Thankfully I think I've finally caught up with my cards :-D It was my DBLS's (darling big little sister) birthday on the 27th of June so comparing it to the rest of the late cards this one is positively on time. I don't feel too bad about this one because she's ALWAYS late with my cards so that makes us even ... I know even at 47 and 49 we're na na na-ing ... typical sisters lol.

ANYWHO I managed to get into my workroom and came up with this...

I don't know if many of you know this but Original Nikki was the first image I saw when her illustrator emailed over the sketches when I started LCI so I have a real soft spot for her. I saw her through my fingers because I was so excited and couldn't bare to look incase I didn't like her but of course it was love at first sight with just a bit of tweaking.

There's something about her that I just adore

Now the card is made I need to find a little prezzie to go with it then get it mailed. Unfortunately I don't have the postal strike for an excuse any more!

It's a glorious day here. I had the pups up at CB this morning and we had a great walk. Ruby disappeared for a bit which is unlike her. A fellow walker found her and she came flying over the hill licking her lips which can only mean one thing...she was eating horse poo! I don't know what they find so apetizing about horse poo but obviously it didn't agree with her as she was soon eating grass by the mouthful and brought it all back up...ewwwwwwwwwwwww...apologies if you're having breakfast/lunch/dinner while you're reading this lol. The joys of being a dog owner :-D

I do hope you'll come back tomorrow because it is probably THE most special day of the year...even more than Christmas! I think it might even become an international holiday and will be forever stamped on our calendars. What is it? Can't tell you but pop back tomorrow to find out! For me personally...I can't wait till it's over lol!

Hope you have a flabulous week and the sun is shining wherever you are :-D

Catch ya later x

VERY Last Minute Annie!

You all know by now that I've been pretty late with birthdays recently but I think this one takes the cake! It was my friend Jean's birthday May 16 and although I was in Vancouver at the time I did have the intention of making her card and getting Nicole to mail it closer to the day. Well, you'll know that didn't happen and since I've been home I've been playing catch up KWIM. We finally had a lunch date for Thursday just past and there was NO WAY I was arriving without Jean's card so once I dropped the dogs off at doggy daycare I came home and set to work. Yup, you read right...I made it 2 hours before we were due to meet!!! I know Jean will be reading this and I am hanging my head in shame but thankfully she knows what I'm like (though she did say when I gave it to her that when she'd been reading my blog and was seeing cards for OTHER's being made she wondered if she'd EVER get one lol) and is very forgiving and I do pay her handsomely to be my friend...ok that last one isn't true lol.

So having only 2 hours (that's quick for me!) this is what I came up with...

Balloon Ruby hadn't seen ink in ages so she got inked and coloured up.

It's amazing what you see when you PS pictures...like how bad your colouring is! This isn't one of my finest but as I am shaming myself I thought I might as well show you. Don't even get me started with the balloon!

THIS I'm proud of...look at that sewing! I cut a thin piece of card and zigzagged over it and it turned out pretty darn good IMHO!

It had been a good few months since we'd met up so we had a lot of catching up to do. We have a great friendship where we just pick up where we left off which I think are the best friendships to have :-D

My followers are creeping up and I am so delighted and thankful...do you think we can make it to 300??? Just kidding lol.

Have a great weekend

Catch ya later x

Happy Birthday Gaelle!!!

Happy birthday to you...happy birthday to you...happy birthday dear Gaaaa---elllle, happy birthday toooooo youuuuuuuuuu!! Yup..it's another Ladybug birthday...2 down one to go lol. I have to make BIG apologies to Gaelle as I only mailed her card yesterday and as she's in France she won't get it until next week BUT had she lived in the UK she would have got it today. I'm still living up to my 'last minute Annie' tag :-S

I don't normally post cards on my blog until the recipient has received them but I want Gaelle to see that I have made her one! So this is it Gaelle...I hope you like it....

I haven't inked up Shopping Nikki in like..forever... and she caught my eye as I was going through my stamps. I've used that yummilicious Echo Park pp I got last week (I've still got one sheet so you'll be seeing a lot more of it!)

What do you think of the blue shopping bag? I gave it an extra special treatment by colouring it with my Copics then GA'ing tiny clear micro beads over it....flabulous no?

I hope you're having a wonderful birthday Gaelle.

I went for a run yesterday although I really didn't want to as it was raining but the hubster convinced me that running in the rain was actually fun ??!! I have a route that I do that's roughly 2.4 miles and pretty flat with 2 slight hills. I decided I wanted to tackle a hill ... I would actually argue that it's a mountain but not many would believe me lol. Normally I get the train there and run back but I missed it so the hubster dropped me off and I set on my way. I got the breathing under control and was feeling pretty good...rain wasn't too bad. A few cars had passed me being extremely considerate except one. I swear when he saw me and the puddle he purposely swerved into it and soaked me from head to toe!!! I called him for EVERYTHING but kept on going. Finally I was coming to the mountain hill and decided I was NOT going to stop for any reason and I dug my heels in and at Kerry speed made my way up and up and up till finally I made it to the top!!! It was a real Rocky moment ...you know when he makes it to the top of the stairs and raises his arms jumping for joy lol. Thankfully it was all down hill from there and as I made my way down I saw something that made me laugh out loud. There's one of those speed signs that if you go above 30 mph it flashes at you to slow down. As I was making my way down the hill it started flashing and I can assure you I was lucky to be going 3 miles an hour let alone 30 lmao!

With that I'll love you and leave you :-D

Thanks for stopping by

Catch ya later x

TLT - Sue's Challenge - Summer Birthday's - and OMG!!!

I'm going to have to say an almighty OMG...I've done it!!! You've done it!!! We've done it!!! What is IT??? IT is 201 followers yeeeeeee hawwwwwww lol!!!! The internet has been awful for days now so sometimes I can log on and sometimes I can't then sometimes I can see my followers and sometimes I can't so it was fabulicious to see that amazing number when I finally managed to log on. I can't tell you how thrilled I am that you have signed up...I KNOW it has nothing to do with the blog candy at all  {wink} I'm so giddy I can't even get all your names straight so for now I just want to that ALL of you that have become followers (BTW...there's no going back...you cannot UN-follow me lol) I hope you're loving the candy...you'll notice that today's picture has been moved from the photo tent...just not enough room...it was bulging at the seams lol.

Ok...better get back to today's post. What was today's post again??? Oh yeah...I didn't forget...just yankin' your chains lol (yup...still giddy :-D). Of course, it's TLT and it's Sue's Challenge and it's Summer Birthday's. Most probably cuz it was her birthday at the weekend :-D Summer birthdays..hmmm what do you think of when you think Summer Birthday's? Well I thought of Cupcake Ruby and so did a few of the other girls...in fact I think we should have called the challenge The Ruby Fairy Challenge! 

I killed two birds with one stone (not literally) and made Sue's birthday card with TLT in mind...well, it is a summer birthday. Here you go...tell me what you think...

I picked up a couple of sheets of this fabulicious pp at Craft World the other day...think it's Echo Park. 

Here is madam all coloured and sparkled up. I'm thinking the highlights in her hair are a bit low. I'm going to have to get a lesson off Tams now she's been proper taught and all :-D

How megamazing does Ruby's cupcake look with the micro beads! MP's gonna LOVE it!

 You're probably wondering what the heck you're looking at here but it's the green and pink mounts. I cut both colours out but couldn't decide which one to use so used them both!

Isn't that pp yummalicious! But it's the sentiment you're lookin' at here

And finally the inside. 

I'd like to enter the following challenges:

Bunny Zoes Challenge - Fairies
Lawnscaping Challenge - Don't forget the inside
Squigglefly Challenge - There was a little girl
By The Cute and Girly - Things with wings

I must apologise....this post is ultra giddy but hopefully as the day goes on I'll calm down :-D

Thanks to everyone who joined us last week on the hop and for your lovely comments. And you know what comments means? Prizes!!! That's right there were prizes to be won so make sure you check to see if you're a winner and if you're the GRAND prize winner email me with where you'd like me to send them and if you've won a stamp of your choice do the same as the grand prize winner but also tell me which one of the new Christmas Jack and Robyn releases you'd like....simple!

The DT have got some flabulous inspiration for you so have a looksee and spread some ladybug love :-D


I almost forgot, because it's summer and people are away for their hols and just busy in general, July and August's Challenges are running for a month so you have plenty of time and NO excuses not to enter them lol. But don't worry, we'll still be posting but maybe just not as often. I have plans to do some major clearing out of cupboards throughout the house...mainly my craft room! 

Ok...I'm checkin' outta here cuz I'm even making myself sick!

Catch ya later x

Perth Workshop

It was a glorious day yesterday...stunning really and hot. When I say hot I mean HOT! The best day of the year here in Scotland by far and what did I do? Stayed inside!  It was for a good reason as I had a workshop but I did feel really bad for the girls having to stay indoors for 4 hours and am thankful they didn't decide to go to the beach instead. Mind you I think some of them might have wish they had once we got under way with the first project lol. I decided to start off with a double twist easel card which on hindsight was perhaps not a good thing but there's nothing like throwing them in at the deep end! With all good intentions I typed up an instruction sheet and I think that's where the confusion started but we got there in the end. I had a great time...we had prizes and the committee made a gorgeous lunch (note to my cropping girls...don't expect that from your committee ie me lol...you'll have to make due with your apple and cinnamon scones!) Speaking of scones, Catherine made gorgeous ones with jam and cream. I took two home with me but I'm afraid they didn't make it to the 2nd traffic light lol.

Here's a peek at the girls at work...

This is Catherine (who originally emailed me) on the left and Irene...both on the committee.

First project...which was part of the blog hop and...

We did a note tin with Daydreaming Ruby on the lid....

and these are the notecards. I have to say this project went down much better lol.

They all said they enjoyed the day...I hope they did and maybe one day once they get over the stress and trauma of the double twist easel card they'll ask me back!!!

 All that's left to say is thanks for having me ladies :-D

Catch ya later x

Happy Birthday Sue!

I know I said I might not post today but it's a special day...yup...it's another Ladybug Birthday...the first of three this month!!! One of the criteria for keeping Julie on was her birthday and lucky for her...and us...it's not till October phew!

So a BIG happy birthday Sue...hope you have the most FABULICIOUS of days :-D

I can't show you her card because it's for Tuesday's TLT so here's another I made recently (late of course!) for my friend Marlene...

I LOVE the pp...it's a 6 x 6 pad I bought from Hayley...she's got a flabulous range of pads (and sells those lushalicious buttons). I use to buy 12 x 12 sheets by the truck load but lately I've been leaning towards the pads. The patters are smaller and more card friendly :-D

Ok...it's now 12pm and I've still got to hop into the shower. I've kept my running up and went for a run this morning. (Can anyone tell me when those endorphins are supposed to kick in because all I want to do is sleep afterwards hmph!) Came home...hung out the wash then took the dogs to CB. I most probably won't be posting tomorrow but hopefully I'll have lots of tales to tell you about tomorrow's workshop on Monday and pictures of our day. OMG...I'm so excited lol!

Have a great weekend!

Catch ya later x



Happy Canada Day

Happy Canada day to all my fellow Canadian Bloggers and blog surfers around the world!

I had planned to make a post yesterday but took full advantage of Ruby and Rocky being at doggy daycare to get some kits ready for a workshop I'm doing on Sunday in Perth. I received an email from Christine Catherine way back in March or April asking if I would be interested in doing a workshop for some girls as the craft store they go to stopped doing classes. They've set up on their own and meet monthly  to crop and one of the girls suggested contacting me :-D I've done a few workshops over the last couple of years with my friends ... usually 8 max ...so thought it would be a good idea to branch out and meet some new crafters. We got it all set up when I finally asked Catherine how many the workshop was for thinking it would be a similar number....I'm really glad I was sitting down when I read her reply....24!!!! More emails back and forth with one saying that because the date being during the holidays some of the girls would be away and apologised as there wouldn't be as many. So I'm thinking great...8-10....wrong 18!!! LOL now there's 19. Luckily they're all experienced  crafters so we should be ok. All I'm saying is if any of you girls that are going to be there on Sunday and are reading this...yes I am so looking forward to it but please go easy on me!! After all that I managed to get 38 kits more or less done yesterday with some last minute checks to be done today and tomorrow. There's going to be some prizes too so I'll wrap them up and decide what they'll have to do to win them :-D

In between the preparations over the last few weeks I made a boxed wedding card a friend had ordered oh about 2 months ago! I do believe my middle name is 'Last Minute Annie' lol. I thought I had another week to make it but when I saw her at Zumba on Monday she said she'd like it asap. Kits got tossed aside I got stuck into it and this is what I came up with...

This is the cover of the box. It actually looks awful in the picture but IRL it's pure white...the stitching doesn't pop out of you and it's just gorgeous (that's cuz my friend said it was lol)

Look who's inside. The chalking looks incredibly ugly in the pictures but it is very subtle.

I think this is one of the few photos I've take of glitter that you can almost see the sparkle. I used fuschia Swarovski crystals for the bouquet and her hair...and well the whole thing really.

I tried to be a bit fancy with my photography...don't think it really worked lol.

What did you think of the blog hop on Tuesday? Thank you so much for your lovely comments on the new release :-D Mind you I don't know if anyone would actually say if they didn't like them would they??? I loved seeing all the makes from the DT for the first time...I think they all did a flabulous job. I did mention that it was Julie's last day of being Guest Designer for June but we've had a bit of a change of heart. After Julie begged and pleaded to stay on (not to mention the mention of the cheque being in the post) I had to relent...it was getting a bit embarrassing .... and after going through the same thing with Pam last year I don't think I could go through it again! So now Julie is a fully fledged Ladybug...once she takes the oath to serve and obey Head Ladycow to the best of her ability lol.

The blog candy is getting bigger and bigger! I think I'm going to have to start taking the pictures outside of my photo tent as I'm running out of room. I can't believe I'm almost at my target of 200 followers. I know I should feel ashamed for bribing you all to follow me but I don't lol. I just hope that once the draw has been done you won't all become unfollowers! Hello to Debbie, Fluffles, Christine, Wendy, Nanna Donna, B. Nguyen, Donna, New Nanny, Darling Ho, Babette and Lydia phew!!! Thank you so much and welcome to the made house lol.

Well, that's it from Ladybug Central. Not sure if I'll post tomorrow...I'll see how the preparations are going!

 I hope you have a great weekend whatever you're doing.

Catch ya later x