Halloween Toads...

Good Afternoon blog friends!
It's been a lovely sunny day here...I have been doing my market stall this morning and sold a few cards and this afternoon I made a big Chocolate cake for my girls!
My eldest came home today and told me she is in the Top sets for everything! How cool is that!
I have had some feedback from my NVQ assessor to say that my File is 'of a very high standard' and the course verifier was happy with it. Just a few questions to answer to finish off 3 units and a good part of the Maths and Numeracy units done.
Happy days!!
My card today is another Halloween one...this time some hopping Toads.


I found this great card in a pack in 'The Works' which was just perfect for the knobbly warty Toad skin...
Hope you have had a good day today...
Don't forget BB tonight...I want Siavash or Sophie to win, and then it's 'The Tudors' and 'True Blood'...the phone will be off the hook!

Experimenting with colouring in.....

Good morning all...
The house is very quiet today...no-one on the computer or the Wii...yes..the girls are back to school. They went in looking taller and more grown up in their new uniform and shoes!
So today I am off to lunch with 2 girlfriends, so no cardmaking.

I have been doing a little bit of experimental colouring recently. Before I got my Promarkers I used watercolours and blendable colouring pencils to colour in stamped images. Then when I was chosen to be on the DT for Wild Rose Studio and started blogging...the Promarkers hit the headlines and I have used those ever since. Now I am mixing them all up and I have been using the pencils over the top of the Promarkers!
A Lady asked in a recent post on Craftbubble about Promarkers V Coloring pencils..so I posted up this photo and suggested that you don't have to choose one over the other! I am going to use both for the next few cards I think.
Have a super day and come visit me again soon!

Witch Season?

Good evening everyone...
It is absolutely chucking it down with rain here in West Sussex. It's dark and windy outside and really feels very Autumnal...I feel like saying "Where did the Summer go?" BUT did it actually arrive?
Well back to School tomorrow and onto the next season. I've seen a lot of Halloween cards out there so I thought I would show you these that were made for 'Practical Crafts and Cardmaking' magazine a few years ago now! I don't make many and I have never been asked to make any but they are nice to do and I may do a few 'Ghost' ones as well.

All the dies used are Sizzix originals. This is the original Doll die which I love to use and is my best seller!

Today I met up with 5 other mums and all the kids for lunch. It stayed fine so the kids played on the trampoline. My girls all bathed and ready for bed now and uniforms ironed and labelled ready for tomorrow!
Thanks for visiting my blog and come back soon.....xxxx

Last of the Summer Fun...

Morning all....Here they are, the last few days of the Summer Holidays!
We squeezed in a beach day yesterday in Littlehampton...lunch and then Tescos on the way home...Lovely!

Lots of Sandy knickers after this!

She is such a dude!

This balloon ladybird was made at the Barbeque we went to on Saturday. The family had a Punch and Judy entertainer who made balloons for all the kids. Isn't it cute?

And teddy came too....
Last minute labelling to do now on new uniform and 'Thank you notes' for Laurens Party. Watch out for some Halloween cards coming soooooon!

Hunca Munca....

Good Morning and Happy bank Holiday Monday...we are just deciding what to do today...should have organised in advance but hey...
Here is another of my old watercolour paintings...tarted up a bit after spending a few too many years in a drawer. Obvious choice for Hunca Munca was to make a baby card. I found that peach card looks really nice and I don't think I have ever used it for a baby girl card before.

Camera close up...I experimented with going over her face with my Ivory promarker and around the edges in Grey to make some darker shadow.

Finally added some butterfly ribbon and a flower.
I have been blog hopping and looking at some American crafters work and decided that I am very British in my style...and play it a bit too safe....they really go all out on paper pattern clashes and adding lace and ribbon, buttons a lot more than we Brits do. Might try some different styles soon! Watch Out!!
Thanks for dropping by.....

The Flopsy Bunnies...

"Now...Flopsy, Mopsey and Cottontail...who were good little bunnies... went down the lane to gather blackberries, but Peter who was very naughty...ran straight away to Mr McGregors garden......
Ah...the books of my childhood...Morning all.
I painted this watercolour about 10 years ago...along with a couple of others and had them sitting in a folder in a drawer. I did them just after my first daughter was born and we went to Yorkshire for a week and to The Beatrix Potter Experience with my mum and my brother. It was the last trip away with my mum who sadly passed away a year later.

I found them during a clear out and have now made them into some cards.
They will not go in my stock basket but will be sent to my special girlfriends.
Thanks for stopping by...last few days with the girls before school..bye for now!

Double Christening.....

Good morning all. Hope you have lots of lovely things planned this weekend.
I had a double Christening card order this week for a regular customer so I used my Boo Bear Die along with some beautiful card leftover from my Patchwork Pals kit.
The two children are 2 years old so I couldn't do them too 'babyish'.

I used the same design for both just using the appropriate colours. The circle card came from the inserts that I took out of some die cut cards and I thought they looked good with my Sizzix scallop.



I thought that they may get little silver crosses as presents so I added one around Boo's neck.

I punched out some flowers from the edges of the card that was left once the die cuts had been popped out of the Patchwork pals kit...I'm sure that lots of you do this before you throw it away! And the final flourish...pretty buttons.

I am taking the girls to a friend's house for a Barbeque this afternoon and then hubby and myself are meeting up with a group of football referees and WAGs for a curry this evening! Thanks for coming to visit my blog...chat soon ♥

Poor wee Freddie...

Afternoon all...
I am feeling much better today....but the shock news this week came from one of my best and oldest friends,(we met at Art College together when we were 16).
Her little 4 year old boy, Freddie got hit by a landrover outside their house. It's a very quiet village and a narrow lane so thankfully no real speed was involved but poor wee Freddie is in hospital with a broken collar bone, perforated ear drum and a not so good spleen. He has got up today and gone to the toilet and smiled for the first time in a week. So this is the card I made for him...on it's way with some treats!

I thought this little dinosaur with a heart balloon would cheer him up a bit.
If anyone has been watching Justin Lee Collins on t.v, learning new things each week...yesterdays was high diving and last week was to sing in the West End. He was brilliant ...by the way...Well he has the most gorgeous little blonde boy called Archie (who is the star of the show). He is just like Freddie.

I have been doing a special order for a double christening and some Halloween cards are on the way! My Blush promarker has gone to heaven BUT a new one is on it's way along with some some of his friends.
Thanks for stopping by...please leave a comment!

Spotty Stocking....

Hiya...I am just about managing to type through puffy sore eyes, sneezing and a very runny nose!
Yes...I have caught a cold! I spent most of the day in bed yesterday and have got up to do this then I'm going back to lay down. Hubby was in and out yesterday and got girls sorted in the evening but he has gone to football tonight so I am begging them to be good and go to bed without fuss. So quick chat about card.
Used the same colours as yesterday's card and some die cut bears head and paws.

I love these spotty brads...so great with the red flower.

Close up on the black dew drops from Tabby crafts.
Hope you are all feeling better than me at the moment...Back off to rest!

A closer look at Christmas....

Hello dear blog followers...
I am feeling very happy this evening... BUT...also a bit of a noodle head, as I have had my camera for 8 months now and finally bothered to read the manual and look up where the macro button is!
So now I can also post up some close up shots of the detail on my cards. I have been watching Craft Day on QVC and have been very good...not bought anything but got out my ribbon box and taken some inspiration from the monochrome palette that is popular.

These die cut penguins were very popular last year and I had 2 left so I got to work adding some glitter to the hat and putting him in my Sizzix scallop.

These little tags were in the half price sale at Lakeland in January last year.

And the ribbon is from a supplier who has a unit next to one of my friends. They are the discontinued samples, so I get them all in half metre lengths.

I don't know about you but I think anything goes this year. I even saw pretty pink floral paper with reindeer embellishments from K&Co. Just gorgeous.
Hope you have all been as good as me!
More close ups from now on...Bye!

A trip to Bosham Harbour....

Evening Ladies...Well... we didn't make it to the beach! The weather just wasn't up to it today...a bit cooler and overcast and very patchy.
We did however take a little trip to Bosham Harbour which is one of my favourite little mini day trips out near where I live. The Arts and Craft Centre in particular, with it's lovely craft units of pottery, paintings, bead shop and a new extra unit added onto the wooden toy shop...a little gem packed with paper, stamps, ribbon, buttons and other lovely cardmaking goodies.

Now it looks like torrential rain has fallen here but at 3pm this is high tide coming along the road. You can just see the top of the sign post that warns everybody as people often park their cars and walk along the watersedge at low tide.

This dog came running along the road and enjoyed a little dip. There were lots of cyclists and quite a few boats out on the water.

The sun came out here and there is a lovely grass area where you can just sit and look out onto the boats . Next time we are going to take a picnic..it was so beautiful.

My girls larking about.

And I couldn't resist a little bit of craft shopping.I bought some bits and bobs to make some earings in the bead shop and then filled a plastic wallet with card for £2.99 and got some lovely paw print design and some embossed christmas designs.
Going to read my Nikon camera manual cover to cover as I want to take some better close up pictures and I'm sure my camera has the ability.
Just a reminder QVC Craft Day tomorrow..starts at midnight..Happy Shopping!

Best friends.....

Evening everybody....
The card today is made from one of Dulcie's lovely Wild Rose studio stamps...
These two girls are best friends and I love using them with this designer paper pack showing all things girly. Still doing Christmas and will have more to show you in the next few weeks.

Well I survived my daughters birthday party...Here she is just before the wrapping paper went flying. We had 22 of her friends in an indoor play centre.
They all went home rather sweaty, but they had it to themselves virtually. The hot weather today sent most people down to the beach or staying in their gardens.
I have about 12 days to make the 'Thank you' cards now.
Hope you are enjoying the hot spell in the South...sorry if you are in the North!
I'm off to the beach with the family tomorrow! Bye for now.

From this....to this!

Hello again...Thanks for stopping by!
Phew...this morning I spent half an hour on the Wii fit...doing some balance excercises, aerobics and a little bit of yoga. We have all logged in our goals and now hubby and I are in competition to beat each others score. Just have to stop scoffing so much cake!

I was a busy girl yesterday and had a lovely time watching some DVDs and jazzing up some very cheap and nasty notebooks. You may just make out the price in the above photo ...4 books for 55p. So from this...to

This....Covered in some wallpaper from a sample book and then a couple of Tildas later and I was very pleased with the results. Not sure what to do with them now so I will put them in my pressie drawer ...maybe a little blog candy when I get to my 100th follower. My eldest is tidying her bedroom..(Faint)as she has friend for sleepover tonight...so it's plenty of chocolate and watching 'The X Factor'
Sounds like a good night to me! Bye for now...

Happy Birthday, Lauren

Hi all...Just a quick post this evening to show you the card I made for my daughter.
She has had a lovely day playing with her pressies...Puppy in my pocket Fashion Show, a couple of Wii games and Rescue pals puppy that swims in the bath.
My brother and sister came down to visit and we went to Pizza Hut and ate lots of chocolate cake.
Her party is on Sunday...21 of her 6 year old friends at an indoor play centre with slides and climbing frame..ball pits etc.

It's the Finale double bill of' The Mentallist' with the gorgeous Simon Baker...so I have to go and do some drooling! More cards and chat tomorrow.

Tatty Teddy...

Hello all...
Another Evening post, as it's been a beautiful day here and I have been out and about. I took advantage of hubby being at home until 3pm and left him to deal with little madam while I took big madam shopping.
We had a lovely time shoe shopping and bought a few pairs of wedge sandals in the sales. She is a size 3 and I am a 4 and a half so I think next year she will be raiding my wardrobe. I'm not quite as bad as 'Carrie' but getting there.
We had some lunch and then got the train home. A lovely day!!!

I hope you like my Tatty Teddy...they are a local Company to me and I painted this image a couple of years ago.
This evening will be spent wrapping little ones birthday pressies.
She is going to be soooo excited tomorrow...bye for now.

Catch a Star...

Evening All...
A bit of a late post this evening...I have been in the garden most of the day with my factor 30 on. I am tired this evening so with girls in bed I am shutting the house up and going up the wooden hill myself to watch BB in bed.
I have made a variety of cards over the last couple of days and today's card is another Christmas one using those gorgeous Penny Black hedgies...Catch a Star!
I love this stamp so will be using it again and again.
Just have to mention CraftyHan's Blog Candy...go and check it out...The link is on my side bar...You will be pleasently surprised at her take on it!
Nighty night...

Queen for a day...

Hi all....
Well my little one did so well today at her summer school swimming lessons that her instructor has already put her into the next class. The downside is that it is half an hour earlier at 9.30am. Set the alarm!!

My hubby and I have been buying pressies for her birthday and they are hidden in the wardrobe ready for a wrapping session on Wednesday night.
We are hoping for some good beach weather for her birthday on Thursday...my sister is coming down to visit for the day.

My card today uses the lovely handmade pink heart flock paper that was on yesterdays card as well...I thought it went well with the 'Queen for the day' quote and pink sparkly crown.
Pop back tomorrow for some more cards and chat...Bye♥

Just Magnolia..friendship

Afternoon blog friends...
The days are whizzing by now and I don't feel like I have spent anytime doing 'Summer Holiday' things yet!!! Haven't made it to the beach with the kids once yet. Must do that asap!!

Today I have just done a bit of cardmaking...popped to the shops and done a bit of hopping on here...
My card today is for the Just magnolia Challenge of 'Friendship'.
So I looked through all my bits and bobs and found this handmade paper with pink flock hearts on it. I have had it about a year and it came in a pack from 'The Works'. I've teamed it with this little Tilda who has made a tray of heart biscuits and a friendship sentiment which I think brings it altogether.

Busy week coming up...Little one has swimming lessons every morning 10am at Sports Centre and it is her 6th Birthday on Thursday so lots of visitors lined up...which reminds me I must make a card for her! Come back soon...♥

Wild Rose Studio Cat with washing...

Afternoon ladies..
You will be pleased to know that I am taking it easy today and have been chilling with the girls. Watching TV and a little bit of cardmaking.
My right arm really ached last night from all the cleaning yesterday.

I am really into Christmas Cardmaking now. I have been sorting through all my ribbons and papers and thinking up some new card designs. Looking through home magazines and my scrapbooks for some ideas.
Todays card is the Wild Rose Studio cat jumping all over the washing and was a card made with lots of leftovers...very satisfying to make.

So Marcus is hanging on in there in the BB house. Just can't make up my mind about him. Some days he is just a foul mouthed moron and then he goes and surprises me by giving good advise and being quite caring...
Hope you are all having a nice weekend...Do leave me a comment as I love reading them.

A simple Birthday card...

Hi All...
I am a bit weary as I write this...I decided to get up today and do a 'Summer Clean'
Did the hoovering all over, which is harder than it sounds as I have 3 floors.
Changed bed linen and even re-arranged little ones room moving the bed to another wall. We chucked a few things out on the way. Then decided to scrub (on hands and knees) the kitchen floor.
The girls went outside to paint their wooden dolls house as little one had felt tipped pen on the door and roof.
So I have just washed up all the paint things and now hubby is cooking tea...so more cleaning later then.
My card today is an old favourite. Such a simple design that has been re-jigged a few times over the years but is always a good basic stock card. Sometimes I do it in shades of one colour but I do like the rainbow colours best.
The flame is just some gold glitter glue.
Looking forward to TV tonight. Big Brother...Halfwit or Marcus to go????? and then 'True Blood'. Gripping stuff! Chat to you over the weekend.