Snuggly

We have a very apt challenge this week at My Mums Craft Shop - 'Keeping Warm'. I thought this Penny Black image fit the bill perfectly, they just look so  warm and content. With a challenge prize of a £10 voucher to spend at My Mums Craft Shop - what could be better?

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Angelic

The theme for this weeks for Secret Crafters Saturday Challenge is Borders and Flowers - I've used one of my favourite backgrounds (at the moment) some vintage sheet music I bought from a charity shop; I have a big book of the stuff and because it had no cover, I got it for peanuts!

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Fly Away

Winged Things is the theme of this weeks challenge at My Mums Craft Shop. We're sponsored by Emerald Faeries who are offering this weeks winner 2 images from their store, so show us your winged creations!

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You Rock

The new challenge for us at Cards For Men this week is 'Fancy Folds' sponsored by Whimsie Doodles, who are offering a $10 gift certificate to spend with them.

For my card, I've chosen a central stepper and of course, given the stamp theme, it had to be grunged with Distress inks!

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Secret Crafter

This week we're asking you to follow a sketch, set by Jane, over at Secret Crafters Saturday Challenge. For my card, I used a sheet of music, which I inked and scrunched and spritzed, then added a leaf stamp motif which I heat embossed.

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Play On

The theme on Challenge Up Your Life for the next couple of weeks is Music. For my card, I chose not to use DP, but instead used a page from a music book - I used the same paper for my flowers.

Challenges Entered

Just Magnolia - Ribbons

Craftyhazelnuts - Music

The Craft Garden - Christmas, no red or green

Creatalicious - Christmas with sparkles

Crafty Creations - Recycle - vintage music paper

Deep Ocean - Vintage

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White Out

I've gone quite minimal on this one, although I did have a play with a dotty Creative Expressions mask to make the background. I embossed the card using the mask, then ran a Versamark pad over the mask so I could clear emboss the dots.

Challenges Entered

Passion For Promarkers - White on White

Penny Black at Allsorts - All Creatures Great and Small

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Green & Trees

Christmas Stampin' - Photo

Winter Wonderland - What a Cutie

Crop Stop - All White

Dutch Dare - All White

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Trimming Tilda

This card is for My Mums Craft Shop, where this weeks theme is Mix and Match papers. I love this Tilda with her stocking feet and quirky hair, she looks so cute.

Challenges Entered

Creatalicious - Christmas sparkles

Magnolia Down Under - Sentimental

Cute Card Thursday - Red

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Oldie But A Goodie

This is my second card as guest DT for Oldie But A Goodie - the theme this week is 'Let It Snow'. I've had this image coloured and ready for some time, so I'm glad to have had the opportunity to  use it finally.

Challenges Entered

Sweet Stamps - Non Traditional Christmas Colours

Craft Your Passion - Let It Snow

Dutch Magnolia Chickies - Christmas Card

One Stop - Ribbon and Lace

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Guest Designer at It's a Magnolia Challenge

A few weeks ago, I won a GD spot at It's A Magnolia Challenge the theme is Buttons and Bling.

Challenges Entered

Sparkles Forum - Angels

Cute Card Thursday - Red

Crop Stop -Colours of your flag (Wales, Red, White, Green)

Top Tip Tuesday - Anything Christmas Goes

Stamping Scrapping Central - Christmas

Simply Magnolia - Anything Goes

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Seeing Spots

The theme this week for Secret Crafter is Spots and Stripes, so here's my take on the challenge with another not traditional Christmas colour scheme.

Challenges entered

Top Tip Tuesday - Anything Goes Christmas

Magnolia Stamp Lovers - Christmas

Christmas Challenges - Sketch

Papertake - Christmas

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Sugar and Spice

This is rather late -oops! This week, the challenge at My Mums Craft Shop is Sugar and Spice, and we got to work with images by Saturated Canary.

Challenges Entered

Saturated Canary - Autumn Colours

Crafty Catz - digi image

Dutch Dare - Punches & Dies

Cooking It Up With Katie - Fancy fold flowers

Digital Tuesday - Anything goes

Craft Your Passion - anything goes + brown

Paper Sundaes - Digital Images

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Cards For Men

This is my first card made for the design team at Cards For Men. We all struggle with men!! so a little card inspiration can really help. This card uses a digital image, from Karens Doodles, I've not really used many digi's before, but am really warming to them, I have to say the fact that they don't take up any room is a real big plus. I did intend to colour the image, but then chose my papers and decided it looked good without.

Challenges Entered

Basic Grey - Anything Goes

Penny Black at Allsorts - All Creatures Great and Small

Karen's Doodles - Black and White plus 1 other colour (grey)

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Spellbinders Storage

I thought it might be useful to share the books I make to store my Nestabilities and other thin metal dies; I've had a look around the web and it seems quite a few people store them in the original packaging, but apart from the first few I bought, the packs are heat sealed and have to be cut apart which renders the pack useless. Anyway, this is what I do.
The pages to hold the dies are made from magnetic sheets - I found magnetic dry wipe boards, first from Home Bargains, but now my branch has run out, I'm using these from The Works. Each board will make two pages with a large chunk (technical term) left over. I save the pen holders for future projects (you never know!) and my husband uses the pens for work so nothing is wasted!!

At first my plan was to just bind the magnetic sheets together as they were, but then I thought they'd be more secure if they were inside something, so I bought some CD sleeves which cost about £1.99 for 50 at Wilkinsons. To stabilise the sleeves and to provide a strong place to punch my binding holes, I use acetate - for this I use packaging acetate from boxes and such, like the dies themselves are sold in. I stick the acetate to the sleeves with extra sticky tape (the red one) I ran out today, so I've had to use regular double sided.

My covers are art board off cuts, covered with designer paper, and I bind it all together with BIA wires then add my magnetic pages and dies.  I store the books flat to reduce strain on the binding.

So far I've made 6 of these - two for Spellbinders dies, one for Nellies & xcut, one for Marianne's, a longer one for longer label dies and one to keep my coloured images ready for making into cards. It's a system that works really well for me; my dies are organised and well kept as well as being accessible.

Thanks for looking.

Flaky Friends

I was lucky enough to be asked to be a Guest Designer at Challenge Up Your Life for November and December - this week, the challenge is Friendship. How cute do these two look making their snowman?

Challenges Entered

Bah Humbug - Snowman

Cardmakin Mamas - Die Cuts

Charisma Cards - Cutesy

Crop Stop - Create a snowman

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Blue For You

This is my first card for the Secret Crafter Design Team! The challenge is to use flowers, ribbons and lace. There's some great inspiration over there so why not take a look and show us your take on the challenge.

Challenges Entered

Allsorts - Anything but square

Crafty Hazelnuts - Bright colours

One Stop - Number 3 (3 flowers)

Crafty Ribbons - Bingo (buttons, ribbon, embossing)

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Let's Ink It Up

We have a new challenge starting today over at Let's Ink It Up This time we want you to share your favourite technique with us. This challenge is sponsored by Simon Says Stamp, who have generously donated a $20 store voucher.

Our second sponsor for November is Technique Junkie, who have donated a 3D and Fun Folds papercraft CD.

The technique I'm sharing is making my own background papers, using distress inks and resist technique. I started with plain white cardstock, stamped and heat embossed in clear, then added more images with the distress inks, before using more inks applied with a blender tool. Finally, I sprayed my paper with Perfect Pearls mist.

Challenges Entered

Just Magnolia - Anything Goes

Dutch Magnolia Chickies - Favourite  Magnolia Stamp

Winter Wonderland - Glitter - wings

Sparkles Forum - Angels

CES - Song or Film 'There must be an Angel by Annie Lennox'

Top Tip Tuesday - Make your own background

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Buttons & Bows

I was lucky enough to be asked to be Guest Designer for November/December at An Oldie But A Goodie. The theme for the next couple of weeks is Buttons & Bows and it's a great opportunity to dig out your old stamps and breathe new life into them.

Challenges Entered

Basic Grey - Anything Goes

Ribbon Carousel - Anything Goes

CES - New Beginnings

Sweet Stampin - Anything Goes

Card Makin Mamas - Cut It Out

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Thank You

The challenge this week at MMCS is a Thank You card - something we'll all need with Christmas coming up. This is my card, and you can see what the other members of the team have been up to by following the link.

Challenges Entered

Deep Ocean - Sweet

Creative Craft - Fancy Edges

Tuesday Throwdown - Thanks

Stampavie & More - Anything Goes

Papertake - Anything Goes

Thanks for looking