I'm distressed!

 Well my card is! LOL (The edges that is).

I've coloured this CUTE image from The Fairy Princess at  Prairie Fairy. It's for the latest challenge..'Distressed' over at the Prairy Fairie's Friday Challenge blog.
It's called, 'Bunny Love', but to me, it's the spitting  image of my dog Harvey!
Anyone who knows Harvey, will relate to this immediately. OK, it's supposed to be a bunny, but it's too cute to be saved for Easter, so for me, it's a gorgeous little puppy. I coloured 'Harvey' with my Copics and mounted 'him' on a circle Nestie that I inked around the edge with Tim Holtz distress ink, 'Tea Dye'.
I did the same with the flower I made out of an old newspaper. I DO love this puppy rabbit! LOL

Thanks for calling by
Viv xxx

Cards For Men Challenge #9

 Hi everyone! We have a real treat for you this week. Our challenge at Cards For Men is...'Monochrome',
and our sponsor is none other than our glorious leader...Donna, of... Donna's Den of Crafts.

Here is what Donna has to say about her company........

'At Donna's Den of Crafts we stock a wide range of products from Dovecraft, DCWV, Spellbinders, Crafter's Companion, Crafting with Stephanie, Joanna Sheen and so on.  We are a small home-run business and pride ourselves on customer service.  We have a fixed P&P of £1.00 regardless of the size of order.  Most orders are sent out within 24 hours of payment subject to stock levels'.

 I did two cards and couldn't make my mind up which one to forward to Donna as THE card. I eventually chose THIS one....

This is the one I did originally............................

(I seem to have a bit of a brown thing going on at the moment).

I hope you like the cards and they inspire you to play along with us at Cards For Men.

 The challenge will run from 26th April to 9th May. The prize will be a £10 gift voucher to use at Donna's Den of Crafts and there will also be a 10% discount voucher valid for the term of the challenge. The code for this is CFM0410. Please stop by the CFM blog and look at the fabulous samples from the other amazing DT members.You won't be disappointed. I promise you.

Good luck and I hope to 'see' you soon.

 Thanks for calling by
Viv xxx

21st Birthday

Just a quickie tonight.
I made this for my eldest son's fiance. She will be 21 tomorrow.
All the elements are pretty obvious, so won't bore you with ALL the details. Oh, OK, I will. LOL
The poppy is part of a stamp set by Papermania. The set was produced with Rememberence Sunday in mind. £1 from every set sold, was donated to the Poppy Appeal.
The sentiment was done on the PC and the ribbon was off Ebay.
The embossing was courtesy of a Sizzex embossing plate and Spellbinders Labels 4 provided the frame.
Coloured with ......YEP! You guessed it! Copics. 

Off to bed now 'coz my arm's hurting too much to concentrate.
Thanks for calling by
Viv xxx

We'll gather lilacs.....

 Well Ok, a lilac birdy. (I can't get enough of this little creature)!!! 

Today is the start of Challenge #27 and we have a colour palette and inspirational pictures to work from.................

 Here's my interpretation...............

He's been a Bluebird and a Sparrow and now he's been morphed into a Lilac bird. He's such a joyful happy little guy, you can't help smiling at him. He's from the adorable PK-267, 'Happy Bird and phrases'. Available in the Peachy Keen store. (There's a great offer on too..LOOK HERE)!

He's a good size too in this set. He measures approx. 7cm x 6cm,  in inches that's 2 3/8 x 2 1/2. 

The DP is by Papermania and is from the Capsule collection. The 'grass' is courtesy of Martha Stewart as is the 'trellis fence'.  The sentiment is part of this PK set. Flowers, butterfly and brads are from my stash.

Please hurry on over to the Peachy Keen blog and join in with us. You can get tons of inspriation from my fabulously talented DT members and there's always a fab prize on offer to the lucky winner.

I hope you like my lilac 'Bluebird'. I look forward to seeing your creations, should you play along with us. You will, won't you. You know you want to.*Grin*

Thanks for calling by

Viv xxx

Copic Colour Challenge meets The Fairy Fun Friday Challenge, Lili Of The Valley and exciting news!!!

Firstly, my exciting news!!!.......... I've been chosen as a DT member for the Fairy Fun Fridays Challenge blog! I'm SO pleased and can't WAIT to get started along with the other uber talented DT members.
Bring it on!!!

Now for this card......I made this with the  Fairy Fun Friday Challenge in mind and coincidentally, coloured him in the almost exact same colours needed for the  Copic Colour Challenge #60. I love it when I have a happy accident. Don't you? Isn't this stamp gorgeous!! It's by Lili of the Valley and called 'Lazy Afternoon'.
I don't have Y23. I coloured his hair with Y28. I did use the other two colours though. (You don't have to have an exact match. Just the nearest thing). It's also eligble for the Lili of the Valley blog challenge.
The 'sky' is sponged with SU's Bashful Blue and the DP is from DCWV.. 'Nana's Nursery'.
The ribbon is also SU. The sentiment I stamped in the image frame is from a set called 'Ticketed' by Stampology. I just used one of the sentiments without the actual ticket stamp.
I produced the bottom myself off the PC and attached it with eyelets and twine.
I'm a bit chuffed with this one and it is going to my grandson for his birthday next month.

Thanks for calling by
Viv xxx

It's very Krafty!

Hya y lovely blogging pals. I'm having a break from colouring today. No particular reason, just the way things worked out with this card.
There's three firsts on this card. First time I used that Cuttlebug embossing folder, first time I used that gorgeous stamp and first time I used that particular Martha Stewart border punch! 

The card is 7" x 5".
The stamp is part of a pretty little set by Making Memories called 'Autumn Splendour'. 
(Thank you Lorie)!I stamped the image with Memento  Rich Cocoa. The swirls are from a Quickcutz die.
All I started with was the stamp set on my REALLY untidy desk, a scrap of brown card and it just evolved from that. I quite like it when a card makes itself! LOL

I MUST knuckle down and tidy this craft room! It looks like an explosion in a paper factory!!! Doh!!

Thanks for stopping by today and for all your lovely messages and cards of support. You'll never know how much it means to me.
Viv xxx

Bluebird or Sparrow?

Which is your favourite? In not so sunny Macclesfield, there's a distinct shortage of Bluebirds, but a veritable GLUT of Sparrows! They are quite cute though so I don't mind. It's still fascinating to watch them dive onto the fat balls and seeds on the doodad in the garden.
Well,  I've just got my latest Peachy Keen stamps and fabulous they are too! I couldn't WAIT for these to arrive and play with them. OK, it's meant to be a bluebird, but I wanted a sparrow too,  (in honour of the Macclesfield avian residents). LOL

This little Fella is from the set PK-267 Happy Bird and Phrases.

And my gorgeous Macclesfield Sparrow from the set....................... PK-268 Happy Mother's Day.

Here's a close-up of one of the circle stamps. Isn't it pretty! It fits perfectly with the Nestie circles.

  Whether you love Bluebirds or Sparrows, I'm sure you'll love these fabulous sets from Peachy Keen!
(There's a promotion on too. Check it out HERE)!

Oh how great it is to be back creating properly again. I LOVE it!
Thanks for calling by
Viv xxx

Prairie Fairy Challenge #14

Whilst visiting the Prairie Fairy's Friday Challenges blog today, I saw this lovely picture used for their latest challenge.

I'd set my mind to making a side-step card today and thought these colours would be just the ticket. Roberta  is also having a DT call  HERE and I'm answering the call with this card..............

 The gorgeous fairy is a freebie to be used for your DT entry. Isn't she a cutie. She was a delight to colour.
Coloured with Copics and wings all sparkly with Glamour Dust. The sentimet on the side is a stamp by Penny Black and the greeting in the punched circle is a clear stamp by Papermania. The DP is from a set called Autumn Splendour, by Making Memories which I got as part of an amazing RAK from my lovely friend Lorie. Thank you Lorie.The cute little quilled flower was also included and is also from Making Memories, called  'Quillettes'. Really pretty they are too.
The 'grass' is made with a MS punch. This is my very first side step card and I think I might just make some more now.
Thanks for calling by
Viv xxx

Cards For Men is folding!!!

Ha Ha!  Gotcha. It's the challenge for this week. FANCY FOLDS and our sponsor at Cards For Men is Heather of Fresh Brewed Designs.    Her cute designs are a sure fire winner, no matter what occasion your project is for.
So, for this week's challenge, we'd like you to create a project using anything but the usual basic bi-fold.
Simple and it makes a change, doesn't it! Not forgetting that it's for a man/boy.

I used the image 'Lazy Day Buggy'.

 Oh how I wish it was nice and sunny like that here!

Here's a view of the card opened

 This fold is called a 'Tri-fold'. I got shown how to do this by my friends at a crafting day.

The ticket stamp is part of a fantastic set by Autumn Leaves.

We'd love it if you play along, so please have a wander over to Cards For Men and spy the other DT member's fab cards and get all the details. The prize is a $10 voucher against any Fresh Brewed images.

Good luck!

Thanks for calling by
Viv xxx

Peachy keen challenge #26

Ha! With all that's been happening to me last week, I totally forgot to do my Peachy Keen challenge card!!
Can't have that, can we! There was no way I was going to let Kathy and Angelica down, just 'coz of surgery.
They have been so good to me, it wasn't an option. (For two pins, I'd've sneaked some stuff into hospital and done it, only I wasn't in long enough). LOL

(I'm still quite restricted at the moment, so please forgive me not having made the best of samples).

The challenge this week is...........

• Stitching (either by sewing needle or hand-drawn)
• White and Orange (card could have more colors, but must include these two in the card)
• Contain one upcycled item (something that could be thrown away but instead will make its way onto your work of art!)
• Any Peachy Keen Stamp

 As I'm not able to raunge with my Sew-mini at the moment, I chose to do faux stitching. The 'thread' is done with a Sakura gelly roll pen. My cute little chick/birdie and sentiment, is from the Peachy Keen set  PK-266 'Duck Dolls'.     There are 16 stamps in this set!!! WOW!
The re-cycled item is the flowers along the edge of the circle. They were made with scraps left over from cutting the card to 5"x7" from a metric A4. They would normally be launched into the bin.
The DP is from SU and I LOVE it. Now, run on over to the Peachy Keen blog and join in with the challenge.

One lucky winner will receive THIS gorgeous stamp set .......

Isn't it CUTE!!!! 

(While you're over there, check out the other samples made by my fabbadabboulus DT buddies. Brilliant)!! Good luck!!

 Thanks for calling by

Viv xxx

Time to 'fess up!

Didn't know whether to go public with my news, but then I thought, 'why not', it may just help someone.

Noticed  that I haven't posted much lately? There's a good reason my lovely blogging friends.
Last Thursday, I underwent surgery for breast cancer.

When I got a recall letter from my latest mammogram, I wasn't too concerned as I had been recalled before, with nothing coming of it. That didn't happen this time. Funnily enough, I was half expecting it. Dunno why, just did.

Within two weeks I'd been seen by the surgeon and the Macmillam breast care nurses, told my options and waited for Thursday 25th March. I came home on Saturday and was strapped up and trussed up. (Still am for now). Alan, my hubby has looked after me brilliantly bless him.

This week wasn't the best I'd ever had, but it was nowhere near as bad as my imagination thought it was going to be. I have to sleep propped up on my back for now, but that's about the only inconvenience I have, apart from not being able to drive yet. (Even managed to take Harvey for a short walk with alan keeping guard in case it got too much. I was fine. I'm sore, but can put up with the painful 'bits'  for now. It will pass, so no need to dwell on it.

I'm lucky. I went for my mammograms. Please go when it's your turn. It's so much easier to deal with and the prognosis is really good. 

So there you have it. The reason for my lack of posts. I haven't, obviously, been able to play for a while, but today I feel good and wanted to get into my craftroom and make a card. It's taken me nearly all day, but I did it. I saw this image over at the wonderful 'Whimsie Doodles' blog and had to buy her. The papers are from Pink Petticoat.

Some of you already know what's been happening and I have been overwhelmed with the wonderful kindness and support, cards flowers and gifts from my fabulous friends both home and abroad. You are second to none!

I shall leave it there now that I've explained. Don't want to depress everyone, do I! Ha Ha.
At least you know why I haven't been visiting lately too and if you want to talk, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Thanks for calling by
Viv xxx