A gem of a challenge card!!!

Hiya Everyone,

Massive apologies for not blogging recently but I have been very busy with a new project that I will be able to share with you soon that is soooo exciting!!! I still have been crafting and am in the middle of some Joanna Sheen and La Pashe samples too but it doesn't leave me a lot of time to write on my own blog, never mind visting any of yours! :(

This card is my GDT card for A gem of a challenge. The theme this month is "cold and frosty" and you can find all the info here. I have used a cute digi of winter Philip which you can find here at Pink Gem Designs. I have coloured him in with my promarkers and added a little glamour dust to the snow. The papers are from the fab Summer Driggs freebie kit "Winter wonderland" which you download for yourself here. Check out all her designs which are equally fab!!!

I have added some silver frosty mirror card which works really well with the theme here although it is quite difficult to photograph. The snowflakes are from an x-cut punch which I'm sure is faulty as it sticks every single time I use it which is dead annoying. The icicle border is a marianne designs one which I think is really fab! The setiment is also from Pink Gem and is from a A7 rubber stamp sheet and is available here.

I will enter this card into the following challenges:-

Christmas inspirations - Die cuts/punches
Lollipop crafts - Embellishment it (use at least 3 embellishments)
Critter challenge - Patterned paper
Make it monday - Always anything goes
OLLCB - Let it snow
Scrap creations - Use digi image and paper
Party time tuesdays - Anything goes
Crafts and me - Winter blues (use blue on your project)
Paper pretties - Embellish it
Paper shelter - Anything goes
Simon says stamp - Anything goes
Art impressions - Card for a young boy
Crafty purple frog - Sparkle
Chrimbo crackers - Anything goes
Digi doodles - Anything goes
Hanna and friends - Glitter
Moving along with the times - No girls allowed
Southern girls - Stripes and polka dots
Crafty ribbons - Bingo (handmade embellishments/ribbon/gems)

Thanks for looking!!!

Paula. x

My ribbon giveaway - Winner!!!

Hiya everyone,

It's been a very mixed week this week. I'm still upset at losing little Dodger but we did everything we could for him and he won't be suffering any more so I am thankful for that. I got out 4 pouches out yesterday and had to put one back which was a little sad! :(

I have had some really good news too but I've got to keep it under my hat at the moment but I sure you will agree that it's VERY exciting!!! (at least you will when you know! Lol)

Anyway, back to matter at hand - the winner drawn by random.org for the lot of xmas ribbon is KBrandy4 AKA Hazel from Hazel's handmade crafts!!!

If you e-mail me hun, I will post them out as soon as I can!!!

Thanks for looking!!!

Paula. x

Halloween sale!!!

Hiya Everyone,

It really has been one of those weeks this week so I'm glad it's the weekend already.

This is just a quick post as I wanted to let you know that with it being just over a week to Halloween, Pink Gem Designs have a fab offer on at the moment with up to 50% OFF HALLOWEEN PRODUCTS. You can click HERE to shop.

Thanks for looking!!!

Paula. x

My poor cat :( - R.I.P. Dodger

Hiya Everyone,

Apologies for not blogging for a few days but I've been dead busy since being back at work.

We had some bad news today as our cat Dodger has been having a re-occuring problem with his bladder so we took him to the vet first thing this morning and they were going to catheterise him (again) to empty his bladder but my hubby got a call about an hour after we dropped him off to say that his bladder had burst while he was under and that it would be best to put him to sleep which they did.

I am so upset. We still have 3 cats but we will always have a Dodger shaped hole in our lives. We named him Dodger as we took him in as a stray as someone knocked on our door a few years ago asking if he was our cat. We took him in as they didn't live in the area and we spent a few weeks trying to find his owners. He wasn't chipped and after notices in the local newspaper didn't work we decided to keep him as he was a little cutie and got along really well with our other 4 cats! He was named Dodger by my hubby as he was a homeless street urchin Lol. Unfortunately, we lost Dylan a while ago in a car accident so 5 became 4 and now 4 become 3.

The piccie above is one we took on my hubbys I-phone when we took him in when we were trying to locate his owners. We had him for about 3 years and he will be sorely missed.

Thanks for looking!!!

Paula. x

Freebie giveaway!!!!!!!!!

Hiya Everyone,

I have been having a bit of a clearout and have found a load of patterned christmas ribbon so I thought I would do a draw for a lucky person. The ribbons are of various short(ish) lengths but there is a lot of it and would be great on cards but probably not much use on anything else.

To be in a chance of winning just make a comment on this post with a link/e-mail address/full name so I have some way of contacting you if you win. You do not have to become a follower unless you want to and you do not even have to have a blog.

I will draw a winner with the help of random.org on sunday evening 23rd October.

Thanks for looking!!!

Paula. x

New sketch for A gem of a challenge!!!

Hiya Everyone,

It's time for a new sketch challenge over at "A gem of a challenge". You can use any colour/theme/image as long as you follow the sketch.

I used the fab new Pink Gem Halloween Phoebe image that you can download here. It is supplied as a coloured or a black line image but I decided to use to use the coloured version as it matches the co-ordinating Pink Gem Halloween papers.

The Martha Stewart cobweb border punch I used here actually broke after I'd used it only a handful of times. I bought it about 6 months ago but only used it for the first time last week. I am getting a replacement but it is going to take 3-4 weeks so I won't get it till after Halloween - totally not impressed but at least I am getting a replacement!

The ticket sentiment was blank but I added "Boo!" to it in word. The flowers are from Wild orchid crafts.

Thanks for looking!!!

Paula. x

Today's the day!!! Winter SWALK launch!!!

Hiya Everyone,

I have my last Crafters Companion Winter SWALK sample to share with you today. I decided to go with a lovely autumnunal colours on this one and got to colour the hat and scarf in Harry Potter's Gryffindor colours!

Don't forget to tune in at 12 noon on create and craft TV to get your hands on the new Winter SWALK Collection that launches today. You will also be able to see all the samples that the fabulous Crafters Companion DT has been making.

I have coloured my "a hug is a perfect gift" image again with a combination of spectrum noirs and promarkers and the papers are off the fab co-ordinating papercrafting CD rom. I had a comment off a lady asking what "SWALK" is and it stands for "sealed with a loving kiss". I think the range was so called as when you make a handmade item you do so with love!

Thanks for looking!!!

Paula. x

Yet another Winter SWALK sneaky peek!!!

Hiya Everyone,

While I had a few spare minutes I thought I would share with you another of my Crafters Companion new Winter SWALK sample. This little cutie is called "cold hands, warm heart" and is one of my favourites. It is one of 12 new stamps that are being launched tomorrow on create and craft TV as part of a pick of the week along with a new co-ordinating papercrafting CD rom.

I have used a combination of my spectrum noir and my promarkers to colour my image. I'm afraid the silver holocard doesn't photograph very well but there's not a lot I can do about that!

I have one more Winter SWALK sample which I will share with you shortly while you all wait with eager anticipation for the live shows.

Thanks for looking!!!

Paula. x

More Winter SWALK sneak peeks!!!

Hiya Everyone,

It's not long now till the set of 12 new Crafters Companion Winter SWALK stamps and papercrafting CD will be launched on C&C.

This fabulous image I have used on this card is called "Happy Holidays" and I have used a combination of spectrum noir and my promarkers to colour this in as I'm still short of the lights and pastels in the spectrum noirs as they were so popular that they are out of stock till the end of november! The gorgeous lilac/purple papers are printed of the fab new CD again.

I have added a little glamour dust to the white fur on the middle coat, my fab Martha stewart heart border punch and used a few lilac heart gems but not too much extra stuff as I think that it's better for the image to stand out on a sample rather than too many accessories!

I have 2 SWALK samples left which I will schedule both for friday as I'm working unfortunately so I will miss the launch of them on the live shows! :(

Thanks for looking!!!

Paula. x

Another Winter SWALK sneaky peek!!!!!!

Hiys everyone,

I just wanted to thank everyone for all the lovely comments on my cards. I love to read each and every one and although I don't get a lot of spare time to keep up to date with what the rest is the world is making I am going to try harder to look at your blogs in return. It is difficult to find spare time with my now, very much walking (and into everything Lol), 10 month old baby girl Tayla, working full time and with all the DT samples I have to make. There really isn't enough hours in a day!

Anyhoo, this little cutie is another of the soon to be released new Crafters Companion winter SWALK stamps that will be launched on C&C as a POTW. The new range consists of 12 rubber stamps and a new papercrafting CD rom. I swear these SWALK images just get cuter and cuter!!!

The image I have used here is called "I love mince pies!" and is soooo cute! The papers are off the new co-ordinating CD rom too. I am assuming there will be a great value multibuy as normal!

There is still the opportunity to win the full set of the 12 new stamps and CD rom by joining the blog hop which will be drawn the morning of the launch. To start the blog hop click here.

Thanks for looking!!!

Paula. x

Crafters Companion SWALK sneaky peeks!!!

Hiya Everyone,

I have another Crafters Companion Winter SWALK sneaky peek to share with you this cold and wet monday morning. This new Winter SWALK stamp is part of a new range of 12 stamps and a new papercraft CD rom that is being launched on C&C as a POTW on Friday 14th Oct.

This stamp is called "let it snow" although I used my own sentiment stamp on this card for a change instead of the sentiment that came with the stamp. I added a little glamour dust to the snow although you can't really tell from the piccy.

My fellow Crafters Companion DT are also sharing their sneaky peeks on their blogs too so
don't forget to pay them a visit too!

Thanks for looking!!!

Paula. x

Crafers Companion Winter SWALK Blog Hop!!!!! :D

Hiya everyone,

Welcome to the Crafter’s Companion Blog Hop to celebrate the release of the SWALK Winter Cheer stamp range and papercrafting CD-ROM.

If you have landed here from Marianne's blog then you are hopping in the right direction. If not then you need to pop over to the Crafter’s Companion News blog to begin.

Me and the rest of the DT have had a great time creating with the new ranges from Crafter’s Companion and to celebrate the launch of these stunning new collections on Friday 14th October we have decided to give you a chance to see some Sneak Peeks and also have the chance of winning a fabulous Prize:-

All twelve new SWALK stamps and the co-ordinating papercrafting CD-ROM!

All you need to do to be in with a chance of winning this great prize is visit each blog in order and then go back to the Crafter’s Companion News Views and Inspiration Blog to leave your link on Mr Linky. Along the way you will notice that each Blog will give you a letter - make a note of these as they will make a word which we will ask you for if your number is drawn by Random.Org on the morning of Friday 14th.

My letter is: S

I am the last on list, so from here you need to go back to the Crafter’s Companion News Views and Inspiration Blog to leave your link on Mr linky!


PLEASE DO NOT TELL US WHAT THE WORD IS ON THE CRAFTER’S COMPANION NEWS VIEWS AND INSPIRATION BLOG, WE WILL E-MAIL YOU FOR THE ANSWER IF YOUR MR LINKY NUMBER IS DRAWN.

The sample I have to show you from the new SWALK range is using the "a hug is the perfect gift" image.

Thanks for looking!!!

Paula. x

New SWALK Sneak peeks!!!!!

Hiya Everyone,

As you may or may not know, I have returned to work which I was dreading but I have been pleasantly surprised as it doesn't feel like I've been away! I am so pleased to see Tayla when I get home though! We discovered today that she has a third tooth which is a surprise as she has just been her normal cheery self!

I am very excited to share with you a Crafters Companion sample that I have made with the new winter SWALK stamps and papers CD rom that are being launched next week as a pick of the week on Friday 14th October on creat and craft!

I decided to only colour my image using only my cool grey shades and used the colouriser feature on the new papers CD to make them greyscale. This is the first time I have done this but was really pleased with the way it turned out! This image is called "I love you snoooooooo much!" Isn't it gorgeous?!?

I have various SWALK samples to share with you in the run up to the launch so be sure to pop back every day till friday 14th!

I will enter this into the following challenges:-

Little claires - Black and white
Bird is the word - Share
Dream valley - Monochrome
Craft your passion - Anything goes with ribbons
Crafty cardmakers - Anything goes
Cupcake crafts - Black and white christmas
Make it monday - Always anything goes
Woodware - Anything goes
Papertake weekly - Anything goes
Ribbon carousel - Anything goes using anything off a spool (ribbon/twine etc)
Kelleys kids - Black and white
4 crafty chicks - Monochromatic
Inspire me fridays - Always anything goes

Thanks for looking!!!

Paula. x

LOTV World cardmaking day Competition

Hiya Everyone,

I have to share with you today a card I have made for the LOTV world cardmaking competition that runs till Friday 7th October.

My card is made with the LOTV image "dandelion clock" which I have coloured in with my promarkers. I added a little glamourdust to the wings.

The papers are from the DCWV Nana's nursery boys paperstack. I have added some ribbon, fluffy fibres, gems, flower charm and a swirl cut from the ecraft machine. The border punch I used is a fiskars one and the flowers were cut from my x-cut flower punch. The sentiment I did on the computer and printed it out in brown ink - the font is mountains of christmas which you can download for free here.

I will enter this also into the following challenges:-

Allsorts challenge - At least 5 flowers
Catch the bug - Anything goes
CES - Gorjuss/pretty girls
Drunken stampers - Get well/thinking of you
4 crafty chicks - Monochromatic
Digi doodles - Distressing
Dream valley - Monochromatic
Pile it on - Do it for fun
Sparkles - Something that
sparkles
Craft your passion - Anything goes with ribbon
Heart song inspirations - Anything goes
Make it monday - Anything goes
Woodware - Anything goes
Cutie pie challenge - Ribbon/lace, charm, something with wings
Anything goes challenge - Punches/die cuts
Papertake weekly - Anything goes
Ribbon carousel - Anything goes using anything from a spool (ribbon/twine etc)
My mums craft shop - All creatures great and small
Penny's paper crafty - Anything goes
Simon says stamp - Sparkle and bling
Truly scrumptious - Distressing






Thanks for looking!!!

Paula. x

October blog candy!!!!!

Hiya Everyone,

Apologies again for uploading this late but I have now gone back to work after my 10 months off on maternity leave and haven't had a lot of free time! :(

Big congrats to Kelly Smith who was the winner of my September candy which she should received and day now.

My October candy is 2 metres of each of the 14 colours of bakers twine (pictured above) which is soooo popular right now. Last time I bought myself some I bought an extra pack to giveaway as candy.

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is to become a follower (or if you already a follower even better), put a piccie in your sidebar linking to my candy and add your name to mr linky below!

Good luck everyone!!!



Paula. x

NB - The photograph represents 14 full rolls to give you an idea of the colors in detail but will only receive 2 metres of each :D

Winner of my september blog candy!!!

Hiya Everyone,

Apologies for drawing this a bit late but had a bit of a hectic weekend so far! I will post my October candy later today or tomorrow.

The winner of my september blog candy using random.org is *drum roll* No 34 which is Kelly Smith from Kels Makes!

Congratulations hun! If you e-mail me your details I'll get the stuff posted off to you shortly!!!

Thanks for looking!!!

Paula. x

October Crafters Companion blog challenge card!!!

Hiya everyone,

Wow!!! 2 posts in one day!!! - Not done that for a long while but it just so happens that the Gem of a challenge and Crafters Companion monthly challenge both start on the same day!

The theme this month is "pink and green" so I have chosen a fab SWALK image called blooming wonderful that is available here and some lush papers from my lush DCWV Nana's nursery paperstack that I have only used a handful of times - why is the things we love we barely use?

You can enter the challenge using any image although you get put in the winning draw twice if you use a Crafters Companion image. The lucky winner will win a £30 gift voucher to spend in the Crafters Companion website.

Come on join in the fun over at the Crafters Companion monthly challenge here!

Thanks for looking!!!

Paula. x

Pink gem challenge GDT card!!!

Hiya everyone,

I have to share with you today my next Pink Gem "A gem of a challenge" GDT card with you today. The theme this time is "with love at christmas" so we want to see hearts on your festive creation somewhere. I used my new martha Stewart deep lattice heart border punch for my hearts. This new challenge runs from Saturday 1st October to Friday 14th October at 6pm. You can use any image and can combine your card with as many other challenges as you like! There will be a random winner picked that will win a prize!

The image is the fab "Ellie with gift" image which is available here. It is a 8x8 scalloped card blank as I fancied making a bigger card for a change. I did make a different card to start with but didn't realise it needed hearts on it so I had to rush to make another one! Luckily, the one I made fits the theme a few challenges down the road so it wasn't a waste of time! The sentiment from a "Let it snow" A7 stamp sheet and is also from Pink gem which is available here.

I am currently ploughing my way through Joanna Sheen and Crafters Companion samples which I hope to try and finish this weekend. I'm back at work on monday after having almost a year off on maternity leave so I'm soooooo not looking forward to that at all! At least Tayla has already started walking so I'm not going to miss that but I'd rather be home with her as she really is a delight. A few people have said I'll love it but I'm not convinced :(

Thanks for looking!!!

Paula. x