'Nuther blog candy!

Lorraine of Simon Says Stamp, has created a new challenge blog
called Simon Says Challenge.
To start the ball rolling, is offering two stamp sets from the Simon Says Stamp store!!!
(You don't have to have Simon Says Stamps to play along).
The usual rules apply. Post a comment, link to your blog and if you become a follower, you get a second go. So get on over there and throw another of your hats in the ring! ;0)

Now for something completely different.....

I made this card this morning for a dear friend and her Hubby.
(Shan't name her, just in case she can see my blog).
I'm really pleased with it on two counts.
One, it turned out as I'd imagined for once and two, I reckon that's the best bloomin' photo I've ever taken!!! LOL

What do you reckon?

It's all Bazzil card. SU ribbon. Rose stamp is by Anita's and the Happy Anniversary stamp is by Stampendous. The roses are coloured with Copics.

I'm off to Derby tomorrow with Pam for the day, to meet up with some of our lovely friends for a SU party!! Whoo Hoo!! Can't wait! I'll be ordering everything in sight if I'm not bound and gagged!! LOL

Thanks for visiting and I look forward to 'seeing' you again soon. Viv xxx

Blog Candy!

Gina from the Card Kabin is offering this scrummy candy.

It ends on the 31st so you've got time to mosey on over and throw your hat in the ring.

She's also tagged me to show the 4th photo in my 4th file.

This is my youngest Grandson Oscar at BJ & Claire's wedding in January.

Isn't he gorgeous!

Well I'm in the process of sorting out my craft room now I've aquired a filing cabinet.

Got it for £15 from the local recycling centre...(Council tip). LOL!

It's in perfect condition and I assumed I could fit all me craft room in it............nah.

Hardly made a dent. SO, time for a radical craftectomy!

I've filled two bin bags already with rubbish I've kept over the years,

saying 'that'll come handy for something one day'. *Rolls eyes*.

Some of the rubbish is so cringeworthy I couldn't get it in the bin bag quick enough!

But OMG!! it's shown me how much stuff I DO have and I will HAVE to stop buying DP!

(Well, maybe the odd sheet of SU). I can't MOVE for it!

I've got hundreds of punches I don't use but at the time, thought I HAD to have.

I reckon an Ebay day is called for.

I can't get to my table for rubbish and it's driving me daft. Wanna make cards, but can't with all this to sort. You shouldv'e seen the space I had to make my SAS sample!! 4 square inches!!

Well I reckon I've bored you all enough, so I'd better get back to sorting this room out......

Viv xxx

A new Thursday, a new challenge!

Here's the sketch for this week's Stamps and Smiles Thursday challenge. The very talented Mercy Kerin designs the sketches. Aren't they gorgeous!



To play along, all you have to do is, post your sample to your blog or gallery and include a link in the Mr. Linky on the SAS blog so we can easily find you.
There is no time limit to any of the challenges and you don't have to use Stamps and Smiles stamps to take part. If you upload to SCS, please include “SASSC8” in the keywords.

Take part in our challenge and you will be in with a chance to win some scrummy ribbon!!!

The lucky winner will be announced next Thursday, 2nd April.



I've used 'Cuppy Love' (my favourite), with my Nestabilities Labels #1.
Basic Grey Bittersweet DP on a white linen card. In fact, It's ALL Bittersweet.
I used Copics to colour Cuppy.

Please go along to the other DT member's blogs for a peek at their gorgeous creations.

Jennifer Meyer (Owner)
Cindy Haffner
Lori Boyd
Mercy Kerin
Pam Varnell
Suzy Tyler
Julie Lacey
Crystal Birr

Don't forget the super sale on over at the Stamps and Smiles Store!
15% off all Easter stamps until 12th April.
(The p&p is a great deal too)!

Remember to use code SAS09VH when you place your order to get your discount.

Have a wonderful weekend.....it's nearly here! LOL

XXXX

Loads of good stuff today!!!

First of all, Stamps and Smiles is offering a 15% discount on all the Easter stamp sets until Easter Sunday!! (4th April). Whoo Hoo!! to get the discount, you need to apply this code when you order.... SAS09VH.

Go grab a bargain quick!

Next! Jennifer is offering loads of blog candy to celebrate her 200.000 hits!

There are four ways to win the candy! Hop on over to her stunning blog for all the details.

Good Luck!

Lastly, I've made another card using Thursday's SAS sketch.

(I wanted to use this gorgeous Bashful Blue SU DP).

I LOVE Mamma Bunny to bits and think she looks really cool in her blue polka dot 'skirt' and matching blouse.

I've used Stickles 'Star Dust' for the frosting and on Baby's bob-tail.

Isn't he sweet in his blue fur too!

(This could be used for a baby's 1st birthday couldn't it)?

Recipe:

Copic markers

SU Designer series paper in Bashful Blue
SU Wide grosgrain ribbon

Brown Kraft card

Round Nestabilities

Swirls made by EK Success punch.

Have a great week everyone!!

XXXX

Stamps and Smiles Thursday challenge (SASSC7)

Hi everyone!
It's Stamps and Smiles Thursday challenge time . My how this week has flown!
I hope you will join in with this week' wicked challenge.
There's a NEW sketch Every Thursday. To play along, all you have to do is, post your sample to your blog or gallery and include a link in the Mr. Linky on the SAS blog so we can easily find you. There is no time limit to any of the challenges.
If you upload to SCS, please include “SASSC7” in the keywords.

Here's my card.


I've swapped the orientation a bit as you can see.
Please go along to the SAS blog and see what the other 'Fresh Batch' DT members have produced for you. They are amazing as usual!!
Jennifer Meyer (Owner)
Cindy Haffner
Lori Boyd
Mercy Kerin
Pam Varnell
Suzy Tyler
Julie Lacey
Crystal Birr
Recipe:
Stamps and Smiles 'Eggs-tra-Special'
Copic markers
Basic Grey 'Bittersweet' DP
Bazzil CS
Prima flowersGlossy Accents for 'wet paint'.
(Mamma Bunny's dress is actually pinky purple, but I can't get my camera to tell the truth)!

Thanks for stopping by.

One card, two challenges and a birthday or two

Did this to combine two challenges.

The OCC challenge to use only 3 layers.
(Didn't realise how hard that is for me)!!
And Stamp Something's, Something Green.



Recipe.....
SU DP
Anita's red and white grosgrain ribbon
Nestabilities Circles
Miss Anya stamp
Copic markers

This is for my D-i-L for her birthday on Thursday.
(Got my grandson's to do now)!! Arghh!

Thanks for stopping by. Please leave a comment, you know I luv 'em. Viv xx

Blog candy winner!!

After counting all the entries about 20 times, to make sure I'd got it right, I ended up with 141 actual entries out the 156.

There were quite a few double-ups which I removed.

Also, a couple of entries after the deadline that I had, in fairness, to dis-allow

and my best pal Pam''s entry, 'coz as she said, she gets to use all my stuff anyway and didn't want to be counted.

Using random.org, I got the winner ...... Stamp-N-Ink-Lady. Congratulations!

Please e-mail me with your address and I'll get the candy sent off to you. ;0)

I think I've been fair to everyone and can't thank all of you enough for taking part and helping me celebrate my first year of blogging.

I hope you'll come back and visit me often. Viv xxx

Blog candy deadline and Copic challenge card!!!!!

Today is your last chance to be entered for my blogaversary candy.
It will end at midnight (by my clock on my sidebar).
I will sort out all the entries tomorrow and will post the winner,
(chosen by random.org) on Monday.

Good luck to all who have entered.
.....................................................

Here's a card I made today for the Copics Colour Challenge......



This is only my third Copic card, so please be gentle with me.....

The colours were Y08, V06 and BG13..OR, the nearest you have to those colours.
I have Y08, but had to use V04, BG10 and BG15 instead.
The gorgeous image is from the trio 'Miss Anya' made by The Greeting Farm.
I bought them/it here.
Prima flowers and Quickutz flourish. Brads from my stash.
CS is Bazzil and the DP is from a huge 200 12"x12" pad from QVC,
called 'Brenda Pinnick signature series'.
The little metal sentiment is by Lakeland.

Please leave a comment to let me know what you think. Viv xxx

SAS Thursday Challenge!

Whoo Hoo! It's Thursday and that means..........
Stamps and Smiles Challenge #6.

Here's this week's sketch for you to play with.
(There's no time limit to any of the sketches).

I just LOVE these pretty sketches, don't you?
Please join in and when you've created your card, put a link to it on Stamps and Smiles.

Here's my card.

This card was made using the 'Cuppy Love' set.
See all the SAS sets at the Stamps and Smiles store.

I turned the sketch on it's side and coloured Cuppy with Copics.
She's SO easy to colour!
I shined her ribbon with Glossy accents.
The flowers are Papermania, with a dot of Liquid Pearls in 'Ruby Red' in the centre.
The leaves/branches are from my Leone Em punch. The spotted pink DP is SU. The background paper is one from my stash of ones I collect on my rounds of craft shops.
The larger dots are sparkly but you can't tell in this photo.
(I'm not brilliant at photography as you may have gathered). LOL
The 'I love you' sentiment is from this set too.
........................

Using the same sketch, I made this for my Brother -in-Law as it is his birthday today.

Happy birthday Edward!!!

Image stamped from the SU 'Lovely as a tree' set.

The papers are SU Retired DP 'Certainly Celery' on a CS of bashful blue.

I matted the SU 'circle of friendship' stamp on black card, punched out with a flower punch, as I seem to have lost my smallest scalloped Nestie! Oooh Nooo!

The 'family' sentiment is one of a boxed set of six by Hero Arts called 'Word Borders'.

The little arrow and the round green brads are from my stash.

Don't forget to visit Stamps and Smiles for further details and to see the other Sketch Team member's fabulous creations.

The 'Fresh Batch' Sketch Team...
Jennifer Meyer (Owner)
Cindy Haffner
Lori Boyd
Mercy Kerin
Pam Varnell
Suzy Tyler
Julie Lacey

Crystal Birr

Thanks for dropping in. Feel free to leave me a comment.

I'd love to know what you think. ;0)

XXXX

What a great day?

I had Pam, Jackie, Sandra, Diane (Dizzy) and Pauline (Not got a blog yet), over for a fun day yesterday!
Boy did we have a great day!
Harvey thought it was Christmas with all his admirers here. LOL

It started off with the obligatory and now customary bacon butties.
(sandwiches)and a mug of tea/coffee.
Then, the also obligatory, visit to the craft shop!

Pam and I had pre-ordered the Quickutz Squeeze with alphabet and had to pick them up at the Poynton shop we habituate. (They were £20 bar a penny)! What a bargain!!!
They included two wallets to house the alphabet dies and spare shims and foam squares.
We would have gone to our favourite one in Congleton otherwise.
(We'll take them next time).

Well when we got back, it was lunchtime, so we had quiche that Jackie brought and cake that Di brought.
A bit different from the usual lunch, but we were still a bit stuffed from the bacon butties.

Now it was crafting time!!!....only my shoulder was playing up so much, I couldn't settle to anything, so just enjoyed myself wandering between rooms watching what everyone was doing.
I think Sandra and Jackie managed to complete a card, but we were gass bagging and laughing too much to get a lot done. There was a lot of stamping of images too.

Then Pam had to go and pick her daughter up from work, take her home and come back in time for tea. (No mean feat as it was a long journey over the Pennines).
Still, she did it and we had a fantastic curry that was cooked by my dear hubby.
(He cooks all our scrummy Chinese meals and that's why I look like a beached whale now)! I can't say no!! Then trifle that I'd made and a stawberry terrine made by Pauline. I LOVE that terrine.

More laughs and mess making, then all too soon it was time to wave Bye Bye to the gang.
Never mind...it won't be long before we all meet up at another's house for more of the same. ;0)

Back soon! Viv xx

Anniversary card

This was for friends Linda & John who live in Spain.

(I'm not jealous...I'm NOT)....OK I am.

It was their anniversary on 4th March,

but as she was coming back over to England for a quick visit until yesterday,

I couldn't show it until now.

The white card is made up of SU DP. Nestability 'Labels 2', Bazzil CS and Prima flowers.

Sticky backed pearls and some white organza ribbon. The branches were punched out with a Leone Em punch.

Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your visit. Viv xx

A Precious Moment..............card 2

I LOVE this set of Precious Moments stamps. It was featured as a TSV on QVC last year and my dear friend Issy, got it. She's kindly lent me her set as try as I might, I can't find it anywhere now. (Yep, I didn't see it on QVC). *groan*.

Ah well, I've stamped enough images from Issy's set to last me a lifetime, so it's not the end of the world by any means. I used SU's paper, 'Tea and Crumpets' and CS in Bashful Blue and Pumpkin Pie. Coloured in Copics and sponged the image with Tim Holtz 'Faded Jeans'. Ribbon is one of three reels I got at the Make It show at Farnborough last Autumn. One green, one red, one tangerine. I stamped the sentiment with a Memento dewdrop... Tangelo.

Thanks for dropping in. Please leave a comment, it makes my day. Viv xx

How awful!!!

Sonia lost her blog last Friday!!! She 's started again thank Heavens, but can you imagine losing everything you've blogged for 2 years with the click of a button!!!
I DO feel for her. Please nip over to her blog and wish her well. Her new blog is lovely and deserves to be seen. Thanks my kind friends. Viv xx

This is my first.......

......Copic card!!

I took the plunge and bought the 72 set A.
This is the my first card with them.
I have a lot to learn but have got the confidence to carry on now.

Thanks for dropping in.

Please let me have your opinion on my Copic debut. Viv xx

Stamps and Smiles Thursday Challenge!

Hi girls! Today is the start of Stamps and Smiles Thursday challenges!
I'm honoured and delighted to have been asked to be a part of this fantastic team.

The Design Team........

Jennifer Meyer (Owner)
Cindy Haffner
Lori Boyd
Mercy Kerin
Pam Varnell
Suzy Tyler
Julie Lacey
Crystal Birr

Well I hope you're all fired up and ready to play along!
For full details please pop on over to the fantastic Stamps and Smiles blog, where you can see all the DT 's beautiful cards and get bags of inspiration.

Here's the first Thursday Challenge sketch, designed by the one and only Mercy Kerin......

This is my take on the sketch.

I matted Bazzil Basics CS onto white linen card.
The patterned paper is one I picked up on my travels.
I have no idea where I got from.
(Possibly Hobby Horse in Derby). Not sure though.
I used a scrap of SU that was as near as damn is to swearing to the patterned paper and stamped it with a clear scroll stamp by Rhonna Farrer.
Satin ribbon from my stash with the little flowers from my Leone Em punch.
The sentiment is another mystery 'coz there's no name on it! I inked it with Adirondak 'Cranberry'.

Don't forget to hop on over to the Stamps and Smiles blog to see all the beautiful cards from the other DT members.

xxxx

My Blogaversary! Now closed.

My how time flies! On Friday 13th, It'll be 1 year since I took the plunge and joined the blogging community.
Pam and I had been tossing the idea around for a while, but she went and did first. Well, there's no show without Punch, so I followed quickly on her heels. LOL
To celebrate my first year as a blogger, I've got together some candy.

There is..... Red gems, Basic Grey 'Sugared' paper pad, Papermania clear stamps, a pad for either paper pricking or for using as a cushion for stamping, a packet of charms and a 20 yard reel of Beresford's dusky pink ribbon.


You don't have to jump through hoops to be in with a chance of winning it.
Just mention it on your blog and link back here with a comment to let me know. Eezy peezy. I'll keep it going for 11 days. It will be drawn on Saturday 14th. (That's a day over as Friday the 13th isn't an option)!!!!

Thanks for dropping by. Viv xxx