Getting carried away... with Valentine’s at Forever Friends!! :)

Hello lovely Bloggers!! :)

Well, I’ve no clue where January disappeared to- at this rate 2012 will pass me by in even more of a flash than 2011, which I would hardly have thought possible!! :S – but disappear it has and so it is time for our February challenge over at The Forever Friends & Co. Blog!! :)

This time we have a very seasonal theme for you as we would like to see your Valentine’s cards... should be nice and easy for most people if all the gorgeous Valentine’s creations I’ve been seeing recently are anything to go by!! :) We are sponsored this time by Di’s Digi Downloads!! :)

I got a bit carried away with this one as I made everything on the card myself on my netbook- the digi paper, the cut files for my electronic cutter for the ‘Nestie’ shapes and even a cut file to make my own embossing mask from Doeflex for the first time- I’ve been wanting to try that for ages!! :) Took a while to get it all sorted but, as I don’t normally make many Valentine’s cards, I didn’t have much already in my stash that would work and once I started, I could just see so many other possibilities...  I had a great time doing it, though, and it’s a nice feeling to know I designed and made it all bar the stamp myself!!lol Anyway, here it is:

I knew I had this image, which I had already coloured ages ago, in a box by my desk (somewhere!!lol) and this colour combo is one I love (since I made quite a few V’s Day cards from a kit all in black, white, silver/grey and red a few years ago to fundraise for charity- about the first time I used red on a card and liked it!!) so the first stage of the creative process was all sewn up from the start!!lol The computer aspects took ages (a bit at a time in bed over the last week or so!!lol) but I have the files for future use now and, as all that prep was done, putting the card together once everything was printed and cut actually took no time at all, especially as I decided the graphic look to the papers and made it seem more masculine so kept the embellies to a minimum!! :)

This gorgeous FF bear was coloured in my usual PMs and has just a bit of Stardust pen smudged around the top and base of the heart :) I wish I knew what colours I’d used for the heart as I actually like the patchy effect now... but I didn’t like it at all when I did it, typically, so didn’t bother to note them down!! :(

A couple of close ups of the layers and embossing- this was the best I could do to try and show the embossing... it isn’t the deepest embossing as the Doeflex isn’t that thick but, to be honest, I would have been afraid to put my lacy rectangle through a normal embossing folder as it would have ripped the edges so that’s a good thing really!!lol I did sand everything to add to the more masculine feel in the end, too, and it was more than deep enough for that to work a treat- I particularly love the contrast on the black card!! :) The little hearts in the top of the rectangle are the ‘waste’ from the circle and a border cut file I also created but ended up not using as it made it look just too busy!! :)

And a little close up of my paper :)

The List:

• 6” Sq. White card blank
• Forever Friends wooden stamp by DoCrafts, stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa and coloured with PMs (usual colours for the bear- Ivory, Vanilla, Oatmeal and Sunkissed Pink- and not sure on the heart)
• My own design digi paper
• Core’dinations cardstock- red from the vintage selection, grey and black from an All-in-the-Family pack
•  My own design embossing mask and cut files for the heart circle and lacy rectangle, created in my graphics program and cut on my Cricut
• Distressing Tool for the paper edges and sanding thingy (mine is a flower shape!!lol) for all the card
• Black Bakers Twine
• Red Stickles
• Sakura Clear Stardust pen
• Black gems

I’d like to enter this card in the following challenges: Sweet Stampin’ – Animals :) ; Cards for Men – Seeing Red :) ; Pollycraft – My Favourite Things (lots of them- FF bears, creating my own papers and ‘nestie’ shapes, Stickles and my Stardust pen... there are probably more but that’ll do!!lol) :) ; PaperSundaes – Valentine’s :) ; Allsorts – One or More Hearts (think I *might* have this covered!!lol) :) ; Joanna Sheen – Love is in the Air :) ; Ladybug Crafts – Loves Me, Loves Me Not :) ; Craft Your Days Away – Distressing :) ; Bling It On – Love :) ; My Mum’s Craft Shop - Fab & Funky :)

So that’s my card- hope you like it!! :) Thanks for stopping by today and for all the comments on my last two cards- I forgot to say in the post for my sis’ card that, when I said I hoped she didn’t mind how simple it was compared with the ones I’ve made her in the past, she said she thought it was her fav of all the one’s I’d made her... well, that’ll save me some time and energy fussing with papers and extra embellies next year then!!lol  :) Please do pop over to the FF blog to have a look at the cards from the rest of the DT and I hope you’ll join in with us, too!! :) I’ll be back with my next Dream Valley DT post at the weekend, if I don’t make it before... which is unlikely as this week has turned out to be incredibly hectic with no sign of a let up yet and so I’m struggling a tad and should probably rest not post again!!lol In the meantime, I hope you are all well and having a good and crafty week!! :)  

Happy New Year... and Shaped Cards at Forever Friends :)

Hello Bloggers!! :)

Well, I think it’s time to finally wish you all a very Happy New Year and, come to that, Happy Christmas, too!! :) I really thought I’d be able to get back on my blog in time to do both those things but the madness that is the month before Xmas in my family, with my sis’, mine and my mum’s birthdays plus Xmas, meant my body had other ideas and I just haven’t managed it... permanent exhaustion aside, though, I did have a lovely time and thank you for all the birthday wishes on my last post!! :) I hope you all had a lovely time, too, and found yourselves with lots of new crafty goodies to enjoy!?! I didn’t get much crafty stash for Xmas but I got some money to spend on it instead- people have preferred to do this since they started to see my obsession with crafting and it suits me just fine as I get to shop in the sales and get exactly what I want!! :) I also got given a Kindle (Yay!!! :D) and, as I was planning on trying to save my birthday and Christmas pressie money- not mentally spend most of it on craft stash before I even had it like last year!!lol- to buy one, I decided to use the extra money and treat myself to a Grand Calibur :) I’ve been looking wistfully at them for a while but kept telling myself I didn’t need one- and where would I find to put it anyway?!lol- but have given in as I just keep finding myself having great ideas for cards/projects and then realising they would be impossibly tricky- or just plain impossible- in my lovely little ‘Bug... so come on Mr. Postie, I want to play!!lol   *** ETA: It's arrived!! :D lol ***

Anyway, it’s time for our first challenge of the year at Forever Friends & Co. And this time we want to see ‘Shaped Cards’... any shape you like so long as it’s not square!! :) We’re sponsored this time by the fabulous Ribbon Girl!! :)

I made this card on Boxing Day for a good friend who’s birthday is on the 27^th Dec.- one year I *will* be prepared and have her card ready before Xmas rather than struggling to find the energy straight after but not this time, so I combined this and the challenge... I’ve been wanting to try a circular easel card for quite a while and never got around to it- ‘til now...

I thought it might seem a bit small as I still only have regular Nesties and my little ‘Bug at the mo’, but I think, as an Easel card with the extra surface area that gives, it’s actually quite sweet and the small area means you can have fun with embellishing!! :) I cut the base from a card blank and another circle from a second blank for the top, then cut more circles from two gorgeous new First Edition pads, which I got before Christmas but hadn’t used yet, to layer on top :)

The image is one of my fav FF stamps and is coloured with my usual PMs- I almost always stamp more than one of the FF bears (and all other stamps, just in case I go wrong with colouring...which happens a lot!!lol) but I always colour the spare bears and just leave the extra bits- in this case the flowers- uncoloured... then I have a nearly ready image that I can finish colouring quickly to match whatever I need if I’m in a rush or not well enough to colour from scratch :) I used a tag from one of the paper packs and added some seam binding, lovely butterflies and my staple pearls :)

For the stopper I used a border from one of the paper packs, then embellished with a swirl and a flower I have had sitting in a pot on my desk for months, which just matched perfectly... I made the flower myself from a cut file I designed for my Cricut last year and had a few spares as I really enjoy sitting making them up but have now run out so best get making some more!! :) I have used them on a few special cards already- just haven’t got around to blogging those quite yet!! :S

The List:

• Two white card blanks to make the base
• Nesties- Circles Large and Petite Scalloped Circles Large
• First Edition Paper Pads- Spring Feast and Birdsong
• Forever Friends wooden stamp from DoCrafts, stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa and coloured with ProMarkers: Bear- Ivory, Vanilla and Oatmeal with Sunkissed Pink for ears and cheeks; Flowers- Pale Pink and Cocktail Pink, Buttercup, Green Whispers Marker fineliner for stems
• Handmade flower- made with Hi-5 Pearl paper and my own digi cut file
• Marianne D Swirl die
• MS Large Monarch Butterfly punch
• Sentiment is an old Anita’s one
• Cream Seam Binding from The Ribbon Girl
• Stickles- Diamond, I think!?!
• Sakura Clear Stardust pen
• Pale Green and Pale Pink Flat-backed Pearls

So, a pretty simple card in the end but the lovely papers make all the difference!! :)

I’d like to enter this in the following challenges: Bunny Zoe’s Crafts – Fancy Folds/Shaped Cards :) ; TheSecret Crafter – Anything Goes :) ; Papertake Weekly – Anything Goes plus optional ‘something new’ (my papers) :) ; Paper Sundaes – Out with the Old, In with the New (Old- stamp, New- Papers) :)

Thanks for stopping by today and for all the lovely comments on my last cards- please do pop over to the FF blog to what the rest of the fab team have created to inspire you and don’t forget that you don’t even have to use and FF image to enter- though we’d really love it if you did!! :) – but you must have an animal on your creations!! :)

See you again soon, I hope- I have plenty to share if energy allows, my lack of blog posts before Christmas was mostly down to the amount of actual crafting I was trying to get done, after all!!lol

It’s All Christmas-sy at Forever Friends!! :)

Hello again Bloggers!! :)

I'm back again as promised- if slightly later in the day than intended!!lol As it is now officially December- how!!??!! O_o - it is time for our next Monthly Challenge over at Forever Friends & Co. And it's an incredibly easy one for you as 'It’s All Christmas!!' is our theme and, if you're anything like me at least, then all you'll have the time to think about is getting those Christmas cards, tags and gift ideas made!!lol We are being sponsored by the lovely Di's Digi Designs for this challenge so come along and join in the fun!! :)

I went all vintage-y with this one, inspired by this lovely FF stamp and some new acquisitions from the amazing Waltzingmouse Stamps- their gorgeous Festive Foliage set to be precise!! :) - and made my own background paper by stamping on parcel paper... then I got out a host of Tim Holtz's Distress fabulousness and let myself play with DIs on the edges of everything and the absolutely indispensible Antique Linen Stickles on all the corners- in my usual 'spread it around with my fingers' style of application!! :) 

I must say that, despite spending ages fiddling with this pic in two different photo editing programs, it still looks a bit more green around the gills than it really is irl- the other pics probably show the colour better but this was the best I could do!! :S

I coloured on Kraft with my Prismas- my first attempt at colouring these lovely bears with pencils on any kind of card and it’s not great but I'm reasonably happy for a first attempt!!lol

The largest snowflake is another MS punch- which I got for just over a fiver in the sales last year!! :) - and the others are Make it Crafty Chippies which I inked with DIs, then covered with Distress Crackle Paint... I actually used White Picket Fence- thought I had some Antique Linen but apparently the day I remember putting that in my basket while shopping online was one of the rare occasions I managed to rein in my stash-addict tendencies!!lol But it didn't matter as it took on the colour from the inks anyway... so no need to buy any other colours after all!! :) I also added some Stickles to them after the paint was dry, too- that I really must get some more of!!lol

The lovely sentiment is from the WMS Compliments of the Season set- another stunning set!! :)

The List:

• 5"x7" Kraft card blank plus another to cut up for the image
• Image - Forever Friends wooden stamp from Docrafts, stamped in Memento and coloured with Prismacolor pencils, OMS and paper stumps
• Cream cardstock
• Martha Stewart PATP Cherish punches
• Kraft parcel paper
• Festive Foliage and Compliments of the Season stamp sets from Waltzingmouse Stamps
• Versafine ink pads in Olympia Green and Vintage Sepia
• Distress Inks- Vintage Photo and Peeled Paint
• Make it Crafty Chippies snowflakes
• Distress Crackle Paint- White Picket Fence
• Distress Stickles- Antique Linen
• Mink Flat-backed Pearls from Crafty Emma's
• Natural Jute Twine from The Ribbon Girl
• Sakura Clear Stardust pen (just a teeny bit on the hats) 

I'd like to enter this in the following challenges: Cupcake Crafts - Colour on Kraft :) ; Ready Teddy Go - Anything Goes :) ; Joanna Sheen (the first ever challenge!! :) ) - Christmas :) ;  Anything Goes - Cutting Corners (if the corner punches used for my image mat are enough and second entries are okay?) :) ; Pollycraft - Christmas fun :) ; Fab 'n' Funky - Anything Goes :) ; Divas by Design - Anything Goes :) ; Sweet Stampin' - Punches and Dies :)

Please pop over to the Forever Friends & Co. blog for a look at the gorgeous cards my teammates have created- we have some fab and talented new ladies joining us on the DT for this challenge, too!! :) - and we'd love to see you joining in with your FF images... or if you don't have any at the mo' then any animal on your card will do so long as you follow the theme!! :)

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of Blogland today- hope you'll pop back soon!! :) I have plenty of things just waiting to be posted so I'll try and be back soon... but I really do need to get a wriggle on with the ol' Christmas cards so need to spend some time crafting as well as posting!!lol I had some good news this week as I've been asked by the lovely Melly to join the team at Dream Valley- I'm really looking forward to my first challenge with them in a week or so- on my birthday in fact!! :) Thanks for all your comments on my card yesterday, too- I really do appreciate them all and am doing my best to make it round to a few people at a time whenever I can manage it myself as I know it's been far too long in most cases!! :)

Making it (a) Colourful Christmas with Something Old and Something New at Forever Friends :)

Hello there!! :)

{What a garbled post title... all will become clear(er!) soon!!lol}

Well, it's *not* the first Thursday of the month, it's the first Friday... which means I'm a day late with my card for the new  Monthly Challenge over at Forever Friends!! Ooops!! It's been one of those weeks (or months, maybe!!) and time's just run away from me again!! :S Anyway, we have a fab challenge for you this time as we'd like to see you use both 'Something Old and Something New' on you cards (or any other creations you would like to share!!)!! :) You only need to include an animal not necessarily a FF bear- though we'd love it if you did and I really enjoyed seeing so many more of them in the last challenge!! :)- and we are sponsored this time by Stitchy Bears!! :)

I have ended up with two 'Old' and two 'New' items on my card, although I could probably have got away with just using my FF stamp as both as I have had it for at least a year but this is the first time I've used it!! Tut tut... ;) The old are my FF stamp and the gorgeous K & Co. paper and the new are the fence and LOTV Circular Sentiment stamps :) I must just give credit where it's due and say I came across a gorgeous card similar to this (using probably my favourite of my FF stamps :) ) over here on Caroline's lovely blog while I was visiting entrants to our last Forever Friends challenge (one of the best things about being on a DT is the chance to discover so many fab crafter's blogs and so much great inspiration!! :) ) and I knew at once that I had to have the lovely fence stamp she'd used so that I could have a go myself as I've been wanting to get some stamps that would let me try making scenes for while!! :)

I have to say that the proportions of the finished image did stump me a tad on the layout front and I was in a strange mood when I was trying to put this together anyway and just was not going to let the image get stuck on straight... so the odd, slanted layout came about as, while I was fiddling with bits of paper and different shaped/sized card blanks, I knocked this piece of paper to this angle... and just kinda liked it!!lol Gotta love a happy accident... much better than the usual chuck-it-in-the-bin-and-start-again kind!! ;D

I've coloured with ProMarkers and was inspired by the current challenge at Make it Colourful (hence the post title!!) to try 'colouring texture' so the fence is my first attempt at that... have another idea in my head for that challenge, too, but will have to see if I have time/energy enough to try it!!lol I'm none too happy with the sky as it's gone a bit patchy... didn't really think when I chose to use the Santa FF about the fact that the scene would need to be a night-time one... so *slight* panic when that occurred to me when I'd already coloured the fence and was committed!!lol

A close up to show the fence better- I coloured with my normal PM nibs first, starting by laying down a layer of my mid tone (Spice) and then adding the darker colours for shading (Walnut and Cinnamon) and the light (Gold) in short strokes following the direction the grain would run, aiming for a patchy, scratchy look rather than a smooth blend. Then went back in after that was dry with the lightest and darkest colours and my fine nibs for some more definition... I'm fairly pleased for a first attempt and had fun trying which is what it's all about after all!! :) This pic is also the best one to see the stardust pen I used to try to look like snowflakes in the sky- when my attempts to bleach the blue out with my blender didn't work!!lol I was too chicken to use a white gel pen as that always seems to look weird when I try it and I really didn't want to ruin the whole image at the end!! :S

I coloured the bear in my usual way (PMs: – Ivory, Oatmeal, and Vanilla with Sunkissed Pink for ears and cheeks) though he looks paler to me... don’t know if this is 'cos it's the first time I've coloured a FF on this cardstock or just because the rest of the image is so much darker than usual and is making more of a contrast...I'm learning fast how important the card is for colouring!!lol I also used my Glamour Dust for the first time, so another 'New' thing, and it is sooo pretty and much more sparkly than glitters I've used before (though you were right, Carole- it has already got everywhere and I didn't even spill it!!lol)!! :)

A couple more close ups- the lovely sentiment (I have been singing 'Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...' to myself since the Crafter's Companion challenge went live this week ...only, after I get that far, I get stuck as all that comes into my head is 'Wake up, it's a beautiful morning...' - damn that BBC Weather trailer!!lol) and some more of my pre-prepared Cricut Snowflakes, which are sat on my desk, ready glimmer-misted, and just waiting to be added to any Christmas card that needs a little something!! :)

The List:

• 5"x7" white card blank
• Forever Friends wooden stamp
• Snow Fence stamp by Alota Stamps
• Stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa and coloured with ProMarkers (picture below to save time and energy again :) )
• Corner Punch
• Beautiful DP from a K & Co. Tim Coffey pad I was given years ago :)
• MS Cherish border punch
• Glamour Dust
• Sakura Clear Stardust and Clear Glaze pens
• LOTV Circular Christmas Sentiment (stamped in Brilliance Starlite Black)
• Snowflakes- larger ones cut on Cricut from When It's Cold Outside' cartridge and spritzed with Perfect Pearls Pearl shimmer mist, smaller ones were the 'waste' saved from a MS border punch
• Assorted gems 

I’d like to enter this in the following challenges: Crafter’s Companion – Let it snow, let it snow. Let it snow... :) ; Crafts & Me – Let the music move you (song as above!!) :) ; I ♥ Promarkers – Glitter and Glitz :) ; Dream Valley – Anything Goes :) ; Pollycraft Monday –Anything Goes :) ; Charisma Cardz – Cutesy :) ; Papertake Weekly – Anything Goes plus optional (is it ever optional really?!lol) Bling :) ; Pink Gem - Cold and Frosty :) ; Little Claire’s – Christmas :)

Well, thank you for stopping by and sticking with me through another long post- I really must try harder to write less, I just like to share and have a record of not just the basics but the thought processes behind my cards as I forget things so quickly with my hopeless foggy brain but apologies if it bores people!! :S Thanks for the comments on my last few posts!! :) Do pop over to the Forever Friends and Co. blog to see the lovely cards from the rest of the team!! :) Hope to be back soon- have a great weekend folks and enjoy the fireworks if you’re lucky enough to see any!! :)

Friends Make Life Blossom and getting sentimental at Forever Friends...

Hello!! :)

How on earth is it already October!?!!! I don’t know where this year has gone again- I’m not even sure it’s worth worrying about Christmas cards and gifts, you know- it’ll probably have passed us by and be well into next year by the time I blink again!! :/ Can you tell I’ve not got many Xmas cards made yet?!! Not even thought about gifts, handmade or otherwise, either!! Time to panic, did you say?!! Yeah, just what I was thinking!!lol

Anyway, rant (mostly!) out of my system, I’ll get back to what started that train of thought, which is of course that- as it is the first Thursday of another month- it is time for another new challenge over at Forever Friends& Co. :) This month we’d like to see you ‘Use A Sentiment’ :) You could make the sentiment/quote the main focus of your creation with just a small animal image but, if that’s not your thing then we’ll be happy just so long as there’s a sentiment on there somewhere- how easy is that!?! :) We are sponsored this month by Crafts U Love who are offering a £15 gift voucher to the lucky winner plus, if you’re chosen as the FF Favourite, you get the opportunity to guest design with us, too :)

So, just to make this a bit more of a challenge, I thought I’d try using a more wordy sentiment than my usual run-of-the-mill 'Happy Birthday' types and I went with a lovely one from a new (to me) Aspects of Design stamp sheet- and, of course, one of those adorable bears!! :)

I kept it all pretty clean and simple again- I’m really into CAS again at the mo’ and can’t seem to get anything more fussy to come out the way I want!!lol :S I chose the colour scheme based on the blossom flower idea and then, more specifically, on the pink seam binding I wanted to use :) I also used one of my new On The Edge card blanks (love these!!), which I think work really well to add interest to a simple card :)

I coloured using a mixture of ProMarkers and FlexMarkers... and I did terrible job of it, too!! :S Don’t know what the problem was that night (might have been something to do with the distraction caused by the giant spiders that kept appearing in my room- I have a serious phobia which has only been worsened by not being able to just get up and run away- not a fun few days in my house!! :S ) but, whatever it was, I made a right mess of the bear- I was using the same colours as always, but because this card was so simple and quick to put together, I had the whole thing assembled before it had dried enough for me to realise how bad it was!! So, I tried to fix it in situ by taking out the colour with a paler pen and trying again, and I think the poor thing’s looking a little jaundiced/tangoed and badly blended as a result- just didn’t have the energy to pull the whole thing apart and start again and I think to have added a 3Ded bear over the top might have looked odd on so simple a card :S

A close up of the sentiment, which I inked in two colours with dew drop/cat’s eye ink pads so as to have a pink flower :) Also loving the teeny gems I found while browsing online recently :)

The List:

• Craftwork Cards On The Edge Scalloped 6” Sq. card blank
• Forever Friends image, stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa and coloured with ProMarkers and FlexMarkers (I had such a mess of pens on my desk trying to fix this that I have no idea which ones I actually used- and it’s not like you’d want to recreate it anyway, so I won’t waste time trying to remember!!lol)
• Sentiment from Aspects of Design’s Japanese Plum Blossom stamp sheet, stamped in Memento and Colour Box Pink Pastel chalk ink
• White paper coloured with Muted Pink FlexMarker for mat layer
• Pink Tulip Seam Binding
• Sakura Clear Stardust pen
• Stickles in Crystal
• Pink 2mm gem from a wheel by Anita’s
• Pale Purple Flat-backed Pearls

I’d like to enter this in the following challenges: Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes :) ; My Mum's Craft Shop - All Creatures Great and Small :) ; Dream Valley - Monochrome :)

Thanks for stopping by today!! :) I’ll hopefully be back before too long as still have plenty of cards waiting to be shared- in the meantime, please pop over to the Forever Friends blog to see the fab cards by the rest of the DT and hopefully be tempted to join in with us- remember, you don’t have to use an FF bear on your creation (although we’d love it if you did as we all adore them, obviously!!), any animal is fine!! :) Hope you’re all having a lovely week and looking forward to the weekend!! :)

Lovely Ribbon and some Paper-Piecing at Forever Friends :)

 Hello again at last!! :)

Wow- it’s been too long since I last posted on here... infact, I feel like I might as well have dropped off the face of the planet this last month or two, I’ve been so out of touch with everything and everyone as I’ve just had no energy to spare for anything fun :S Even went almost four weeks without doing a single bit of crafting or anything creative at all- can’t remember the last time that happened and I hope it’ll be a v long time before it does again!! :( Anyway, ‘life’ (if it could be called that! :S ) has eased up a bit this last week or so and, while I’ve still had to be taking it pretty easy, I have at least managed to get back to my craft desk and got a couple of cards made- I’d be jumping for joy right now if I could!!lol- and will hopefully get back to blogging properly soon, too!! I have missed it all sooo much!!lol

So, on to the reason we’re all here- a card!! :D It’s the first Thursday of the month again- how it has come round so quickly I have no clue!?! :S – so it’s time for our next Monthly Challenge at Forever Friends and Co. and this month it’s a lovely one for you- we’d like to see some ‘Paper Piecing’ on your creations :) And we’re sponsored this time by our very own lovely DTeam-mate, Ike, who is offering the winner not one but two prizes including images from her own Digi Store Ike’s Art!! :)

You can find her store here and her blog, where she showcases her digis and other creations, here – if you’re squeamish, though, be warned as Ike has a taste for the macabre as well as the cute and cuddly!! ;D – but, if you’d like to see something out of the ordinary, then do pay her a visit as her creations- gory or not!- are really worth a look and always fun!! :)

I have to say I’ve been wanting to have another go at Paper Piecing for quite a while now so I really enjoyed this- so much so that I actually made two cards!! :) Two more off the Christmas list, too, so I’m even happier!!lol Might be a long post though, as there are two!!lol

I used a paper pack I’ve had for years- first DPs I ever got, I think!!- and stamped the image on two of the papers, using the gloves from each with the jacket from the other... no waste that way!!lol I added some shading with an assortment of Blue and Grey Prismas and my new Blue Grey 1 Spectrum Noir pen (the BGs are gorgeous colours :) ) as I often think paper-piecing can look a bit flat, especially if the rest of the image is carefully coloured and shaded... need a bit of practice, though, as I had to scrap the first one and I’m still not totally happy!!lol The rest of the images and also the ribbon and pearls are coloured with my PMs :)

The image is matted in the same paper and the background is embossed with my ‘Bug then the edges inked very slightly with DIs... plus the obligatory Stickles, ofc!! :)

I added a bit of Putty PM to the combination I use for my FF bears this time and think it works to give a little bit more depth :) I shaded around the bear with blue Prismas as my Copic Blender, which I rely on for getting for this effect with my pens, ran out an me all of a sudden and I haven’t got around to ordering a new one yet!! :S

I was originally going to make two of the same 6” Sq. Card but the bow I made turned out bigger than I expected- I don’t usually use such wide, substantial ribbon!! I absolutely love it- the printed satin ribbon coloured up with my Grey Green PM so much better than I expected and the bow is fabulously big and decadent looking which is what I wanted- but... I just didn’t think I’d have a use for two such large Xmas cards!! And I’m glad actually, as I really like the second card, too!! :)

From a LOTV set, stamped and edged in DI. I also added Clear Stardust and Clear Glaze pens to the words... and more Stickles :)

 This one was a quick change of plan and I did it very simply but I love the ruffled ribbon and my new scalloped cards so much that I think this one has turned out to be my favourite of the two!! :)

A few close-ups :) It was a bit fiddly colouring all those little pearls- I imagine it’s easier and less messy if you have the self-adhesive kind... but I don’t as they cost a bomb and I know I’d never want to use them up!!lol Think it was worth the ridiculously messy green fingers to get the perfect colour-match, though!! :) This gorgeous sentiment is another of my new Cat’s Life Press ones!! :)

I used:

• A5 and 6” Sq. White card blanks
• Image- Forever Friends stamp coloured with PMs: Bear – Ivory, Oatmeal, Putty and Vanilla with Sunkissed Pink for ears and cheeks; Robin - Cocoa, Cinnamon, Tan, Berry Red, Spice and Honeycomb; Mugs – Dusky Pink Sunkissed Pink and Baby Pink, Grey Green, Tea Green and Khaki; Shading on paper-piecing - Grey Blue 1 from Spectrum Noir ‘Essentials’ set and Prismas; Sky –Prismas and Mineral Spirit
• Dovecraft 'Christmas Blues' Paper Pack- bit of a misnomer there, though, as they are really almost all green not blue!!
• White card and Cuttlebug Snow embossing folder
•  DIs for edging- Weathered Wood and Bundled Sage
• Stickles in Frosted Lace
• White Snowflake Printed Ribbon from Tesco- in the post Xmas bargain bin! :) – and white flat-backed pearls coloured, both coloured with PM
• Sentiment stamps from LOTV and Cat’s Life Press

I’d like to enter these cards in the following challenges: Passion forPromarkers – 'Flexible' Anything Goes :) ; The Pink Elephant – Paper Piecing :) ; Crafter’s Companion Monthly Challenge – Christmas :) ; Charisma Cardz – Anything Goes :) ; I ♥ Promarkers – Anything Goes :) ; Cupcake Craftroom – Pink and Green :) ; Crafty Ribbons - Festive Cheer in September :)
EDIT: Will pop back later to link a couple of these as one linky's missing and Crafter's Comp. haven't posted yet- I saw the challenge on one of the DT's blogs first thing... when I couldn't sleep!!lol

Right, sorry for such a long post but I hope you like my little offerings for today... and think they were worth the exceptionally long wait!!lol I shall try not to go so long between posts next time- I have a few things I’d love to share with you that I made a while ago but haven’t been up to posting but life and my health seem to have a nasty habit of getting in the way lately so we’ll see... :S I hope I’ll be able to get round an visit you a but more often, too... but again, we’ll see ‘cos every time I say that the opposite happens!!lol After I’ve linked this up- if I can remember how as it’s been so long!! :S – I’m off back to bed as I didn’t get more than an hour’s sleep last night and I’m aching from head to toe... not good!! :( Still, meant I caught the new release of Sugar Nellies dead on 10am and got my order in by 10:03!! :) Must be a record for me!!lol Ordered one of the new Xmas ones and a few others I've been wanting for ages!! :)

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you’re all keeping well and have had a more fun and exciting summer than me, anyway!! :) And please do pop over to the Forever Friends blog to see the rest of the team’s fab cards and join in with our challenge!! You don’t even need to use an FF bear- just include an animal :)