Sunday, 28 February 2010

From me to You

I made this card for Embellish Magazine's current challenge.  I adore this mix of colours, and loved the challenge of mixing peach and pink.  I must just add, that THIS digital paper kit is delicious.  I see a new addiction coming on... (sorry in advance).
Supplies: Paper - Vinnie Pearce, Stamp - PTI, Sticker - K&Co, Ribbon - Creative Impressions, Punch - Fiskars, Button - from stash.
Oh, and if you've not yet seen it, Jennifer McGuire has just posted a FABULOUS Copic information sheet on her blog (click HERE to read it).  Thank goodness - I've just ordered a stash of pens, and need HELP.  It's my March mission.
Oh, and other stuff I love today:
I've been playing a lot with THIS kit - love all the sentiments and have ideas for that tree...
Some people asked me about the black stamping on THIS card - it's from THIS amazing PTI set. If you have nesties Labels 1, get it.  It's wonderful.
THIS stamp set never leaves my side.  I take it with me to work and everything. :)  I dream about it.
I want THESE... so bad...
Must go and do some work - lots of students' papers to grade....
Have a very happy Sunday.
xxx

Saturday, 27 February 2010

I ♥ Pink...

So there's a new digital designer over at Two Peas, and her kits are unbelievable.  Seriously, unbelievable.  Her name's Vinnie Pearce and she is talented!!!!
 So I've been playing a LOT.
First, I made this vintage thank you card using pink paper form THIS kit, and text paper from THIS one.  The butterfly is my new favourite image, and is from THIS Hero Arts stamp set.  Love it.  And the sentiment is from THIS set by Making Memories.  I forgot I had it, and realise now how much I like it.
And then I made this card, using a very different kit.  How adorable are the images HERE.  Perfect for kids' cards. :)
I just stamped the sentiment over the balloon.  Fun.
With the next card, I just wanted to showcase the beautiful paper - such a charming image.  It's from THIS kit - yummy!!!
And finally, this beautiful bird, from THIS kit.  I did a lot of layering here - paper, followed by script (here), followed by bird, followed by sentiment (here).  So easy to do in Word.
So there you have it - you can see my obsession with pink has got out of hand. :)
Happy, happy weekend to you all.
xxx

Friday, 26 February 2010

Challenge 5 Winners

I can't quite believe that I had 92 entries for my 5th challenge.  Thank you all SO much.  It's such an honour to have so many people playing along, and I really love looking at your pretty blogs and gorgeous cards.
Choosing the winners was, as always, HARD!  But here are my fave four.
                        1.  Vicky Papaioannou
                        2.  Virginia Lu 
                        3.  Laura Bassen
                        4.  Savannah O'Gwynn

And honourable mentions go to:
and
Hannah an incredibly talented 10 year old!!!

Thank you ALL for joining in the polka dot FUN. :)
Hope you enter my current challenge too.  Click HERE for details.

Thursday, 25 February 2010

Be Inspired - Day 2

THIS card by Tami Hartley blew me away.  How gorgeous?????
I decided to use many of the same features in my card - I also added some distressing over embossed patterned paper - she is a GENIUS at this technique.  She HERE for a perfect example.
Supplies: Stamps and Notecard - Hero Arts; PP - Little Yellow Bicycle; Ribbon - Creative Impressions; Distress ink - Tim Holtz.
I made this card for the Dragonfly Card Drive I found out about on the Taylored Expressions blog - such a good cause, click HERE to see the details.  I don't make a lot of sympathy cards - I find them hard to make as they make me feel sad, but I was touched by this cause.
I used the tiny dragonfly from THIS adorable set... love these images (and LOVE that hummingbird... must get it out again soon.)
Check back soon for a card inspired by the fabulous Lisa Spangler. :)  And if you have the time, make an 'Inspired By' card for my challenge. Details HERE.

Wednesday, 24 February 2010

Lucy's Cards: Challenge 6

OK - so my 'Inspiration Corner' week has had me thinking... why not have an Inspiration Challenge.
So here it is:
The details:
Create a card inspired by another card you have seen.
Your card can be any theme.
Link me to your blog post or photo using the Mister Linky box below.  Remember to link directly to the card.
You will need to provide a link to your inspiration in your blog post.
Challenge closes: Sunday 7th March 2010.
Oh, and you can submit as MANY entries as you like.  The more the merrier. :)
<
1. Lin
2. Jennifer Styles
3. Lin
4. Elena B. (Pelusa)
5. Lynn
6. Agata
7. libeeti
8. cinnamonsally
9. cindy
10. Therese
11. Lorena
12. SmilynStef
13. Sunny Penn
14. Liz Baker
15. Monica L
16. Victoria
17. Jill
18. NancyK
19. Barbara
20. Vera Yates
21. Karen Baker
22. Katherine D
23. laurieloou
24. Katie Tate
25. Vera Yates
26. Virginia L.
27. NancyK
28. Poorvi
29. Elena B.
30. Nancy S
31. Sav O'Gwynn
32. Helen Berry
33. Laura Bassen
34. Vicky
35. Patti
36. Katherine D
37. Agata #1
38. Agata #2
39. Agata #3
40. Sav O'Gwynn
41. Kathy Racoosin
42. Nikita
43. Agata #5
44. Sav O'Gwynn
45. Sav O'Gwynn
46. toomanycrayons
47. Agata #6
48. Deb Neerman

Tuesday, 23 February 2010

Be Inspired... Day 1

I love the Hero Arts artists, so thought it might be nice if I showcased some of my recent favourite HA artists' cards and made my own versions of their cards. :)
Jennifer McGuire is incredible - we all love her, don't we.  THIS card set is so so so beautiful, and I used it as inspiration for the card below - made for a very sweet person.
Supplies: Stamps - Hero Arts and PTI; PP - PTI and Bo Bunny; Labels 1 Nesties; Cardstock - Bazzill; Pearls - Hero Arts.; Buttons - various; twine - PTI.
I love the way she used one of the flower images from THIS gorgeous cling set to make the leaves.  As my colouring skills are not up to her incredible standards, I stamped on patterned paper instead.  The sentiment I used is my all time favourite stamp (and a gift from a lovely lovely friend.)
Thanks Jennifer for the daily inspiration.
Next up... Tami Hartley... :)

And... the winner of my SRM giveaway:
LauraB.
Email me Laura and I'll send you your stickers. :)

Finally - my HAPPY news... I was chosen to be on the My Cute Stamps design team. I'm so thrilled.  Check out their GORGEOUS stamps HERE and Holly's beautiful blog HERE.  Such an honour.  Thank you. x

Monday, 22 February 2010

Pink Moths... a mini digi tutorial

So I made a very very simple hybrid digi card to share a couple of basic digi tips. This card features the gorgeous 'Mod Moths' digikit by Holly Brooke Jones.  I always love her kits.  I combined it with THIS yummy digikit - lots of gorgeous papers here.
Supplies: Image - Holly Brooke Jones; PP - Jen Martakis, PTI; Font - 2Peas; Glossy Accents; Glitter Pen.
Anyway - I did a bit of EASY playing around with the moths in Microsoft Word and thought I'd show you how with a couple of screen shots.
First - the moths were pre-coloured.  They are really pretty colours - but I wanted a different look.  I decided to make them black and white so I could print them out onto polka dot paper. :)  You know I love polka dots :)  
Here's what I did: (click on the photo to make it bigger)
Left click on the image, then click Format Picture.  Recolour to Black and White.  This gives the outline image only. (Please note: this is not always possible with digital images)

Then, I wanted to layer it over the lined paper.  This means I would not have to hand cut the antennae on my coloured moths.
Left click on the butterfly image and click Format Picture.  Choose Layout and select the option that reads 'In front of text'.  This allows you to place the image over the lined paper image.
And finally - I added a few more moths, a typed sentiment (free font from HERE) and a little bit of distressing using THIS - one of my favourite tools.
I hope this helps someone, somewhere...
If you have any more digi questions, please post them here - I'd love to give more tutorials but am not sure what people need.  I can't help with brushes - I don't know anything about them... but if you have any other questions please let me know.

Sunday, 21 February 2010

Green Trees and Pink Cats :)

Here are a few more cards I made using the gorgeous SRM Sticker Sentiments.  LOVE them ALL.  Still addicted to THIS digikit - can't get enough of these big polka dot papers.
Supplies: Sticker - SRM Stickers; Stamp - Hero Arts; PP - Crystal Wilkerson; Cardstock - Bazzill; Die - Provocraft; Sewing machine.
And this gorgeous pink cat is from THIS adorable digikit by Shelley Castillo.  I love cats - so couldn't resist this. :)
Supplies: Sticker - SRM Stickers; PP and image - Shelley Castillo; Notecard and buttons - Hero Arts; Ribbon - PTI.
Don't forget to enter my SRM Stickers giveaway - see yesterday's post for details.
Hope you are enjoying your weekend.
x

Saturday, 20 February 2010

SRM Stickers...and a giveaway

Have you come across the new SRM Stickers yet?  Well, they are sponsoring the new challenge over at Caardvarks and BOY their products are gorgeous.  They've just started this new line of card sentiment stickers, and they are so easy to use.
With this card, I used a sticker from the 'Thinking of You' set, and combined it with THIS gorgeous new digital paper from Jen Martakis - just my kind of digikit.  
Supplies: Sticker - SRM Stickers; PP - Jen Martakis, Bo Bunny; Stamp - Pink Petticoat; Notecard and gems - Hero Arts; Ribbon - Creative Impressions.
Check out SRM's new blog for loads more gorgeous ideas.  
To share my love of these stickers, I though I'd have a bit of a giveaway.  I have some extras and would like YOU to try them out for yourselves.  Leave me a comment here telling me what your favourite NEW product is... I want some recommendations.  I will pick a random commenter to win THIS:
2 6x9" sets (Baby and Love) and 6 Quick Cards sets.  And you never know what else may slip into the package.
You have until Monday 22nd to enter. 
Good Luck :)
And click HERE to check out the Caardvarks challenge.

Friday, 19 February 2010

Stitching on ribbon

I'm thrilled to be featured on the Hero Arts' blog today - and I had a lot of fun playing with ribbon.  I decided to try out stitching on ribbon and here is the result.
I chose some gorgeous Hero Arts digital kits to play with on this card; the flower is from the 'February Flower of the Month' digikit - LOVE it.  The background paper is from THIS kit - I just recoloured it to get the shade I wanted.  I used a notecard from the new Floral Folded Cards set and some sweet matching pearls. Love these new Hero Hues.
Supplies: details HERE .
Click HERE for details about how to make the card. :)
Oh and if you are a bit digi confused, check back on Monday - I will post another mini digi tutorial then.

Thursday, 18 February 2010

Forever...

I made this very simple card using THIS sweet digital kit by the talented Wilna Furstenberg.  She's just started selling over at twopeas.  Hooray.  I combined her images with more of that addictive grid paper from THIS kit... can't get enough of it.
Supplies: All images Wilna Furstenberg; Gem - Hero Arts.
I thought it might make a "different" wedding card. :)

Wednesday, 17 February 2010

And Your Bird Can Sing

There have been some gorgeous Hero Arts digital stamps released recently, and I finally got round to playing with a couple of them.  Using word, I just layered all the images on top of each other. So simple. (Click HERE for a digi how-to guide).
Supplies: All images Hero Arts; Cardstock -Bazzill; sewing machine.
For the background I used THIS new release kit: Seed and Pod Backgrounds (only $0.99 - a bargain).  LOVE this, suitable for SO many cards.  I layered it over some cream digi paper. (This comes with the stamp along with 8 other coloured papers.  HA digikits have lots of extras in them!)  Then I added THIS sweet bird cage stamp - I have always liked the woodblock version, but never got round to buying it.  I love that I can make it fill the whole card.  Finally, I added the digital sentiment (from THIS kit) and voila!  A super easy, one layer card.  After printing out, I stitched to some kraft cardstock to add a little texture.  
Happy Wednesday. :)

Monday, 15 February 2010

Birthday Wishes

I've been drooling over Papertrey Ink's stamps for AGES now, and thanks to the lovely Kate Lewis, I now OWN my very own stamps.  Hooray.  They are gorgeous.
So I had a play today, using THIS cute set, and THESE gorgeous digital tree images from Pink Petticoat. I was so excited to find these stamps - and it's an added bonus that they are a British company.  Obviously I love all the amazing American products, but it's still exciting to support a British business too.  The lovely grid paper is from THIS digikit... I adore it.
I am entering this for the current Embellish challenge (although I think the colours may be a little too light...)
Supplies: Stamps - Papertrey Ink, Pink Petticoat; PP - Bo Bunny, Shelley Castillo (text paper my own design); sewing machine.
This card will be for my mum on Wednesday. :)
Can't wait to play more with my new goodies - thanks again Kate. 
And finally, the winner of my 'Jane's Doodles' giveaway is:
TINA
Please email me and I'll get your digi stamps out to you. :)

Sunday, 14 February 2010

Happy Valentine's Day

Hope you are having a love filled day.
Here is the card I made for my hubbie.  I wanted to keep it pretty simple and not too pink. :)  He's not into fussy cards. :)
So I used THIS pretty digikit by Jen Martakis.  I will be using a LOT more of this polka dot paper. (Oh, and if you've not seen my current challenge, click HERE for polka dot madness).
And the sentiment is from THIS FREE DIGIKIT from Kristina Proffitt- how wonderfully generous she is. 
Supplies: PP and images - Jen Martakis; Sentiment - Kristina Proffitt
Happy Valentine's Day everyone.
P.S. A few people have been asking recently if I get through a lot of printer ink.  Truth is, no. I use a medium quality setting rather than a photo setting - and the quality is still really good.  I print a LOT, a real lot, but only need new cartridges every few months or so.  I was really surprised how long they last.  I am sure the medium quality thing makes a big difference. :)  Oh, and not replacing the ink when it tells you to.  My printer has been telling me to replace the ink for about 3 weeks... I ignore it until the colour goes strange :)

Saturday, 13 February 2010

News!!!

So I am thrilled to announce that I am now on Jane's Doodles Deisgn Team!!!  Hooray.  I've been a big fan of Jane's ever since her first release; she makes the CUTEST digital stamps.  Click HERE and HERE to see cards I've already made with her gorgeous stamps.
And today she releases this cute owl at Squigglefly.  Don't you just LOVE it.
Supplies: Image - Jane's Doodles; Sentiment - Computer generated; PP - Bo Bunny, My Mind's Eye, Crystal Wilkerson; Copics and coloured pencils; sewing machine.
And, in honour of release day, Jane wants me to hold a giveaway.  Leave me a comment and I will pick a random winner to receive Jane's newest release.  Isn't she GREAT!!!
Click HERE to check out Jane's blog and HERE to see her other new releases.
Thanks for letting me on the team Jane.
xxx

Friday, 12 February 2010

Large Thank You

I love this 'Thank You' stamp - and I am thrilled it's gone digi.  I can now make it MASSIVE.  It's from THIS fab kit... what a lot a thank yous. :)
Today, I combined it with these gorgeous papers from Holly Brooke Jones' Summer Conversations.  These papers are making me long for summer...
Supplies: Digital PP - Holly Brooke Jones; Stamp and button - Hero Arts; Nesties - Blossom; Cardstock - Core'dinations; sewing machine.
My husband says this card is very 70s.  I like that. :)
It's FRIDAY!!!!  YAY...

Thursday, 11 February 2010

Big GREEN owl.

OK, so I have him in EVERY colour.  And this green one's my favourite. :)
And THIS fabulous new stamp set is perfect for all my critter cards. Love it.  Still using the yummy polka dot paper from THIS digikit... I can't get enough of it.
Supplies: Image, stamp, notecards - Hero Arts; PP - Crystal Wilkerson; sewing machine.
This is for Jennifer's Cards for Kids drive.  I'm thinking it would do for a boy.
I'm so happy tomorrow's Friday as I have a week off next week.  HOORAY.  I plan to make a hundred cards. :)

Wednesday, 10 February 2010

Get Well Soon

Michelle Underwood has released a new digikit, Beautiful Ending, and this beautiful ledger paper is from her kit.  I love that I can change the size, making it perfect for small cards.  12x12 ledger paper is just too big...
And the butterfly is also hers, from THIS kit.
Supplies: Image, paper - Michelle Underwood; PP - My Mind's Eye; Stamp - Hero Arts; Nesties - Labels 8
So I picked a winner from yesterday's comments - random number generator chose Kathy (Krolski).
I've emailed you. :)