It's anything but square day - and my birthday too!

Good morning all

I've broken my own rules today to make this card!  I set myself the 'crafting with a purpose' challenge in January 2017 and this card is the first I've made that doesn't fit that criteria - but this is such a cute image I just couldn't resist - and I got to use my new Noble Octagon Double Stitched dies from Sue Wilson at Creative Expressions - because our theme is....

Anything but Square

at

 Fab'n'Funky Challenges

The image and sentiment are from the new 'Cute as a Button' CD from 

Whoopsiedaisy 

who is our sponsor this week

On balance I'm sure I'll use this card- it's far too cute not to give!

This is what I did.....

Image from Whoopsie Daisy Cute as a button CD

Dies - Noble Double stitched Octagon die from Sue Wilson

        - banner from LaLa land

       - nautical die cutes from MFT

Card, paper and ribbon from my stash

Hope you'll join in with our challenge this week

Entered in challenges

Whoopsie Daisy - anything goes / anything but square 

hugs

Judith xx

Give me a number!

Good morning all

Hands up who's sick to death of weather

We have some every day and none of it's good!!

I'm sharing a sun-shiney sort of card today for the challenge over at 

Fab'n'Funky Challenges 

where our theme for the week is

With a number

I saw this really cute image over at Bugaboo Digi stamps called Birthday Troll available HERE -Bugaboo are our fab sponsor for our challenge this week. 

I  knew this little troll girl was perfect for my granddaughter Eva's birthday card - and here's the thing I must be so organised because it's not until April!! - this is the new me lol

Eva is just mad about Poppy Troll from the kids film The Trolls and I thought I could definitely make this image very Poppy Troll like! If you don't know the film you might know the song from the film by Justin Timberlake - Can't Stop the Feeling - Eva does a mean dance to that too lol  here's a link 

to the video on youtube  

I guarantee you'll be singing it all day.....dance dance dance dance.....

I tried to photograph this so you can see all the sparkle - unfortunately that has made the colours look a bit darker than IRL - can't have everything I suppose

I also used some of the new Sue Wilson dies to make this a bright sunny card - I just love that rainbow, it's also proved to me that something from my school science lessons stuck there.  I just had to have a correctly coloured rainbow - non of that red and yelow and pink and blue rubbish that they sing about!!! - there is no pink!!  At school we were taught ROY GABIV is the name of the rainbow guy and it's stayed with me my whole life.  Thats Red, Orange,Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet -so thats what my rainbow is : ) - all coloured in pencils and then glittered.

Here's what I did..

Image - Birthday Troll from Bugaboo digi stamps

Coloured with Spectrum Noir Colourblend pencils 

on Sheena Douglass Stamping card from Crafter's Companion

Background created with TH distress inks

Papers Sara Davies  Birthday Party collection

Card - Cored'nations brights

Yellow and white glitter card

Rainbow, clouds and Sentiment dies - Sue Wilson you are my sunshine set

Sunshine die from the rain or shine set

Number 2 - Diamond press fashion dies from Crafter's companion

Diamond Stickles

So come on - bring out those numbers! - mine is a teeny little one 'cos Eva will be 2 years old so how high or low(!) can you go 😃 

Hope to see you over  at Fab'n'Funky Challenges this week

hugs 

Judith xx

Started your Christmas shopping yet?!!

............Well I have just the tag for your Christmas wrapping up!!

Hi all

I'm sure I must be getting on your nerves now with my Christmas in March routine lol

but better to start early than get caught out  - that's my motto

and that's exactly why I wanted to join a lovely Christmas design team like

Winter Wonderland

We have a new challenge starting today and our theme is 

Animals or Birds

I made this cute little tag with  an image from our lovely sponsor this week

he's called Hollie Christmas Penguin available HERE

Our sponsor this week is the lovely

Kitty Bee Designs

who are offering one of their cute digis to this weeks winner

Here's what I did 

Image - Hollie Christmas Penguin from Kitty Bee designs

Coloured with Spectrum Aqua markers (black, scarlet, orange, bud green, marigold)

Merry Christmas die - Die'sire essentials  words die set - Celebration Words

Small poinsettia - Sue Wilson from Cretive expressions

Snowflake die - free from the christmas edition of Crafter's Companion magazine

tag dies from MFT

Nouvo drops from tonic

Ribbon and twine from my stash

Hope you'll join in with our cute challenge this week

hugs 

Judith x

Come party with us at Wags'n'Whiskers

Good morning all

Well it's been a sad day in the craftroom today : ( 

my trust Sizzix Bigshot Express finally gave up

after over 7 years of faithful service - the motor just got weaker and weaker 

and he just couldn't emboss anymore, and dies were spending more time stuck in the plates than cutting!!

So I nipped out to Hobbycraft today and got a Big Shot Plus

- they had a great offer on and it was a matter of absolutely can't do without!!

It's just great to be able to craft without the bother again! -It's so sturdy and cuts and embosses really well - I realise how my poor Bigshot Express was struggling when I see what this does

I was hoping to hold out for the new Crafters Companion Gemini which is due out in a few weeks - it's an electronic machine and looked great when I saw it demonstrated a couple of weeks ago.  

My birthday's coming up very soon so I may neeeed to still have one - I've always had both a manual and electronic die cutting machine (but after my last Grand Calibur literally broke up into pieces inside - the second one I've had do this I called it a day - no more of these plastic machines for me.  And as a manual machine compared to the Big Shot Grand Calibur is just no contest. 

So it's happy dance day for me - new machine up and running : )))) 

But back to today's card

The new challenge is up and running at 

Wags'n'Whiskers

and the theme is 

Let's Party

(we want to see birthday creations)

I made this card with the cute

Buddy's Balloon _ available here
- he's just too cute!!

 I used to make a lot of easel cards at one time - probably my favourite shape

but it seems to have been a while since I made one - and I sooo needed to use that lovely new  

Happy Birthday die that I just got from Sue Wilson at Creative Expressions!!

This is what I did.....

Image - buddy's Ballon - Wags'n Whiskers

Coloured with Spectrum noir pens and pencils

Sentiment die - happy birthday from Creative expressions

Corner dies and curved corner square (!)  - MFT

Ballon punches - Martha Stewart

Papers MME 

Red and Blue card TH Core'dnations from Crafters companion

PARTY lettering - Sizzix TH Wanted die strip

Hope you'll come and join in with us for our fun challenge

Hugs

Judith 

Happy New Year - and something else New!

Happy New Year everyone

Well I finally kicked myself into gear and here's my first post of the year

I'm setting myself off on a new blogging start for the year

-after a pretty disastrous end of last year

the only thing I can say is I had a great holiday in November

and Christmas and New Year were pretty good too

So - line drawn under 2015

and a happy 2016 is here!!

We have a "New" challenge at 

Fab'n'Funky Challenges

the theme is 

Something New

(new house, new baby, using new stash etc)

My card is a wedding card that my daughter asked me to make for a friend last summer

the theme of the wedding was sunflowers

I think you could even say a wedding fits the new theme - it is after all a start of a new life together

but as well as that I used some new dies 

Absolutely brand new are the Dies from Sue Wilson

They're the ornate pierced rectangles from the Noble Collection
I just love this collection

I also decorated the inside to match

I don't know if these photographs do this card justice, it was quite a large card and the layering looked really effective with the black and yellow and it was also  really quite easy to make -

Our fabulous sponsor this week is

Live and Love Crafts

who are providing a £10 voucher for our prize winner

What I did...

The whole list of items used

Dies - Ornate pierced dies Sue Wilson Noble die collection

Sunflower dies - MFT

Black Card - Crafter's Companion

Yellow cards - Cor'dnations from Crafters Companion

Sentiment tag - Anna Griffin Chalkboard Sentiments

Sentiment inside of card - LOTV

Ribbon and jewelled embellie from my stash

I do hope you'll join in with us at Fab'n'Funky this week to get the 'New' year off to a flying start

Challenges I'm entering with this card

Incy winsey - white with a splash of colour (16/1)
our crafty corner - anything goes (31/01)
ruby's rainbow - something new (28/1)

Hugs

Judith xx