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Tuesday 29 October 2013

Picture It! Photo Inspiration Challenge

Morning!!! How are you all? Are you ready for a new challenge? Before I tell you about it I want to say a big thank you to everyone who entered our Anything Goes Challenge ... we had an amazing amount of stunning entries. Make sure you head over to the Challenge Blog to see if you were one of the winners :- D

This fortnight's challenge was chosen by Lisa who has sadly stepped down from the DT for a break but we hope to welcome her soon :-D

Lisa has chosen a Photo Inspiration Challenge...something I struggle with! I'm looking forward to seeing your interpretation of the picture below.



I am still on a Skinny Malinky high and decided to use Kera...she is so classy and sophisticated....a bit like me....not lololol! Anyway...here she is...let me know what you think...



It's my SIL's birthday next week and thought it would be a good idea to be on time for a change ;-D I printed Kera on PTI white cs and coloured her with my Copics. I added Glossy Accents to her glasses and a couple of her bags as well as some glitter. I wanted a large orange button and after a bit of digging found a packet of brand new self adhesive ones I bought about 7 years ago....see, I KNEW I needed them lol. I also bought a pack of purple ones so keep your eye out for those ;-D



I added white dots to the green bag with my Inkssentials pen but I'm not happy with it's performance. If anyone has a white pen they swear by can you let me know please.


I really like the way the card turned out and I hope SIL will like it too.

I'd like to enter the following challenges:

Make It Monday - Anything Goes
Die Cuttin Divas - Anything Goes Use a Die (scallop border)
Deep Ocean Challenge - Button up!
Divas by Design - Use Some Orange
Whimsy Stamps Challenge - Anything Goes

MIL and FIL are over at the moment. They haven't seen Coen since July and are totally besotted with him. SIL (who the b'day card is for) sent the bear hat Coen is wearing below... so cute!!!


His big cousin Ciara sent him the little vampire outfit he's wearing below. Don't worry, he doesn't have any makeup on...I altered it with the app on my phone. He just happened to have his mouth open like a vampire when Nic too the picture lol.


That's all I have for you today. Make sure you check out the DT and GD stunning makes. Oh before I forget... after GD's Chris and Kath begged and sent a rather large cheque, I have agreed to let them stay on...fantastic!!! 

Catch ya later x 

Tuesday 22 October 2013

New Release Skinny Malinky's Part 2


OH MY WORD!! What a plonker or should I say Malteser (dark on the outside blonde inside) lol!!!! Just as well I'm the boss...it could have got ugly rofl. 

Ok...here it is...what you've been holding your breath for (not tee hee).... heeeeerrrreeeeee'ssss 
BERNIE!!!!!


Was she worth the wait??? I think so though will make sure I read my notes properly in future ;-D As always I coloured the printed image with my Copics. I haven't used my sewing machine in a while so dusted it off and stitched the image to orangey brown cs (note to self: when choosing cs for mounting make sure you have enough for the inside too :-S ) and the pp before sticking it to the card front. I printed the sentiment on the computer, cut it out my with Die-namics fishtail banner dies and fixed it to the image panel with brads. A bit of glitter and WOS and card was done phew!!!


oooh...dodgy colouring on Bruce the dog :-( I added clouds with a cloud cut out die, sponge and ink


Notice the different shade of orange on the inside doh!!

I'd like to enter the following challenges:

Artistic Inspiration - Anything Goes
Lady Anne's Challenges - Autumn/Fall
Make It Monday - Anything Goes
Sparkle N Sprinkle - Anything Goes with Glitter, Embossing Powder and/or Flocking
Use Your Stuff - Color Challenge - use Orange, Green & Brown
Perfectly Rustics - Patterned Paper

Remember you can win ALL 12 Skinny Malinky digi images ...you can read how on the Challenge Blog

We were at a 18th birthday party at the weekend in Manly. It was a great night and there were a few sore heads in the morning except mine ;-D The only one that was bright as a button was Coen lol. I took this picture of him sitting unaided though Grandpa was beside him just in case ;-D



I know I'm biased but he's such a cutie :-D

Thanks for stopping by

Catch ya later x

Tuesday 15 October 2013

Blingtastic New Release - Skinny Malinky's - Veronica

Simply Sensational...that's what I think of our new release!!!! I have been sitting on the Skinny Malinky's for months now...chomping at the bit to release them and I thought now was as good a time as any. I don't know about you but I'm a bit over Christmas at the moment ... you won't find a single snowflake in the new release lol. 

There are 12 Skinny Malinky's in the collection though you will only see 6 this week and the other 6 next week. Cruel I know but there's a method to my madness lol. They have been illustrated by the most wonderful Jan White.

As usual for a new release the DT and our 2 GD have only seen the image they were given so they are going to be surprised too. 

You will have a chance to win ALL 12 Skinnies. Each DT and GD have a letter hidden in their post ... one DT has 2 letters. Gather all the letters, spell out the word and email your answer to lcichallengeblog@aol.com. We would love to know what you think of the new release so please leave a comment too :-D

Are you ready???? Here you go....meet Veronica!


Isn't she FABULICIOUS!!! I LOVE her...she's just so cool. This is the first time I've coloured African American skin and I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. I hadn't a clue where to start but found a brilliant video tutorial by Suzanne Dean. She has a library of Copic colouring tutorials of skin, hair, clothing, highlighting etc. They are well worth a look :-D For Veronica's skin I've used E11, E13, E21, E25 and R32 for her cheeks and for her hair E25, E47 and E49




I had a nightmare colouring the chair and had to bring out my Prisma pencils to save it. Not 100%t happy with it but hey ho. I glittered up her hairband, purse, frills and heels of her shoes, added Swarovski crystals to her necklace, ring and purse clasp and a Wink of Stella to her lips and belt.






So what do you think? I hope you'll love this release as much as I do. This is not a hop but you do need to visit the other Ladybugs and Guest Ladybugs blogs to gather the letters for a chance to win the Skinny Malinky Collection. You're in for a treat...I've seen ALL the inspiration from the DT and GD and they're FABTASTIC!! Please leave them plenty of Ladybug Love :-D

I'd like to enter the following challenges:

Make It Monday - Anything Goes
Crafty Ribbons Challenge - Anything Goes with ribbon
Crafting By Design - Anything Goes
My Heart Pieces - Anything Goes

My Tuesday post wouldn't be complete without a picture or 3 of Coen. I took these pictures on Sunday when Nicole, Ben and Coen were over for dinner. Grandpa was having a cup of tea and a biscuit. While Nic was out of the room he gave Coen one and I snapped away lol. Hubby loves to wind Nic up and when I text her the picture she almost had a fit tee hee. I used a free App on my phone called Instascrap...it's great fun and the closest I'll ever get to scrapbooking lol.


That's it for me for today. Have fun looking at the new release!

Thanks for stopping by.

Catch ya later x

Tuesday 8 October 2013

Stitching or Paper Piercing Midway Reminder


How the heck are you? I've had a busy old week...don't think crafting was involved though :-( Luckily I had made quite a lot (read that as 50+ in 5 days!!!) of cards last month for a Macmillan coffee morning and one had stitching...lucky ol' me lol.

I've used Snowball Silly Snowman...



I printed Snowball in the bottom left corner and coloured him with my Copics. I stamped the sentiment on a piece of white card, trimmed it and scalloped the bottom with a punch before stitching it to the main card.


I added a tiny pom pom as a snowball I'd bought ages ago when I was home on holiday.


I tied a piece of  Baker's Twine at the top and stuck the bottom of the sentiment down with a foam pad so it was slightly raised. I was really pleased with the end result and more so when both cards were sold!!

Coen is 5 months old tomorrow!!!! Thought it was time to switch from weeks to months lol. He's developing a great little personality...has started taking sips from a cup and last week tasted his first home made food. He LOVES butternut squash and apple sauce...banana isn't a favourite yet lol. 


Now I must warn you...the following video will make you smile if not chuckle!!


I hinted last week that I might have something up my sleeve to share....well the time has come. We have a new release on the 15th and I think you might just love it! The DT are working really hard with their images to bring you fabulous inspiration and we have not one but 2 Guest Designers bringing their talents to the release! So put the date in your diary and join us for some fun.



Catch ya later x

Thursday 3 October 2013

He'd get less for murder!!

It's my anniversary today...30 years...can't believe he's put up with me for all these years lol. There were a few doubters....well hubby did propose 2 weeks after we met but there's no way I could say yes...had to play hard to 
get lol ;-D We married 6 months to the day after we met!

Here we are on our wedding day....



and this is the most recent picture of the two of us together at Nicole and Ben's wedding last May




Anywho here's the card I made for him. He likes plain and simple...no fancy pp...so plain and simple he got! 




Yes those are pearls on the numbers and yes I glued every single one of them on lol. Turns out hubby said it was my best card ever...not so sure about that!!

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

Kaboodle Doodles - Your Special Day
Make It Monday - Anything Goes
Tammy's Scrapin Corner - Monochromatic
The Pink Elephant - Wedding/Anniversary

We've got a hot date tonight...we're babysitting and getting a chippy lol.

Catch ya later x

Tuesday 1 October 2013

Piercing, Stitching or Inky Stitch Challenge

Ok...all together...How the heck did we get to October so fast??!!!! It's incredibly scary how fast this year has flown by...can someone please stop the clock for a little while!

Anywho...morning and welcome to a shiny new challenge here at LCI lol! Thank you to everyone who entered our Anything But Square challenge...to see if you're one of the winner's check out our Challenge Blog

Today's challenge has been brought to you buy the letter J....Julie...I'm practicing my Sesame Street chat for Coen lol. 

Now to be honest Julie confused a couple of the Ladybugs...me included. We thought it was Paper PIECING....one of my favourite techniques. Paper PIERCING however is NOT lol. Thank goodness she added stitching ;-D

It's my niece's birthday on the 7th and decided that although I love Billie I didn't want to use her. If you haven't noticed I've kinda used her a lot lately lol. The image that instantly came to mind was digi Handbag Nikki. Ciara LOVES handbags...she's got quite a collection of posh ones lol. Here's my card...let me know what you think....



I wanted to do something different from my usual square (although I think I might have mentioned recently that a rectangle is a square that has been stretched lol) so did a bit of surfing and combined elements I liked from different layouts I saw.

I printed Handbag Nikki, coloured her with my Copics and fussy cut her. I hand drew a wave onto cardstock and traced it on 2 different Bazzill pp's (one is double sided). I matched the waves and tacked them together onto the white cardstock before stitching along the edge. So far so good??? 


Ummmm no....I meant to put a computer generated sentiment directly onto the white cs BEFORE I did the stitching :-S Not to be beaten I typed and printed Happy Birthday, attached the white panel with removable tape and ran it through the computer again and Voila! Arrgggghhhhhhhhh!!! I really didn't want to start over so I just traced the wave again and stitched it over the inked piece and it looks fine ... phew lol!



Once the panic was over I stuck Handbag Nikki to the front of the card with foam pads, added Rose and Light Rose 2mm Swarovski crystals for a bit of bling and a Wink of Stella to Nikki's top and cow print bag for a subtle sparkle.


What do you think??? I think it's one of my favourites for a long while :-D

I'd like to enter the following challenges:

Lacy Sunshine Challenge - Stitching Real or Faux
The Squirrel and the Fox - Happy Birthday
Craftin Desert Diva's - Anything With Sentiment
Paper Makeup Stamps - Pretty In Pink/Pink Awareness
Kaboodle Doodles - Your Special Day
Make It Monday - Anything Goes

Nicole, Ben and Coen went up north to visit Ben's parents for 4 days. Although I missed Coen terribly (he's 19 weeks tomorrow!) I managed to catch up on a few things lol.

This is a fab picture of the 3 of them...


and look what the little rascal was up to....


underage drinking lol. Bad Uncle Sam lol

I just had to show you this picture  Nic took it yesterday... 


Then I did my little thing with my PS Express app....fun!


My favourite picture of me and the little guy...


We look forward to seeing what you come up with for this challenge. We'd love to see more entries using LCI images and the best thing is you get an extra prize if you do!!

I'm working on something that the Ladybugs are going to share with you VERY soon...I think you're going to like it. Just keep the 15th free...that's all I'm saying ;-D

Thanks for stopping by

Catch ya later x