Birthday Butterflies

These two cards are made with gorgeous patterned papers from THIS new digikit. Love these pretty colours.  I combined them with butterflies from THIS kit, and some custom made sentiments.

Today is my first Wedding Anniversary.  Can't BELIEVE how quickly this year has gone. :)  Feel so lucky to be married to the best man in the world.
Have a great day.

Butterfly Kisses

I really love THESE butterflies.  And THIS script background...  Here I just printed them onto some kraft cardstock with a homemade sentiment (love me my WordArt), paper pieced, added a little Glossy Accents and stitched to a large scallop die cut.  Simple.

And I thought I'd share a photo of what my friend and I baked yesterday.  We made a batch of cookie dough, then split it 6 ways, and made 6 varieties of cookies: oatmeal and raisin, triple chocolate, white chocolate and raspberry, peanut butter and chocolate chip, chocolate and toasted walnut, and white chocolate and hazelnut. (Can you tell I like chocolate??)  They are SO good. :) Normally when I make cookies I just make one variety - never again.  This was MUCH more fun :) 
 And here's the proof.

Mmmmmmmmmmm.

:)

And finally, I've added a FAQ page to my blog.  See it just under my blog header, or click HERE.

Dancing Lanterns

I wanted to play along with this week's Tuesday Trigger at Moxie Fab World, as I LOVE the pretty photo.

And here is my very simple take...

I was inspired by THIS fab layout by Ashley Cannon Newell. As soon as I saw it, I knew I HAD to make a paper garland.  And it was really fun, and pretty simple too.

 I used papers from THIS digikit.  The stamp is from THIS fab new Hero Arts set.  
I hope you're having a great day. I have a friend coming over this afternoon for a baking session followed by DVDs. Can't wait!!!

Lucy's Cards - a video

I've been getting lots of questions and requests for new digital tutorials, so thought I'd oblige...

Here is a short video on how to manipulate 12 x 12 digital papers for card making.  In the video, I show how I created the background paper for THIS card, turning a gorgeous 12 x 12 papers from THIS yummy digikit into a 5 x 4 rectangle, keeping the lovely distressed edges on all 4 sides.


Don't forget to check out my other videos and tutorials by clicking on the 'Videos and Tutorials' tab at the top of my blog, or clicking HERE.
And let me know if you have any requests for future productions ;)
And to finish, here is a card I made using the technique in the above video. the only difference is that I changed the paper to Greyscale before printing.  This card is for the Cute and Fun challenge at Moxie Fab World.  Love this challenge..

Happy Wednesday.

Goodbye From us All

Andy needed a card for a colleague who's leaving his work. He wanted an animal themed card with 7 animals representing the 7 members of his team.  And I instantly thought of Jane's cute 'Noah's Ark' digi stamp.  I like that the animals are sailing away - just like they are saying goodbye. :) I had to add an extra bird on the roof to make up numbers.

So I printed lots of times onto lots of different patterned papers and paper pieced it all together.  The papers are mostly from THIS kit... love the woodgrain.

I added another pair of birds onto the inside too. 

Hope she likes it. :)
I'm entering it into the Moxie Fab 'Fun and Cute' Challenge too.  Those animals are just TOO cute.
Have a great Tuesday.
E.T.A - I used Justy font - available free HERE.

Stamping on fabric...

... I've never really tried it.  So I thought I should.  And the Shabby and Vintage challenge over on the Moxie Fab World blog gave me the perfect opportunity!

I made this card using one of the stamps from THIS cute Hero Arts set.  Love it.  I mixed it with some Lily Bee 'Lovely' papers, and a scrap of fabric I had lying around.  The sentiment is from THIS set, and I stamped it using THIS ink.  I'm sure I should have used Staz-On, but this ink worked fine. (I've never succeeded much with Staz-On... not sure why.  Is there a trick to it?).
I do love making cards with twigs on.  Especially when they are from my tree.

I hope you all had a good weekend.
Anyone else wishing they were at CHA this week. :(
Let's all us non -attenders band together and share whatever sneak peeks we love best.  I love looking at new products and creating cards in my head :)
P.S. Is the new blog design OK or is to too cluttered? 

A Star is Born

Just sharing this simple baby card I made with a couple of Hero Arts digikits.  The gorgeous moon and star image are from Seventh Heaven - I loved the look on the moon's face and thought it looked like a proud daddy.  I printed it onto some heart paper from THIS kit, I recoloured the paper yellow to make it a gender neutral card.  The sentiment (what a perfect match) is from Baby Tags.

In answer to a recent question, I layer everything up in Word before printing, rather than printing the paper then printing the stamps on top.  This means the background paper does not show through the stamp.  Hope this makes sense. :)

Have a happy weekend.  Hope you have some sunshine wherever you are.

Cotton Reels

These little cotton reels are so sweet.  They are from THIS Hero Arts digikit.  I printed, coloured with a Copic marker, then wrapped coloured thread around and around (and around) them... As I don't have any embroidery thread this took some time :)  But I like the end effect.  And it gave me something to do while the football was on. :) The patterned paper is from THIS yummy pad.  I'm entering this card into the Fun and Cute Challenge at Moxie Fab World.  (If that's not your style, they also have Clean and Graphic, Shabby and Vintage, AND Classy and Elegant challenges too. :)

Hope you are having a good day.

I've been creating ALL day.  Such FUN.

Miss You

You guys are so funny.  Quit my job???  Loved it.  Cut my hair... not for about 2 years...  Got my nose pierced... don't even have my ears done.  Tattoo.  Hmmmmm...

But, a few people DID guess correctly...

Yes,  I booked a flight to the USA for end of August.  I am SO excited.  Going to stay with a wonderful crafty friend and meet another friend too.  I am over the moon.

Although I went briefly to Seattle about 8 years ago, I've not been anywhere else in the US before.  And I'm going alone... for a big baby like me, this is a BIG step.  I don't go anywhere alone!!! :)

And I might add, I usually take about 6 weeks to make a small decision... new TV took about 2 months to research before purchase, buying a new computer could take up to a year... I don't DO snap decisions or whims.

But on this occasion, it took approximately 2 hours between being invited to go, to buying my airline ticket.  I think that shows you what GREAT friends I am going to see.  That's a new personal best. Seriously it took me longer to decide which brand of hair straighteners to buy.  Significantly longer. :)
So here is a card I made a few weeks ago.

The cute koala is from THIS chipbox set.  I just added a little tear with a drop of Glossy Accents.  The sentiment is Papertrey Ink from THIS set.
Day 1 of my holidays is going swimmingly.  I am already relaxed. :)

oh the joy...

...of having a garden.

Tonight I am out celebrating friends' birthdays, and I was able to pick and arrange bunches of flowers for them in pretty wrapping paper. This makes me so happy.

And last night I did something crazy but very very exciting.

A prize to the person who guesses correctly what mad but wonderful thing I have done.
Back tomorrow with a card!!!
Hooray.
P.S.  SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!!!!!!

Tired :(

... that's me.

Really really tired I mean.

School finishes tomorrow for the summer (yay) and until then, I am too tired to do anything.

So here are a couple of old cards you may or may not have seen, cos I am too tired to make anything new. :(

This is my all time favourite card - I identified it after reading THIS thread over on the HA Flickr site. 

And this from August last year.  I still really love these pink papers.

Sorry for the lame post...

Hope you are having a good week so far.

friendship

Having some fun today with a fab new digikit from Jen Martakis called 'Everyday Fun'.  LOVE the cloud paper.  And I thought the images and papers were the perfect match to some happy sentiments from the Hero Arts 'Friendship' digikit.  I mean how sweet is this sentiment???  I had to make it BIG. :) 

And isn't this sentiment elegant.

I really love mixed font stamps.  Something about them really draws the eye.

Have a happy happy weekend.

A Card for Grace

I finally mailed my card for Grace today.  If you've not seen the card drive Jennifer McGuire has been doing, click HERE to check it out.  Little Grace has just lost her twin sister to cancer and Jennifer is collecting cards for her.

I also sent cards out to all the other sick kids Jennifer is collecting for.  These included:

THIS card for Kate. 

THESE cards for Meg, Kylie and Aria.

THESE for Emily and Emily.

Click HERE for details on where to send cards for these wonderful kids.
And finally today - just wanted to share a tiny bit of my other great love...
Just read these two books.

'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society' is funny, clever and has TOTALLY made me want to write a novel.

'The Bone People' is incredibly sad and stunningly written.

Would LOVE your book recommendations if you have any...

a cherry on top!

I've got a video and card over on the Hero Arts Blog today.  Tami asked me to create a food themed card - I don't make many of them so it was a nice challenge.
I used an image from THIS super cute digikit, and added my own typed sentiment.

And here's the video:

Happy Wednesday.

That was Yesterday

So today Michelle Underwood releases a new kit, That Was Yesterday.  Love this little Memo page, and the gorgeous blue patterned paper.  I decided to combine it with some Hero Arts digi stuff to make a little thank you notecard.  The swirls and bird are both from Whimsy, a gorgeous HA digikit.  And the sentiment is from THIS kit.  Such a useful kit for cardmakers.  This sentiment is my favourite from the kit - love that font.

Happy Tuesday to you all.  
And thanks for the lovely comments yesterday. x

Have a Great Day

Just a quick card today.

I used THIS yummy new grid paper by Jen Martakis, and THIS cute flower stamp by Hero Arts.  The sentiment is from THIS set.    LOVE me my Papertrey buttons - I just added some of THESE gems. :)  Oh and the ribbon is American Crafts.

Have a great day.
P.S.  Just hit 500 followers!  Hooray.  So excited.
Keep watching - giveaway to follow soon.

You're Sweet card set

How adorable are these little guys...

They are from THIS set from My Cute Stamps.  I kept the design really simple to make the stamps the focus.  They are just so sweet. :)  Finished cards are about 3" tall.

I stamped the images on some scraps of patterned paper - love using up scraps this way.  I am not a great colourer so paper piecing is perfect for me.

And goggly eyes are one of my favourite embellishments. :)

The therapy has begun...

You're Sew Special

Gosh what a nightmarish week.  So glad it's finally over...
Anyway...
Just sharing this simple hybrid card I made using Hero Arts' Sew Crafty digikit and more patterned paper from THIS kit.

Have a great weekend. I plan on doing LOTS of crafty stuff.  Need. My. Therapy.
xx

Lucy's Cards - Challenge 12 and Challenge 11 winners!

It's time for a new challenge.

OK, so I have too many buttons.  Anyone else a button hoarder?

So, create a card using buttons.

Link me to your blog post or photo using the inlinkz tool below.  Remember to link directly to the card.
Challenge closes: Friday 23rd July.

And the wonderful winners of Challenge 11:

1. Lynn 

2.  Stef

3.  Lin
Loved seeing all the beautiful birdies.  Thanks so much for entering everyone.

Purrrrfect Husband

Today is my lovely husband's birthday.

I made him this card because he loves cats. :)

The cat is from THIS cute set by Basic Grey.  The blue polka paper is from THIS digikit by Pink Petticoat.  All the colours of polka paper you could EVER want.

Happy Birthday Andy - I love you. xxxxx

so sweet

It's time for a new Caardvarks Challenge, and the sponsor this time is My Favorite Things.  They sent us some cute stamps to play with, and I had some fun with THIS sweet little girl.  I don't normally use people images, but this one is adorable.  LOVE that her lolly is almost as big as her face.  I want one. :)

So I decided to make some shaped cards for a change - it's been AGES.  I used my yummy scallop Nestabilities that a dear friend gave me, cut two, scored one and adhered on the back to create the fold.  Love this technique.

On this one, I paper pieced her dress and shoes using some of THIS yummy dotty paper from Papertrey Ink.  I added Glossy Accents and loads of Doodlebug Sugar Coating Glitter to the lollipop.

And on this one, I decided to a bit of colouring.  I am TERRIBLE at colouring people (I failed Art at school you know...) so I stamped her onto some Hero Arts Eggshell Layering Paper and added a few coloured elements.  I love THIS patterned paper... 

Hope you can enter the challenge - click HERE for all the details and to see the prize!!!!

simple butterfly thank you

Today I made this simple Thank You card using a stunning butterfly image and grid paper from THIS new digikit by Shimelle Laine.  I adore it.  The sentiment is from THIS HA digikit.  

I hope you have had as restful and productive a Sunday as me. 
Enjoy the rest of the day.

Butterfly Friday

I made this card using the new Lily Bee Lovely Collection. I adore these papers... And THIS little set from Hero Arts is still one of my favourites. The butterfly die is THIS one.  Love it.  And the buttons are real vintage French buttons. (Thanks mum). :)

And of course I had to make a card with the left over die cut butterfly. :)

Hope you have had a good Friday - I am VERY thankful it is the weekend...
Have a good one.