Flower Power at The Paper Shelter

Good morning all

If you're reading this post my 1st scheduled post worked - yay!  - If you're not -it didn't and I just wasted my time here lol!!

I'm off on my hollies today and I'll be in Heathrow airport waiting for my flight  to Los Angeles - a very looong (nearly 12 hour flight)  - and for anyone who read my last post - I'll soon
 be sitting reading my book - or possibly asleep - I can sleep a lot on flights often before we even take off - I'm asleep.  

We're spending 9 days travelling around staying in 4 hotels in California then we fly to Orlando in Florida for another 2 and a bit weeks -a lot of organising of hotels, flights,cars and tickets for various visits, all the driving directions are printed off and filed in order and we're all set to go.  Then I put them all in a wallet and hand them to my DH (see last post!) and that's when he finds out what's going on! - because up until this point he doesn't want to know - but from that moment on he's in charge.

 Ever since the year a travel agent booked us 3 rooms in a Paris hotel, lovely rooms just not in the same hotel!- one in the north of the city the others in the south  - I've never trusted them to book my holidays and I've also found you can get things exactly as you want them whereas travel agents really can't be bothered with precise details - they just want to sell you  a holiday.

Anyway onto this weeks challenge at The Paper Shelter

Flower Power!

and as I'm in definite holiday mode I chose this gorgeous new image to use

isn't she just so pretty! -Summer Holidays is available here

As always if you use a Paper shelter image for your card you have the chance to win a $30 voucher - but you can use any image in the challenge and you can still win a great prize of 3 digis of your choice

This is what I did ....

Image - Summer Holiday from the Paper shelter

Coloured with Copics and white gel pen

sky  Broken glass DI

Card - Bazzil basics

Shaped from cut with spelbinders label die

Flowers cut with fabulous Phlox die from Memory box

clods - cut with joy cloud  die

flip flops - from jolies by ek success

paper s- free with a magazine 

Gems from my stash

Have a great week everyone - I won't be around too much over the next few week - but i'll se you when I get back!  

hugs 

Judith x

Just popped in to excitedly say....

Hi all

Just had to quickly post my exciting news - I was really delighted to be chosen for the 

Ready Teddy Go DT !! 

- I love colouring teddies as anyone who calls in to see me will know - I make lots of teddy bear cards - and now here's just the best excuse to make even more!!

Sorry I haven't been around much this week - I've had such a lot to do before I go on holiday tomorrow  - I won't be back until 1st July so I've had a whole lot of organising to do!!

We fly to Los Angeles tomorrow - my youngest son is 21 on 22nd June and he also graduates with a BA in Film and Media in July.  He wanted to visit the film studios in LA so that is the main reason we are going there - though we are also travelling around too.  After 9 days in California we are flying  to our house in Florida to meet up with the rest of the family for a 2 week 21st party for Tom - we've never been away for so long before -I'm so looking forward to it - beyond excited I'd say!!

I've scheduled a few posts (not as many as I had intended!) and I'll call in to catch up once we get to Florida .  This is possibly my most excited post ever lol

see you all soon 

Big excited hugs 

Judith xxx

When is a boarding card not a boarding card......?

Hello blog friends

The answer to the question above is ......when its a bookmark!!

Its time for another challenge at My Time to Craft

This week's challenge sees the end of a holiday era for me as I get myself a bookmark  to take on me hollies.  I love to read but don't have a lot of time when I'm at home - its the choice between crafting or reading and as this blog shows I'm crafting.  But when I go on holiday I always take a pile of books and I read them everywhere.  If you see someone reading in a queue for a ride at a theme Park - That'll be me - I drive my husband mad because when I'm supposed to be reading the map in the car I'm reading and of course I read all the way there and back.  We've got an almost 12 hour flight to California this year so I've got plenty of time. 

....And that where the boarding card comes in - every year I say the same annoying thing (apparently!) - I go to put my book down when we're on the plane and say to my husband - Have you got something I can use for a bookmark and he gives me my boarding card.  You'll notice I say he gives me it.  He's a total holiday control freak and none of us are responsible enough to keep our own passports or tickets for anything - he hands them out and collects them back each time we need a ticket for anything - the whole family knows what he's like and to be honest we just let him get on with it lol.  When I say the whole family that has also included our parents when they came with us - everyone must conform!! You'll see us going through the turnstiles in the theme parks and he stands at the end and we don't get away until he collects the tickets back in from everyone and tucks them away safely - so that's why I have to get my boarding card back - because he keeps those too - I bet you're dying to come away on holiday with me sometime - 'cos he'll have your tickets too - be sure of it!!

Anyway this year I'm going to have my very own bookmark and not a boarding pass!!

The challenge this week at MTTC is 

Make a bookmark

Mine is totally a holiday bookmark

The only thing about a bookmark is it needs to be flat - and I don't suppose stick on gems would work - the'd probably end up stuck to the pages!  I've been promising myself the nautical die cuts from Mariannes for ages because I love all things nautical - being a seaside girl.  But I haven't got round to it so had to make do with stamps instead.  I think because I really wanted to put die cuts on I wasn't totally happy with this (spoilt brat that I am) but if you haven't got it you can't use it and it is on the lines of what I wanted and its practical - I think if you're going to make a bookmark you have to be able to use it lol.

Here's what I did...

All Stamps - Papermania Ahoy there set 

Paper is from Craftwork cards - quite old - sorry can't remember the name of it

Twine is also Papermania

The rest is just good old card

The best thing is I know my husband will be annoyed that I don't ask for my boarding card back - it might just spoil his holiday - ROTFL!!!!

Hopefully I'll be back to post before I go - have a great weekend everyone

Challenges I'm entering with this card 

Crazy 4 challenges -summer inspiration 

Basic grey -Fun in the sun

A gem of  a challenge - summertime

Card crafters circle- stripes

Eureka stamps - the great outdoors

Love to create - read all about it 

The shabby tearoom - colour inspiration - aqua/yellow/white

Hugs 

Judith xx

Who stole that week!!

Good morning all

Well we're back to the rain again here - its absolutely tipping down here this morning and as I write this post I can't hear myself think because the rain is hitting the roof of our conservatory so loudly - you can hear it through the whole house!

I've got here by luck rather than good management this week - just when I was congratulating myself on my organisation skills lol.  I'm on the countdown to my hollies next week when I will be away for 4 weeks and I'm busy getting my DT cards sorted out and posts posted.  I usually do my DT comments in 2 visits  - one a couple of days into the start of the challenge and the other last thing so that I can catch any last minute entries.  I called into MAWTT last night to do my last minutes and shock horror!! - it wasn't a team A week - the good thing was I had no comments to do - the shock horror was I had a card to make for today EEEK!!   Now I'm not pointing the finger here but someone has definitely stolen a week somewhere - you know who you are and I'll be round to have a quiet word with you later!!!

Sooo.... onto the business in hand - challenge day at Moving Along With The Times.  This is going to be the last challenge for a while - we're having the whole summer off - people are busy, mojos need to be recharged and Hazel our big boss lady decided that it was a good idea just to break for the summer and come back when we've al got over the sun stroke and jet lag!!!

We're using a fun easy- peasy sketch for our challenge this week - I'm getting to love sketch challenges - it gives my brain a bit of a break when it comes to the idea thing and we can all do with that from time to time.

I decided to make a fathers day card for my son to give to his Dad, we're going to be away for fathers day so thought I'd give it a bit of a hoiday theme - then I remembered Reg Butterthwaite - isn't he just fab!! - I downloaded him a while ago from Justinklined - they have some fabulously funny men digis if you're looking for anything for fathers day - take a peek here

and here's the easy peasy sketch

you've got plenty of space for any embellies you want to use - i just kept mine fairly plain - it being a man thing!!

Here's what I did.....

Image - Reg Butterthwaite from just Inklined 

Papers were bought at TK Max for £1.99 -by Crate paper? never hear of this designer but they're a sort of travel theme called Story Teller
sentiment - part of the film strip stamp set from whimsy stamps

Bunting Die- from Whimsy stamps

Stars die - marrianne dies

Silver mirri - fom very old stash when we all mounted everything on mirri!

Letters punched with a punch bought from QVC a verrrry long time ago!

We'd love to see you at MAWTT for our last challenge before summer - I think that's what summers waiting for - when MAWTT takes a break - Summer begins - don't quote me on that one lol!!

Challenges I'm entering with this card

A gem of a challenge -bring on the sunshine
Delightful challenges - for dad
Creative craft challenge - for the fellas
Lacy sunshine challenge - anything goes
Fitztown challenge - anything goes
Digi Darla - fathers day
Simon says challenge -anything goes

Hugs Judith xx

It's a girl thing over at Fab'n'Funky Challenges

Good morning all

OOOO! I'm getting little bit exited - only one week to my holidays, done lots of holiday shopping, finished work yesterday and don't go back until July, and after all my busy weeks - I finally got my mojo back from wherever it was hiding! I've been doing lots of blogging and visiting in the past week and getting loads of inspiration -  Things are looking up!

I made this cute little easel card (yes I'm back on the easel thing!) for our challenge at Fab'n'Funky challenges this week using a little girl called Allie from Stampartdesigns by Kathryne

Allie and Angel is available here 

I enjoyed colouring this image it has lots of little details but is so beautifully drawn that it's very easy to colour

We have two fab sponsors with really great prizes over at Fab'nFunky Challenges this week

Here's what I did...

Image - Allie and Angel from Stampart design by Kathryne

Sentiment - bonus that comes with the image

Coloured with copics and prismacolor pencils

Papers - srping drop from first edition

blue card - bazzill basics

Card shape cut with spellbinders grand nestie scalloped circle die 

sentiment cut and mounted on spellbinders labels four die

Flowers made with 3 punches - EK sucesss retro flower punch,

                                              woodware daisy punch 

                                              and papermania mini flower punch,

 Leaves are a Martha Stewart punch

Butterflies - papermania mini butterfly punch

pearls from my stash

A very quick and easy card to make -but the easel shape makes it look so much more 

Pop on over to Fab'n'Funky - there are some very pretty girly cards for your inspiration and we'd love to see the girly cards you make this week

Challenges i'm entering with this card 

Flutterby Wednesdays - Punches and dies

Papercraft star - handmade flowers

Simon says stamp - anything goes

Die cuttin divas - create a shape card

Through the craftroom door - anything goes

Fitztown challenge - anything goes

Lady annes challenge - easel card

Make it monday - anything goes

Crafting with dragonflies - girly

Hugs 

Judith

What a difference the sunshine makes!

Good morning all

I hope the sun is shining where you are - it certainly is here - from first thing it was bright and beautiful and I propped open the conservatory doors and let it in!

I've got a wedding card to share with you this morning and a little bit of news.

  

I made this card  as a commission for someone who wanted the couples initials on the card.  I've really struggled both creatively and with time management lately but i so enjoyed making this card - it gave me a real kick start.  I used my favourite wedding stamp from LOTV  called Mr & Mrs available here, I think its so pretty and its an easy image to colour.  I really went overboard with this card -flowery paper, fancy shape, lots of flowers,a bit of bling, punches and a bow, then out came my cricut create machine that I haven't used for ages to make the initials.  I enjoyed making this, I'm not actually that big on paper flowers - I prefer to make my own flower - I think they can look a bit fussy and I'm not a fussy frilly person generally.  But wedding cards deserve to be fussy I think so I piled them on lol 

......and my little bit of news..... I decided to stand down from my DT post at Delightful Challenges.  I've been there for a whole year now but after struggling through with so little time lately, and because I have a four week holiday coming up, I just decided to stand down rather than give myself the stress of  having to make cards for all those weeks when I'm away  - a weekly design team is a big commitment and I don't do things unless I can do them properly so I know I made the right decision for me and for Wendy's team. I've so enjoyed my time working with the cute images at Digital Delights - its a lovely friendly team that I know I'll miss.

But for now its onward and upward - I feel like I've found myself some time and its quite a while since I posted a card that's not a DT card and I've enjoyed that.

This is what I did.....

Image- Lili of the Valley Mr & Mrs

Coloured with copics

Papers - Prima Meadow Lark

Flowers - WOC

Die cut circles - Spelbinders

Leaf punch - Martha Stewart

Gem embellie - prima SIIC

Bow - from my stash

Letter plaque cut with Cricut Gypsy Wanderings cart

Hope you're all enjoying some god weather this bank holiday Monday - have a great day

Challenges I'm entering with this card

That craft place - Dies and Punches

Lacey sunshine - anything goes with hand coloured image
Hobby cutz challenge - Roses/flowers
Great impressions - celebrations
Crafting when we can - anything goes

Hugs 

Judith x

A little bit sketchy at My Time to Craft

good morning all

I hope today is going to be warmer than yesterday - brr it was bloomin' freezing this can't be May!!

We have a fun challenge this week at My Time to Craft

its a sketch to follow

I like sketches - it takes the hard work out of deciding the layout away before you even start 

I decided to use one of my older LOTV stamps called Party girl  -available here
I haven't used LOTV for ages and they used to be my favourites

As you can see I've gone very distressed - I love this style and haven't made a really distressed card in ages either, so I had real fun with this one with my inks and distressing tool and some glitter for good measure!

and here's the sketch, I stuck pretty close to it no reversing or anything like that and I used things I haven't used in a while - having a complete change gave me a bit of enthusiasm back - that to be honest I haven't had lately, sometimes you need to get out of a repetitive rut to help yourself. - here's hoping it works cos I need all the help I can get!

 

I had myself a little shopping spree in TK Max on Thursday while I was out and about! I don't go in very often I think you need time in that shop just to browse - and I did pleanty of that!  They had some fab craft goodies on sale - lots of gorgeous packs of 20 reels of American crafts ribbons, some lovely papers and packs of embellies - real bargains.  That's where the ribbon and buttefrly came from on my card. As well as the crafty things I bought the cat a new bed, a pair of fab sunglasses and some flip flops for my hollies,some designer PJ shorts for my son and some new oven baking sheets - as you see I wandered the whole store!!  TK Max is a store you have to be in the mood for I think - it was definitely worth a visit for me lol.

Anyway back to the card

Heres what I did.....

Image - lilli of the valley

Coloured with copics and prismacolor pencils

Papers - the gorgeous MME lost and found blush - one of my faves

Distress in - TH brushed corduroy

Ribbon and butterflu TK Max!

Brads- dovecraft

Die cut circles - spellbinders

Die cut corner - Dienamics

Glitter - diamond stickles

There are so many different cards on the blog over at MTTC - go on over and have a look - you're bound to find some inspiration

Challenges I'm entering with this card

Card makin mamas -Rubber Stamps 

Lilis little fairies - spots and stripes (spots on the box and stripes on the ribbon - hope this counts!)

Crafty ribbons - anything goes

Hugs 

Judith x