Happy Halloween

Believe it or not I've never made a Halloween card before! I was inspired by my friend Suzy Q (yes you read right Susan) when she showed me a card she'd made using an Elzybells image. I loved it and hopped straight onto Elzybells website to order it before she closed down. I managed to snap one up and it's been sitting patiently waiting to be inked lol.

Here's what I came up with...

I love these pp from Bo Bunny

I HAD to use glitter...even on the poor mummy and it looks pretty cute IRL

Mary J had used this web ribbon on her card here and I made the fatal mistake of asking where she got it. Well, she got it at Bunny Zoe's and of course I had to have a good root around. I picked up some of the web ribbon and some other gorgeous ribbons, charms and a 6 x 6 pad of the paper I used on my card in the previous post! I've no self control lol. I printed the greeting on the computer and that was it. I really like how it turned out.

I'd like to been ordered to enter my card in the following challenges:

By The Cute and Girly
Sarah Hurley Challenges

Time is ticking away for the first Challenge Blog challenge. Make sure you grab the banner and be ready Tuesday morning at 9am sharp for the hop to begin. Remember ...you DON'T have to have a blog to enter the challenges to win prizes. All will be explained :-D

Hope you have a great Halloween and if you go out tonight be careful and stay safe.

Catch ya later x

ps picking up BFF after I visit Jean in hospital. Will have a quick scoot round the craft show just in case I missed something lol.

Hello..I'm back!

Happy Saturday peeps! How are you this beautiful Saturday? We have a gorgeous day here in Glasgow but it hasn't been like this all week. Think monsoon and that's what we've had! I took the  pups out just before midnight last night and the rain was bouncing off the road and stopped once I got inside. Talk about soggy pups!

There was a ray of sunshine yesterday in the way of the craft show at the SECC. Suzy Q and I arrived just before 10 and had a great time. It was quite busy and got extremely hot so we were a bit flushed by the time we finished (I do like to think it was the heat and not me having a hot flush lol). Susan was a bit like Carrie from the Exorcist ... I'm sure her head was going around in circles trying to take everything in and I'm sure she was overwhelmed at times. I tried to keep her right about stuff ... I wish I had someone with experience when I first started going to the shows because I'm sure (no, I know) I've still got stuff from 6 or 7 years ago that even the craftiest of crafters wouldn't know what to do with lol.

BFF was our first stop...she's demonstrating for Cardcraft Plus and was well and truly sparkling by the time we got to her. She was using beautiful colours of glitter that found their way into my bag (paid for of course!)...whether I'm going to use them or not is another thing. But if I didn't get them I'm sure I would have got home and kicked myself. This is what else I bought...

 From the back: shaped cards and envelopes from Craftwork Cards..I'm hoping to use these for my Christmas cards. Middle: 2 MS punches, silver glitter and some little pots for my crystals. Front: The gorgeous glitters BFF was using, Penny Black sentiment stamp, 2 mini Glossy Accents (soooo cute)

 I bought these MME papers from Craftwork Cards...gorgeous.  I also ordered a few things from Stampin' Up which I hope will come in a week or so. They've got some flab new ribbon in my favourite colour...Old Olive...and some gorgeous new In Colours. Can't wait!

Susan bought a heat gun and some embossing powders among other goodies and we came back to my house so I could show her what to do with them. She'd bought some FS at CW during the week so I can only imagine the fun she's going to have!

This is one of the cards I made earlier this week. I had ordered these papers from Hayley and couldn't wait to use them. Of course you can see WHY I bought them lol. I thought Daydreaming Ruby with her little ladybug friend would be perfect for them.

 On hindsight the bow might be a bit big lol and maybe I should have done something else but I had it all stuck down so it stayed

I was going to decorate the inside but ran out of the green cs. I want to practise decorating the inside...I think my cards are quite boring now after seeing the lovely Mary J's cards...the inside of hers are as flabby as the ouside!

 If you're going to the SECC hope you have a great time and let me know if you get anything that I NEED in my craft room lol.

Don't forget about this Tuesday. It's the very first day of the Challenge blog AND it's a hop AND it's a new release!!! AND if you can stand any more excitement ... the challenges are not just for blog owners...anyone can join in and win prizes. All the details are revealed on TLT so make sure you stop by and I hope as many of you will join in as possible.

Right...my TLT card is calling me so I'd better get on it. Thanks for stopping by today and thank you for the comments for Ryan...I'm sure I saw him blush when he read them lol.

Have a great weekend!

Catch ya later x

Broken promise

I've had a busy old time since Tuesday. I have made some cards but haven't had a chance to photograph and upload them onto my laptop. Some I can't show you till next week anyway {she say's mysteriously bwaahahaha} !

Today I had to take Ruby to a vet hospital to get her back leg checked. The surgeon who amputated her hind leg almost 6 years ago now works there and he wanted to check it wasn't her arthritis that has been hindering her lately and possibly her cruciate of her remaining hind leg. It is under all sorts of pressure as she has to compensate for the missing leg and because of the disease that called for the amputation in the first place it isn't healthy to start with. He wanted to x-ray the leg again and since I had an hour and a half to kill.I took myself off into Stirling town centre and met my friend Jean for lunch. I hadn't seen Jean for a while so it was nice to catch up ... short but sweet!

The long and short of Ruby's story is she needs to have an operation next Thursday. Her cruciate hasn't ruptured but it's not far off. This is quite common in Boxer's but trust it to happen to her! She or should I say we will be out of action for 6-8 weeks. She won't be allowed to run around or climb stairs in this time and I will have to hold her up in a harness for her to do the toilet. She has to be confined to a room full stop. Ordinarily this wouldn't have been such a problem but with having another dog...a crazy Boxer...it will be! Rocky will have to go into Doggy Daycare for at least the firsts 3 weeks as I don't think I could manage to do EVERYTHING myself ie cook, clean, wash, iron, run a business, manage 3 blogs, make cards etc. It will only be Monday to Friday as I'll have help at the weekends but I can't take any risks with Ruby's surgery failing or her getting an infection. Thank goodness for pet insurance because it's going to cost roughly £2,500!!!!

I suppose in a way it's not the end of the world having to stay at home as I'll be able to make cards without worrying about Rocky not getting a decent walk.

Referring to the title 'Broken promise' ... I did promise not to post any more pictures of Ryan but since I don't have any cards to share at this point I didn't think you'd mind :-D These and a few others (I'll save them for another time lol) came through last night....

I {heart} this one

On another note lol...it's the Christmas craft show at the SECC starting today till Sunday. This is the first opening day I have missed since I started crafting but Suzy Q and I are going tomorrow. This will be her first and I can't wait to see her face when she's there. I might have to take a paper bag in case she starts to hyperventilate lololol. BFF arrived last night and I saw her briefly when I dropped some samples in to Gaynor from CW at the SECC. BFF always stays an extra day after the show so we can have a bit of a play which is always great fun. I'm hoping to get a Copic lesson in while she's here.

Anywho, I'd better get going. The buzzer on my oven is going and I have to get Rocky from DDC. Tonight is pensioner night...I'm seeing Sadie. She's getting a new bed delivered tomorrow so guess what I'm doing tonight...dismantling her bed ready for the new one!

Thanks for stopping by today :-D

Catch ya later x

TLT - Ang's Challenge - make your own designer paper

It's Tuesday and you know what that means...another TLT! This weeks challenge came from our lovely October Guest Designer Ang who chose 'create your own designer paper'. I didn't hear much squawking from the Lovely Ladybugs so I'm guessing they found this one pretty straight forward lol. It was a relief not to find my inbox full of whinging and whining Ladybugs...and I bet you didn't know Ladybugs could do that huh? 

So here are the cards starting with moi! I'm thinking this isn't the obvious way to make your own dp/pp but I thought it fit the bill and was a little bit different.

 It's raining....buttons!!! I sewed a line of straight (as straight as I'm ever gonna sew!) stitching in various lengths and then siliconed (yes...I'm going a bit wild with the silicone now lol) buttons on the end of each line. I saw this in a magazine a month or so ago and loved it. When I was trying to decide which image to use for this challenge I caught a glance at Wellies Robyn and knew this is the dp I wanted to do.

 I coloured her with my Copics and used my white gel pen to put polka dots on her bow, raincoat and wellies. I borrowed that from my lovely ladybug Michele :-D Robyn kinda looks like Mary Poppins without her puddle to splash in lol.

I used Glossy Accents on the umbrella and believe it or not just a pinch of Glamour Dust because I wanted the umbrella to still have that wet look. Probably needed the added protection from the falling buttons lol.

So that's my effort this week...I hope I passed the challenge. Have a look at what the Ladybugs came up with...flabulous gorjossity!

Ang

 

Anita

Gaelle

Hayley

Lisa

Mary J

Michele

Pinky

Sue

Tams

So that's it for this weeks TLT. I hope these cards have inspired you to created your own dp/pp. There are a few there that I'm definitely going to try out myself  :-D

At this point I'd like to thank Ang for being October's Guest Designer. It's been flab having you on our team and I know all the Lovely Ladybugs will join me in wishing you all the crafting success in the future :-D

Now don't forget about next week. What's going on you ask? Well it's only the very first challenge on our brand spankin' new Challenge Blog. But the excitement doesn't stop there...no siree bob...it's also a blog hop AND it's the  release of  the new Nikki & Friends stamps...and wait till you see Nikki's 'friend' {wolf whistle} lol.

Thanks for taking the time to visit today. Don't forget to leave some Ladybug Love for my hard working Ladybugs

Catch ya later x

Fancy a chat?

I was going to try and post this yesterday but I ran into all sorts of things that needed my attention so by the time I finished, it was too late and I was pooped! I didn't think you'd mind Ryan keeping you company until today but I promise I won't post another picture of him and keep this a strictly craftyish blog...unless there's a demand for another one lol.

I ordered the most scrumptious papers from my Lovely Ladybug Hayley the other day....Alphabet Soup Collection (boy and girl) from MME, Jack n' Jill Collection from Prima which have the cutest little ladybugs on, and Happy Together Collection from Fancy Pants...all absolutely gorgeous.

As soon as I saw this Alphabet Soup pp I knew what image I wanted to use...Chatty Nikki. I started off with one idea and it ended up something else...that ever happen to you? I'm not sure how I ended up with an easel card but I think it turned out pretty cool. I haven't showed it to Pierce because I know he'll think the pp's "too busy and takes away from the image"...his exact words lol.

 Hmmm...maybe it is too busy lol

 I can't help glittering up her top and IRL it's super sparkly :-D

 I thought my loopy punch was a perfect choice for the pp

I hotfixed a line of Swarovski crystals to keep the card open

So that's my card...how about these...

 I would love to say I made these tiny cupcakes but I didn't lol. I had a couple of friends over on Thursday morning to watch LCI's debut on Create and Craft. After dropping her daughter off at nursery my lovely dog walking buddy Suzy Q raced down to a newish bakery called Humble Pie and bought these gorgeous cupcakes and raced back to pick up another DWB Lynn and get to me before the 10am show. I can tell you they taste as good as they look.

Awwww...what a cupcake cutie lol. Thanks Susan for these yummy treats :-D

That's it for today...I'll check back in with you tomorrow.

Have a great weekend

Catch ya later x

Hope you're sitting down ladies...

My aim today is to make a card to post later...I've actually got quite a lot to do today but that is at the top of my list!

In the meantime I thought I'd show you Ryan's most recent modelling picture. He went to Edinburgh last weekend for a photoshoot and this was the end result. Remind me never to believe him when he says he doesn't like his picture taken ... hmph!

I'll be back later with some other kind of eye candy lol

Catch ya later x


ps Would competition winner Alison please get in touch with me please. I can't find your details to send your stamp :-D

Fluffy Stuff tutorial

I figured since I've been going on about Fluffy Stuff so much lately I'd show you a little tutorial just in case you haven't the foggiest what I'm talking about lol.

Before I found FS I tried something called Applique which I wasn't very fussed about for a couple of reasons. The first is once you applied it you had to wait till it dried before you fluffed it up and second it doesn't fluff up as much as FS (imho)

What you'll need is an image coloured in, FS, embellishments (glitter, beads etc), heat tool

 This is the FS and the beads I'm using in this tutorial

 I'm using Cupcake Cutie - Cherry On Top coloured in with Copics

Squeeze the bottle and evenly spread FS on the part of the image you want it

 Sprinkle wet FS with glitter, beads etc

 Heat your heat tool for a few seconds then hold it 3 or 4 inches over the FS and slowly move it across as the FS puffs up. Depending on the size of the area you're fluffing this should only take about 10 - 20 seconds.

I love watching it puff up!  When you're heating the FS the don't be alarmed if the image warps slightly and is slightly damp underneath ... it will straighten out either on it's own or once you've matted it.

All fluffed up

This is the finished card!

Why don't you give it a try...I can guarantee you'll have lots of fun :-D

Catch ya later x

LCI on Create and Craft!

I am so happy the Challenge Blog has been received well and I do hope what ever your level of crafting, you will join in :-D Personally, I  have never been on a DT or submitted my cards to a CB until I was pushed/shoved into (thanks Tams and Lisa!) setting up my own DT and now CB. I think it was because a couple of years ago (apart from a confidence issue)  I had a bad experience after submitting a card for a competition and I swore I would never do it again. I suppose I can't very well not participate in my own now can I lol.

Didn't my girls do well yesterday! Their cards were fabulous and as Hayley said it was nice to see LCI stamps used in different styles. I was a bit dubious whether the stamps would cross over from whimsical to shabby/chic/vintage but it just shows you with a bit of time/imagination and a bad week at work in Sue's case (she took it out on her paper lol) what you can come up with. I think we were all encouraged by your comments so once again thank you.

As much as I tried, I didn't get anything crafty done today but I do have some exciting news to share with you. I have a lot in the pipeline in the coming months for new characters and new and much loved older characters but to make room I need to have a bit of a clearout. So tomorrow (Thursday) at 10am on Create and Craft (channel 671) Debbi Moore will be showcasing 3 Ladybug Crafts Ink kits for sale. The themes are Christmas, Celebration and Everyday. Christmas includes Fireside, Prezzie and Skating Nikki, Celebration includes Birthday, Winestool, Bride and Best Friends Nikki and the Everyday set includes Unwell, Slobbing, Mermaid and Ironing Nikki. If you want to grab a bargain why don't you check it out...I promise you won't be disappointed!

I have to get the invitations finished for Friday so I'd better get going. All I've got to do is silicone the thistles on to the front of the invites. It sounds easy but I've never used silicone before so I'm a bit worried I might make a hash of it and have to start all over! Wish me luck lol.

Catch ya later x

It's TLT - Hayley's Challenge - Cats vs Dogs Shabby/Chic/Vintage and BIG news!!

Hey! It's another TLT and I can promise you an abundance of inspiration today. My Lovely Ladybugs have surpassed themselves this time (with the exception of me lol). To say this challenge has been challenging is the understatement of the year. In saying that everyone had their cards to me lickety split with mine bringing up the rear. I was soooooooooooo out of my comfort zone it wasn't funny. What I planned and what I ended up with don't match up but it's the taking part that counts right? I'm not sure if my card is Shabby...Chic...Vintage or Shabby/Chic/Vintage but I think the requirements are there with cats vs dogs lol. I hope Rocky and Ruby aren't offended that I've chose Magnum over Buttercup!

I hope you enjoy the cards....they are Magnifilicious today :-D

 I went with Basic Grey Wassil pp...I figured it fit the bill nicely. I didn't have anything else apart from the lace and the little brad loopy thing (which isn't sitting right :-d) so I made a little purchase on Saturday of the journalling tag and stamped a Christmas greeting. A bit of crooked stitching and fraying of the edges made it a bit more dirty looking {please forgive me clean lines!}

 I wasn't sure if glitter went with shabby/chic/vintage but hey...I couldn't give up EVERYTHING lol.

I bought some lace from Hayley ages ago and made a little lace flower finishing it off with a red button and twine. So that's my little offering.

Ang

Anita

Gaelle

Hayley

Lisa

Michele

Pinky

Sue

Tams

Mary J

Well??? What do you think? Don't you just LOVE what the girls did! The question I have to ask is...what the heck were we worrying about? lol. My little Ladybug's have certainly raised the bar this week so please leave them some Ladybug Love :-D

Now I promised you BIG news and BIG news you're gonna get! Are you ready for this...Ladybug Crafts Ink now has a Challenge Blog {clapping hands} !!!!! Lisa has assured me I am totally ready for it and that I can cope and all the info she tells me and it will eventually register in my swiss cheese of a brain lol.

The fun starts on 2nd November with our first challenge, but first we have some candy on offer and its so easy to win :-D

This is what you have to do:

A) Post a picture of the banner on your blog (and the candy if you wish) either in a post or your side bar.

B) Become a follower of the new Challenge Blog

C) Leave your name in the link with Mr Froggy.

Candy closes at 9am on Monday 1st Nov and the winner will be announced on Tues 2nd Nov when the first challenge will be announced.

Click HERE to be taken to the new Challenge blog

Good luck!

On a scale of 1-10 how BIG did I deliver lol! We are all raring to go and hope as many of you as possible will join in the challenges. It doesn't matter if you're a beginner or advanced we'd love to see your work.

That was too much excitement for one morning so I'm going to put the kettle on and have a sit down lol.

Thanks so much for stopping by today

Catch ya later x

PS If you can stand it I've got more news for you tomorrow!