I'd like to enter this into:

Sketch and Stash- sketch

Stamptacular Sunday- Lovin' from the oven

Tuesday Throwndown- buttons

Our Creative Corner- Cut it out (used paper piecing)

Here is a close up.

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Stamping Bella, Papertrey Ink); Watercolour pencils; Lyra pencils; Copics; Nesties; Papers (My Mind's Eye); Buttons (Walmart); Sewing machine

Onto my second card which is for my friend's twin girls. I used this gorgeous Penny Black teddy coloured with watercolour pencils, again grass coloured with lyras and outlined image with copics. Papers are by Making Memories and scalloped borders are Die-namics dies.

I'd like to enter this into:

Penny Black Challenge- pretty in pink

Friday Sketchers- sketch

Scrap Creations- spring fever

Crafty stash used: Stamp (Penny Black); Watercolour pencils; Lyra pencils; Copics; Papers (Making Memories); Assorted cardstock); Nesties; Die-namic dies; Bow (?); Lettering (freebie); Stickles

My last card is another Bella! As usual I coloured her with watercolour pencils, paper pieced her dress and outlined her with copics. The papers are by Basic Grey. Sentiment is Hero Arts.

I'd like to enter this into:

Stamp With Fun- sketch

Secret Crafter- use flowers

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Stamping Bella; Hero Arts); Watercolour pencils; Copics; Papers (Basic Grey); Assorted cardstock; Nesties; Flower (Ebay); Button (Walmart); Pearls (freebies); decorative border (K & Co); Corner punch; Stickles

And lastly here is my colour guide!! Yay. I'm really pleased with how this turned out. I decided to create this to get organised with my colouring and I put ALOT of effort into working out what pages I was going to have and the layout etc but I have to say it took ten times longer because of the Bind It All products. Maybe I've missed something but you'd expect the 8" x 8" page protectors to work with the 8" x 8" covers or at least the coveralls. Well, they don't!!! They're too big so to cut a long story short I ended up making my own covers out of some old cardboard so that they could incorporate the page protectors. So here is the cover made with papers from DCWV. I added some stitching, used Sizzix lettering and the large zig zag die from MFT.

On the inside cover I made a pocket to put extra template lists in.

This post shows how I've divided my colour guide up by the different colour mediums I use- brush markers, copics, lyra pencils and watercolour pencils and then I've added a section at the back for notes (ie useful websites with colour tutorials on, useful books with colour techniques etc). I made these sections using my new Stampin Up tab punch with computer generated text. Eagle eyes will notice that the font is the same as the one used on my tabs on my blog!

I took ages creating all the pages using a free graphics package I downloaded. I wanted the whole guide to incorporate the feel and look of my blog and to have a uniform feel so I designed a header and footer for each of the pages using the fonts from my blog and a cartoony design. I'm also going to be designing a craft guide soon (more on that another time) so I will be designing very similar templates for that.

Each colour medium first contains the colour groups. With my watercolour pencils I decided purely to list the colours I had as I'm not going to expand my collection any further. Some of these colour groups go onto 2 pages so I have put them in page protectors. I also did this as I like to take the pages out to place next to my designers papers to check for the right colour match to know which papers to use.

This second photo show my Lyra pencils colour groups. This is how I have done the other colour groups for the other mediums whereby I have listed all the colours but merely coloured the ones I actually have.

For each medium I have also done a template for my favourite colour combos I use. I'm sure if you're like me, you have some colours you use regularly eg to do grass or hair etc but if you're disorganised like me, you never write them down and then have to figure them out every time you colour a new image!! So I decided to get organised. As you can see this one is for watercolour pencils. I'll use the example of my Bellas as I generally colour their hair using the same colours so under description I would write "Bella hair colour" and then under watercolour pencils colours I would colour a bit of the colour on the top of the first box and then underneath write "032 light ochre", "059 brown" in second box and "049" umber in third box.

The smaller templates are actually also removable and you can add several pages underneath as you can see closely they are held in place by photo corners, this makes using the guide much more flexible if you want to change things or make a mistake.

For the copics, I did an additional page of recommended copic colours. This is because there are so many sites out there with copic tutorials where they recommend certain colour combos eg for doing black hair but maybe I haven't tried them out yet but think I will use them in the future. So if I come across them, I can immediately write them down and know where there are for future use.

And here is the back page.

I'd like to enter this for:

Little Claire's Blog- anything goes

Stampin with the dragon- anything goes

CRAFT- not a card

I hope you liked my colour guide! I've used it loads already and can't wait to start filling it in. If anyone has any questions about it, don't hesitate to ask me!

Crafty stash used: Bind It All machine, wires, page protectors; assorted cardstock; recycled cardboard; papers (DCWV); Sewing machine, Lettering (Sizzix); Flowers; Buttons (Walmart); Punch (Stampin Up)

Time to relax!

Hi everyone! Hope you're all well and have enjoyed a fabbie crafting week! I've been purchasing a few bits and pieces for updating my craft room. I was at Ikea yesterday and bought 3 shelves and a ridiculous number of storage jars. Also had my amazing new mini stacker delivered in the week. Won't be able to show you my new improved room for a bit though as I'm really hoping to get another 2 mini stackers for my birthday. Maybe I'll do some teaser photos to whet your appetite!!! I LOVE looking at other people's craft rooms so much!!!

So onto my first card of the week...

This is another of my newish Riley stamps. I'm loving this little moose at the moment, (s)he makes me smile!!

My sis asked me to make a card for her friend's birthday so here it is! I coloured Riley with copics and paper pieced the couch and added some shading over the top as well. Papers are by American Crafts. Sentiment is Papertrey Ink from their On My Couch set.

I'd like to enter this for:

Papertake Weekly- sketch

Papercutz- use 3 designer papers

Here is Riley blissed out on the sofa. Those choccies look yummy!

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Riley & Papertrey Ink); Copics; Papers (American Crafts); Assorted cardstock; Nesties

Onto my next card which is for a friend's birthday. Little Cutie Patootie from Elzybells. I coloured her with watercolour pencils and paper pieced her dress and added some shading and extra colour with copics and brush markers. The card blank is made with the Sizzix Bigz scalloped card die. I thought these flower eyelets would go perfect with the flowery paper and scallops. This fitted in perfectly with the Belli Challenge to use old embellies- no one ever uses eyelets any more, do they???! I haven't used eyelets for over 2 years I don't think!

I'd like to enter this into:

Diecut Dreams- teddy bear birthday

Belli- old embellies

CRAFT- fancy florals

What a little cutie!!- don't ask me why my font is now underlined!!! I can't get it to stop!!

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Elzybells); Watercolour pencils; Copics; Brush markers; Paper (DCWV & Lili of the Valley); Assorted cardtstock; Sentiment (Pink Petticoat); Bigz die (Sizzix); Nesties; Ribbon (Stampin Up); Eyelets (Poppicrafts); Gem (Joanna Sheen)

Onto my third card. This is a birthday card for my Dad's pen pal who lives in the US. When my Dad passed away, he had been writing to him for over 15 years so I thought it was a shame to let the friendship end so I have started writing to him instead. The dandelion and leaves are from an Autumn Leaves stamp set, the sentiment is Hero Arts and the butterfly is Stampington. I wanted to do a fairly simple card and this contains two firsts for me- using Kraft card and this colour scheme! I NEVER use yellow, not as a main colour anyway! I added a bit of white to the dandelion using watercolour pencils.

I'd like to enter this into:

Cute Card Thursday- clock or time- I figured a dandelion clock was ok! A bit unconventional I know!

Pollycraft- no designer papers

Caardvarks- clean and simple

Pals Paper Arts- buttons

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Autumn Leaves, Hero Arts, Stampington); Assorted cardstock; Button (The Altered Element); Ribbon (The Altered Element); Pearls (Wild Orchid Crafts); Watercolour pencils

And my last card of the week, yes, I had to slip a Christmas card in somewhere! This card contains some recycled bits off old Christmas cards- the two pressies which I cut out with nesties. I then mounted on some Coredinations cardstock which I distressed a bit and then stitched round. I've stitched a few of the layers on the card and used half a nestie to cut out the sentiment which is from a See D's set.

I'd like to enter this for:

Charisma Cardz- Christmas

Crafty stash used: Stamps (See D's); Images (recycled); Paper (?); Assorted cardstock; Ribbon (Poppicrafts); Punch (Martha Stewart); Sewing machine; Nail file; Nesties

Hope you all have a fun filled week! x

Life of Riley!

Hi everyone! Hope you're all doing OK. I've been feeling a bit down this week- I bet you're thinking, does this girl ever cheer up?!!! My Mum's oncology appointment got cancelled because they said there was no point in discussing the chemo until her infection has cleared up. She had a scan on Monday which showed that she didn't have any "collections" which is good news so they basically think because she's been so ill, her body can't fight the infection and heal itself. So we just have to wait and hope it clears up. So that was a bit of a downer and I've just been missing my Dad alot this week, no reason for it, sometimes it just hits you.

Anyhow, I actually managed to make 3 cards this week!! I have to say this is because I'm slightly panicking over how many cards I've got to make over the next few months and I wanted to be well into my Christmas cards by now as I always leave them to the last minute and then end up getting sick of them by the end. So because I was feeling a bit low and needed some inspiration, I decided to treat myself to a load of new Christmasy crafting stash. Oh dear! I think I bought too much really but I'll post a photo of what I bought (yet to arrive!) next time!

So onto my first card. It's mine and hubbie's 5 year anniversary next week. Can't believe we've been married that long!! So I used 3 stamps from the cute Elzybells Smooches set. Image is coloured with copics and cut out with nesties. Papers are from a free My Mind's Eye pad I picked up with one of the crafty mags. My hubbie is a big old softie so I thought he'd like this though I added the black touches to make it a bit more masculine!!

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Elzybells); Copics; Nesties; Paper (My Mind's Eye); Assorted cardstock; Gems (Lakeland); Punches (Martha Stewart & Woodware)

Yay! Now on to my new Riley stamps which I've been itching to use! This card is for one of our friends. Riley is coloured with copics. I added Liquid Pearls for the froth on the beer and glossy accents on the beer glass. Papers are by Basic Grey and sentiment is from the Hero Arts cupcake set. Both ribbons are recycled.

I'm going to enter this for:

ABC Challenge- blue

Papertake Weekly- sketch

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Riley & Hero Arts); Copics; Papers (Basic Grey); Nesties; Ribbons & Button (recycled)

And finally a second Riley card. My Mum asked me to make a card for her brother. Riley stamp again coloured with copics and more Basic Grey papers here. The wavy bit is a BG sticker. Buttons are made using a Sizzix die threaded with twine.

I'm going to enter this for:

Sunday Sketch and Stamp- sketch

ABC Challenge- blue

Crafty stash used: Stamp (Riley); Copics; Papers (Basic Grey); Assorted cardstock; Nesties; Black fine liner; Wavy sticker (Basic Grey); Sizzix die; Twine (recycled); Sentiment (Craftwork Cards)

Hope you enjoyed dropping by today x

To be sick or not to be sick....

...that is the question. Well, not really the question, more like the big gloomy cloud I've got hanging over my head. To explain- my sister had this awful vomiting virus over the Bank Holiday when she was staying at my Mum's. She then passed it on to her partner. Now I was supposed to be seeing my sis and my Mum the day my sis got sick so we cancelled and me, thinking I was being careful, "quarantined" my Mum and said, I won't see you for a few days in case you get it. So Mum came to stay with me on Wednesday instead, us thinking there's no way she's going to get it after that amount of time. What happens? Thursday morning she's being violently sick!!! So history tells us I'm about to get it too!!! I've been getting tummy twinges but I'm not sure whether they might be psychosomatic!! I hate being sick so the thought of getting this thing is making me very uneasy!!! Keep your fingers crossed for me!!

So onto an update on my craft room! I've finished painting it and have nearly sorted all my stash out now. I was going to leave taking photos until I'd done some crafty creations to put on my walls but I think I'll show you how it looks next week with any luck and can do photos of what I've made at a later date.

Here are some more of my Craft for Life cards that I made before we moved just to keep you interested (hopefully!!)

I love this little Penny Black transparent stamp, it's so cute. I coloured the mice with watercolour pencils and added some highlights with brush markers. The paper was just an old freebie scrap from a magazine. The embossed strip is a Cuttlebug Spots and Dots folder. I added a sticker sentiment.

A close up of the little mice!

Crafty stash used: Stamp (Penny Black); Watercolour pencils; Brush markers; Nesties; Cuttlebug folder; Paper (freebie); Assorted cardstock; Flower (Ebay); Brad (Woodware); Sticker sentiment (Papermania)

Yes, another Penny Black transparent stamp! Again, coloured with watercolour pencils. The paper is another freebie.

Crafty stash used: Stamp (Penny Black); Watercolour pencils; Paper (freebie); Assorted cardstock; Punches (Woodware); Rub on (Papermania); Gem (Lakeland)

I love this stamp so much! It always makes me laugh when I see it! I definately agree with this sentiment! This stamp is by Stampendous and coloured with copics. The sentiment comes with it. The paper is from a set by Papermania.

Crafty stash used: Stamp (Stampendous); Copics; Paper (Papermania); Assorted cardstock; Nesties

And my last card of the day is this birthday card featuring stamps from a Hero Arts cupcake set. I've coloured with copics and added hundreds and thousands using Liquid Pearls to give it a 3D effect. I outlined the sentiment with Stickles. This paper is also from a birthday Papermania set.

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Hero Arts); Copics; Paper (Papermania); Assorted cardstock; Nesties; Stickles; Liquid Pearls

So I hope you've enjoyed your visit. It's taken me ages to do this post as BT cocked up the transfer of our phone line so we don't have Broadband at the moment- this is also the reason I haven't visited any of your lovely blogs plus the move has taken up most of my time. We are hoping to have Broadband next week so I really hope to show you the photos of my new craft room and maybe the week after actually have the time to do some crafting!!!!

Take care for now x

The original Bella!

Hi everyone! Hope you're all OK. I'm still continuing with our throw out before moving but I don't really seem to be getting anywhere. You know when you're tidying and you just seem to be making more mess?!! Well, that's my house at the moment!!

Firstly I must apologise for the quality of these photos. I think the setting has changed on my camera so everything is coming out a bit dark. I know nothing about cameras so will have to confer with hubbie so sorry they are so rubbish!! So onto my first card of the day, here's a birthday card I've made for a crafty friend. We keep saying we're going to have a crafting day so I put this card together with that in mind. I've used the original Stamping Bella! I've coloured her with a mixture of Lyra pencils and copics and have done alot of paper piecing on her- check out her crafting tote! I added a bit of sparkle to her as I think you should always look your best when crafting! lol. The papers are all Dream Street. The sentiment is from the Hero Arts tags and tickets set but I just cut out the sentiment.

Here is a close up of her. I love that her dress matches her tote- imagine being that colour coordinated!!

I'd like to enter her for the following challenges:

Friday Sketchers- "Sketch"

One Stop- "Pink"

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Stamping Bella, Hero Arts); Lyra pencils; Copics; Paper (Dream Street); Assorted cardstock; Nesties; Punch (MS); Stickles; Gems (free); Button (recycled); Thread (Arty Miss)

My second card is for a friend's little boy's birthday. I've used the cute little FF bear and coloured with watercolour pencils. Again, I've done some paper piecing and added the recipient's name on the tag and a bit of doodling round the edge. The papers are all by Making Memories. The sentiment is Elzybells.

Here is his little close-up. I like how the paper piecing turned out on the pressie.

I'd like to enter this card for the following challenges:

Our Creative Corner- "Sketch"

Saturday Spotlight- "Clean and simple"

Stamp Something-"Use paper, ribbon & a button"

Cute Card Thursday- "Use ribbon"

Crafty Catz- "Use a fancy edge & a ribbon"

Creative Card Crew- "Celebration"

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Forever Friends; Elzybells); Watercolour pencils; Papers (Making Memories); Assorted cardstock; Nesties; Ribbon (Poppicrafts); Button (Poppicrafts); Fine black liner; Gems (Lakeland)

And finally my sis asked me to make her a card for my Mum for Mother's Day so here it is! The various flower stamps are from the Autumn Leaves Fine and Dandy set. I coloured with copics and added some glitter and hot fix crystals. I also sponged blue ink around the edges after I'd cut out with nesties. The papers are all from DCWV Fun in the Sun stack. Sorry, the photo is particularly bad on this one and doesn't do the card any favours, it looks much nicer in real life! lol. I put the image on foam pads to make it pop a bit and added this gorgeous spray that I won in some blog candy.

I'd like to enter this for:

Sketch n Stash- "Sketch"

Allsorts- "Mother's Day"

Paperplay- "Mother"

My Time to Craft- "Just for Mum"

Crafty Creations- "Pop it up"

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Autumn Leaves); Copics; Stickles; Papers (DCWV); Lace & spray (won in candy); Hot fix crystals; (London Bead Co); Ribbon (Joanna Sheen); Sentiment (free); Nesties; Punch (Woodware); Blue ink & sponge; Assorted cardstock

Hope you've enjoyed popping by today. Have a great week- hopefully this sunny weather will last!! x