I ♥ Promarkers - Sketch week

Mornin' :)  Today sees the start of a new challenge over at I ♥ Promarkers, where we have a really lovely, and simple sketch to follow.  I say simple...... but I just couldnt resist adding lots of embellies to mine! lol.

We are sponsored this week by one of our regular sponsors - Digi Doodle Shop  and the DT were given some lovely images to play with.

I actually chose the above image, as my poor dog Kevin took a wee tumble down the stairs and hurt his leg, and has had to have a bandage on it over the last week.  It wasnt serious, and its almost better, but I guess I made this with him in mind :) awww!

I used Papermania papers, Marianne dies, and MS butterfly and border punch.

I will be entering this card in the below competitions:

Allsorts challenge - Its Your Choice

Moving along with the Times - Layers

2 Sisters Challenge - Anything Goes

Lexis Creations - Monochromatic

Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes

Marianne Design Divas - Winter blues

Thanks so much for looking at my blog today, and all the lovely comments, they really are appreciated.  My internet has been pretty poor over the last couple of days, but I will be catching up later :)

Sweet Stampin - Masculine

Good morning fellow bloggers and happy weekend! :)

Today is the start of our new challenge at Sweet Stampin and this weeks theme is 'Masculine'.  We are sponsored by the wonderful  Quixotic Paperie (which I love!) and so its a really brilliant prize! :)

Now, I am not an impulse buyer of stamps - at all.  I prefer to have a (very long) wishlist, and then just get my favourites when I can, but I saw this cute little Nellie Snellen stamp last sunday and without even knowing it I had ordered it! :D lol!  I just 'HAD' to have this - I soooooooo wanna cuddle him!  Little boys have to have cheeky grins, lots of mischief and mud on their faces, and think this is just adorable. :)

It also turned out to be quite handy, because I really struggle with male themed cards, and never know quite where to start, and quite how to finish ;) lol. 

My Cameo gets all the credit for this card, it cut out the layered shutter doors, the sheriff's badge, hinges and even the 'Wanted' sign. I just distressed and hand-stitched HOTP papers and then added some brads, button brads (HOTP) and extra stitching on the border.  The charm was from my generous blogging buddy Abi  which was so perfect for this - thanks hun! :)

I am entering this card in the following competitions:

Stamptacular Sunday - Charm Me

Dream Valley - Just for Men

Crafters Companion - Anything Goes

Papertake Weekly - Gettin Krafty

Creative Card Crew - Masculine

Do You Stack Up - Distress

Crafty Catz Weekly - 'B' - My B is for boys, buttons and brads

2 Sisters Challenge - Anything Goes

Moving Along with the Times - Layers

Bunny Zoe's Challenge - Celebrations

Paper Sundaes - Birthday

Thanks so very much for looking at my blog today,  and I hope everyone has a really smashing weekend!

Charisma Cardz - ♥ Love is in the Air ♥

Good Morning fellow bloggers! :) And yes, I am back today in a much better mood!  See my post below if you have been experiencing the same blogger issues as me, as I found another temporary fix!  :) You cant keep a determined girl down! ;) lol!

So, this card is for our new challenge starting today over at Charisma Cardz where our theme is  ♥ Love is in the Air ♥.  We have 2 great sponsors this week, the ever generous and wonderful Joanna Sheen, and the brilliant DigiStamp Boutique.

I used another gorgeous Lili of the Valley stamp which had been on my wishlist for ages, and I finally snapped it up when it was on offer.  I went all out for a bit of colour on this, and it is quite bright for me.  I hand-stitched and distressed K&Co papers, used Spellbinder, Joy and Marianne dies, and an MS punch.  The flowers are WOC, and the ribbon is Joanna Sheen.

I will be entering this card in the below competitions:

Totally PaperCrafts - Ribbons and Bows
Allsorts Challenge - Anything Goes
Emerald Faeries - Tag it
Crafters Companion - Anything Goes

Thanks so much for looking at my blog, and I hope everyone has a smashing day :)

More Blogger issues and another temporary fix! :(

So, last night and all day today I have been unable to write a post.  All I see is a spinning widget and the text box that never loads.  I am not alone in this, as its affected many people these last few days.

I still believe that this constant stream of 'new incompatibility issues' for users of Internet Explorer are a determined and manipulative move to make us all switch to Google Chrome. 

I will not be bullied into switching browsers!

So, after much research and moaning (lol) I have discovered a wee fix until blogger fix it.

If you are experiencing the same problem as me and have a 'compatibility button' (situated top left) on your address bar like the one below:

then as soon as you enter your 'edit post' page, click the icon and it should fix it. 

It worked for me :)

Hope this helps, if you are stuck,

I ♥ Promarkers - Dandelion Clock

Well this post almost didnt get written.  Blogger has been a right nightmare for me today and I nearly chucked the towel in as it got to 1am and was still unable to edit my post.  :(  I was literally sat in tears - tut!

Anyway, today sees the start of a new challenge over at I ♥ Promarkers and our theme this week is 'Time'.  We are sponsored this week by the fabby Crafty Emmas Store so well worth playing along! :)

This challenge had me scratching  my head for days - lol!  I had no idea how to interpret the theme with what I had, but eventually settled on the gorgeous 'Dandelion Clock' stamp by Lili of the Valley.  I love this stamp! 

I used some marble sky glitter card for the backing, and cut lots of little dandelion type flowers from a Marianne die.  I then added irridescent MS tinsel glitter, layering them up and slotting  into the back of another Marianne die.  I was aiming for it to resemble a clock! lol.  The border die is Memory Box and the doily die is Nellie Snellen.

I am entering this card in the below competitions:

Crafts & Me - Shades of Spring - I thought the stormy sky backing paper was perfect! lol
ABC Challenge - J = Jazz it up - glitter and bling
Do You Stack Up - Layers
Bunny Zoe's Crafts - Celebrations
Crafty Catz Challenge - My Favourite Things - Dies! :)
Allsorts Challenge - Anything Goes
Paper Sundaes - Birthdays
Cute Card Thursday - Flower Power - Mr Google says dandelions are flowers, lots of little ones :)
Thanks so much for looking at my blog today, and I will be back again tomorrow with another card :)

Nature - I ♥ Promarkers :)

Good Morning :)  Today is the start of our new challenge over on I ♥ Promarkers and our theme is 'Nature'.  We are sponsored this week by the generous Stampeezee who are giving our winner a fab £10 voucher to spend on their online store.

For my DT card, I used a lovely Teddy Bo image, as it was perfect for the theme, and coloured with my PM's.  I cut the below stencil out of bazzill card on my Cameo, and then chalked and inked through onto some plain textured ivory cardstock for my backing.  This is the first time I have tried this technique and was quite pleased with the soft and natural look.  I also sprayed it with perfect pearls from a mister, so its slightly shimmery IRL.  I then bunged the used stencil on the back of the card - waste not, want not! :D

The dies are a mix of Doo-Hickey, Spellbinder and Memory Box, and the quote is from a poem by W.H. Davies, which often seems to rattle around my head when I am walking my dogs.  I still havent seen where a squirrel hides its nuts tho! :D

I am entering this card in the below competitions:

The Stampman Challenges - Texture

Sir Stampalot Challenges - In the Garden

Allsorts Challenge - Free and Easy February

Moving Along with the Times - Cute Critters

Simon Says Stamp and Show - Anything Goes

Thanks so much for looking at my blog today and for all your lovely comments, they really make my day,

CAS at Sweet Stampin' - EEK!!

Yay!!.....Happy Weekend! :)

Now our new challenge over at Sweet Stampin today is CAS!!... A genre I particularly excel at - NOT! :D lol!  We are sponsored this week by Stamp Addicts Shop who are giving a brilliant prize to the winner, and I hope we see lots of fabby entries as I could do with the inspiration :)

I admit to being in a panic over this CAS malarky, as to me, its not about how to start, its about when to stop.   I cant resist just adding stuff and whooshing around with dies, flowers, bling and what-not.  Anyway, I have had this old wooden rubber stamp for years and it was the first time I had used it.  That in itself proved quite a trial and a real challenge to finish up with an image I was happy with.  It took me about 12 attempts using various ink pads and colours, but the Versafine Black Ink pad proved champion and it literally  knocked spots off the others when it came to fine detail.

Not much else to say about this card, as it was quite simple. I will try to resist finishing it later! LOL.

I am entering this card in the below competitions:

Simon Says Stamp - Love is in the Air

Paper Sundaes - CAS

Sentimental Sundays - Feel the Love

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes

Do You Stack Up - Love

Dream Valley - Valentine

By The Cute and Girly - Love is in the air

Creative Inspirations - Lots of Love

Totally Gorjuss - Lurve

Thanks so much for looking at my blog and have a smashing weekend! :)

Love is in the Air - I ♥ Promarkers

Awww! Forever Friends bears always make me want to hug someone - how scarey is that?!! :D lol

Our new theme today over on I ♥ Promarkers is 'Love is in the Air', and we are sponsored this week by Letraset who are giving the winner a fab pack of Promarkers! :) Brilliant!

For this card I used a great digi-stamp from one of my Forever Friends cd's and printed it 3 times (once on red Bazzill) so I could layer it up.  The rest of the work was done on my Cuttlebug and I used one of my favourite Marianne layered dies, a joy craft heart die and a swirly embossing folder.  The pearly card is centura from Crafters Companion and its so much more gorgeous IRL!

I am entering this card in the below competitions:

Deep Ocean Challenge - Love You

Do You Stack Up - Anything Goes

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes + Love

Allsorts Challenge - Free & Easy (2nd entry)

Dream Valley Challenges - Valentine

Bling it On - Love is all around

Emerald Faeries - Be My Valentine

Crafters Companion - Anything Goes

Forever Friends Monthly Challenge - Valentine
Simon Says Stamp - Love is in the Air
Truly Scrumptious - Love & Hearts

Ooh La La Creations - Valentine

Lexis Creations - Love

Kreative Stempelfreunde - Valentine

Thanks so much for looking at my blog today, and I will be back tomorrow with another card,

No DT - Just for me :)

I thought I would share this card today ............... just because :) 

I dont very often get time to play just for the fun of it, as I am usually trying to work in advance with DT stuff, but I stumbled upon some old vintage photos I bought years ago from Joanna Sheen and couldnt resist just sitting and having a play.  All the papers and card used on this are from my scraps box, as I quite often just like to see what I can make from bits and bobs that I didnt want to throw away. 

I hand-stitched, distressed and painted scraps of K&Co paper, and it all just kind of fell into place itself after that - lol! :)  The chipboard sentiment is also from ancient stash and I just 'ruffed it up' a bit.

I am entering this card in the below competitions:

Joanna Sheen Challenge - Love is in the Air

Crafts and Me - Brighten up your day

Bling it On - Love is all around

ABC Challenge - I = In Pairs - 2 pins

Truly Scrumptious - Love & Hearts

Deep Ocean Challenge - Love You

Do You Stack Up - Anything Goes

Vintage Udfordring - 3d

Creatalicious Challenges - Love

Marianne's Design Divas - In with the new - I used my new Ivy Die by Marianne :)

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today, and have a smashing weekend!

Sweet Stampin - Animals :)

Awww, I was feeling really ready for spring when I made this card, and its not stopped sleeting or trying to snow since! :) lol.

So, our new theme today over at Sweet Stampin is 'Animals', and we are sponsored this week by Di's Digi Downloads, and one of our regular monthly sponsors Joanna Sheen.

I was really chuffed we had this theme, as I always seem to neglect or forget my Penny Black stamps, and they are just lovely to use.   I hand stitched the papers - no idea what they are, as they were from my scraps box, and followed Donna's great sketch on the Sunday Sketch & Stamp blog.  The letters were cut on my digi-cutter.

I am entering this card in the below competitions:

Joanna Sheen Challenge - Celebration

Sunday Sketch & Stamp - Fabby sketch

Stamptacular Sunday - Seeing spots

Dream Valley Challenge - Animals

Bling it On - New Beginnings

Emerald Faeries - Green & Yellow

By The Cute & Girly - New Beginnings.

Papertake Weekly - Happy Highlights

Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Totally Gorjuss - Welcome

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today, and I hope everyone has a smashing weekend!

Pretty in Pink - Charisma Cardz

Back again today with another card to share :)

Todays card is for our new challenge over at Charisma Cardz where this week our theme is 'Pretty In Pink' and we are sponsored by Digistamp Boutique and Crafty Emmas Store.  Both fab prizes! :)

I followed last weeks sketch on Just Magnolia and hand-stitched and layered Papermania papers and kraft coloured card.  I distressed and inked the edges and then painted with white acrylic paint.  The flowers are WOC and they were sprayed with white undercoat model paint, to add to the shabby chic look.

I am entering this card in the below competitions:

2 Sisters Challenge - Embossing - the white pearl paper panel is embossed

Craft Your Days Away - Distressing

Papertake Weekly - Happy Highlights - Glitter

Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Crafts and Me - Pink and Sparkly

Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes

Deep Ocean Challenge - Sparkle

Moving Along with the Times - Bloomin Marvelous

Dutch Magnolia Lovers - Kraft, white +1 colour and embossing folder.

Thanks so much for looking at my blog today, and I appreciate all the wonderful comments :)

I ♥ Promarkers - Purple & Pink!

Not a card from me today! :)

Todays theme over at I ♥ Promarkers is Purple and Pink. . . . . . . . . . hmmm, so this had me stumped a bit, cos I am not a big fan of purpaidh (Gaelic for purple) :)  We are sponsored this week by the very generous  Digi Doodle Shop, and when I saw this Stargazer Lily image I thought it was perfect for the theme.

For a change I made a card wrap, letting my digi-die cutter do most of the work and using a downloaded design.  I sized it to 5 x 5 inches and inserted a piece of pale pink card inside to show the details of the cut.  The oval is a marianne die and I coloured and decoupaged the image several times for depth.   I chalked the edges and inbetween the cuts to soften it off a little.  The wrap tucks in at the top like an envelope, as the image secures the other 3 sections.  Easy peasy :)

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today, and I will be back again tomorrow with a card,

Anything Goes - I ♥ Promarkers

Happy Wednesday! :)

Today is the start of a new challenge at I ♥ Promarkers, and this week it couldnt be easier to join in as our theme is 'Anything Goes'.  We are sponsored this week by Digital Downloads where my teamie Lorraine is offering a £10 voucher to this weeks winner.  Great prize! :)

I used a gorgeous LOTV stamp and hand-stitched Prima and K&Co papers and bazzil card.  I used spellbinder and doo-hickey dies and the image was coloured with PM's.  Im not usually a fan of orange, or even warm and spicy colours, but I really enjoyed making this card.

I am entering my card in the below competitions:

Lili's Little Fairies - Use your favourite LOTV stamp.  I read on a friends blog that she couldnt choose, and so just put her hand in a bag and drew one out randomly.  I did the same! :)  I have a box full of them, and they are all gorgeous.

Papertake Weekly - Buttons, bows, bling and blooms

Sketch Saturday - Great Sketch! :)

Ladybug Crafts Inks - Bows

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - Glitter Latte - 2nd Entry

Deep Ocean Challenge - Sparkle and Glitter

Stamptacular Sunday -  Texture

CES Challenges - Vintage

Now, Im still struggling to leave comments on some of my favourite blogs due to the recent changes blogger made to embedded commenting  (white screen and crashing).  So if you havent had many comments over the last few days please checkout my post below just in case you are affected by these changes and its stopping people from being able to access your blog and comment. :)  If we all have pop-ups its also much quicker too ;)

Sweet Stampin - Glitter, Shine & Bling!

Morning, I hope everyone has smashing plans for the weekend :)

My card today is for our new challenge over at Sweet Stampin, where the theme this week is 'Glitter, Shine & Bling'.  We are sponsored this week by the gorgeous Emerald Faeries, and the DT were given some adorable images to play with.  :)

I layered Papermania papers, Marianne, Doo-hickey and Spellbinder dies and just topped them off with some ice diamond glitter and ice blue gems.  Pretty quick card to make, as I have been chasing my tail this week! lol :)

I am entering this card in the below competitions:

Dream Valley - Anything Goes

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - Glitter Latte

Paper Cutz Challenge - Use any colours you like - I like blue! :)

Thanks so much for looking at my blog today, and good luck to everyone entering the challenges.

Blogger Issues - White screen, no comments - Fix :)

Just a quick wee post from me today.

Yesterday my blog wasnt playing nicely, and everytime I tried to access a post from the main page to read comments etc, it just went blank.

I googled blogger issues, and it seems that they have altered the 'threading' in embedded comments yesterday, and many other bloggers were having the same problem.

The easy fix is:

Settings
Comments
Comment Placement - You have to untick the radio button next to Embedded Comments and select 'Pop Up' instead.

This will fix it :)  And will allow people to see your blog properly and leave comments.  Hope this helps anyone having the same problems.

Edited to add: This will only fix the issue on your own blog, you cant change what you see on others blogs obviously, and this could affect quite a few blogs :(

xxalisonxx