Remember when...

Thank you so much everyone for your lovely comments from yesterday's challenge. It's always great to feel rewarded for your work especially when you don't think it's up to scratch and you're bombarded with comments filled with ooooh's and awwwww's. Makes us Ladybugs very happy :-D

I can't believe how quickly some of you posted your cards for the ribbon challenge. I barely got through all the DT's blogs when Lisa emailed me to say someone had posted!!

As the title says....Remember when....

Remember when you have your first baby and you look her in wonder and think 'wow' and all your love, hopes and dreams surround this letter person? You kinda wish their lives away...can't wait till she sits up, crawls, walks, talks .... goes to toddlers/playgroup/nursery/school/high school...get their first boyfriend...well you get the picture.

Trust me..this is leading somewhere lol. Oh heck...I guess I'll just tell you...

I'm going to be a MIL {scream}!!!!! For those of you that are letter challenged that translates to Mother In Law lol. Woo hoo...me...a MIL!!

Ben proposed to Nicole on Sunday and we/they couldn't be happier. She's dropped enough hints and thank goodness Ben's a quick learner lol. There are no details at this time but no doubt the wedding magazines will start coming in thick and fast.

Hubby and I knew it was going to happen as Ben had the 'chat' with Pierce the week before...awwww.

I was waiting impatiently on Sunday for the confirmation and when it came it went kinda like this...

Ring Ring (phone ringing)

Nic: Mom?

Me: Hiya

Nic: Silence (she's crying)

Me: Nic?

Nic: Mom....my finger

Me: what??? have you hurt your finger?

Nic: there's something on it

Me: don't tell me you have a wart??? (I'm trying not to laugh at this point)

 Nic: (wailing) Nooooooo....I've got a rock on it!

LOLOLOLOL...I know it was a bit cruel but I couldn't resist :-D She and Ben came over and it was all hugs and kisses and smiles and of course from me...'I don't do long engagements' lolol. I don't see the point really, do you? Especially when I want some little grandkidlets before I get too old to run after them...but I guess I'm getting a bit ahead of myself lol. Nic is so happy and can't stop looking at her rock {it's absolutely gorgeous}!

I guess I couldn't get away with not making a card and boy didn't the new release come at a great time! I grabbed 'Young Love' straight away and inked it up. Here's what I came up with...

 Not conventional engagement/love colours but there are hearts in the pp and of course it's one of MY favourite colours

 Untie the bow and it opens up...I've written a message to the left but didn't want to show it in the picture

 Don't they look so happy...and check out her rock lol!

And here are the 'real' happy couple {sniff}

So that's my Remember When...can't believe Nic was 3 weeks old when we arrived in Scotland and look at her now {sniff sniff}.

Hope you all have a great Wednesday.

Thanks for stopping by.

Catch ya later x

It's TLT - Anita's Challenge - Ribbon!!!

Happy TLT everyone! I'm so glad you've stopped by today. I'm really excited as it's now an open challenge and ANYBODY can join in the fun. We had some flabulous entries on the Challenge Blog from last week...more than I thought we would. It still amazes me that you come and visit and now participate at LCI!

This week it was Anita's challenge which was ribbon and who doesn't LOVE ribbon!!! I had planned something totally different from what I ended up doing but one of the other Ladybugs  {cough Mary J} 'pinched' my idea so I had to get my thinking cap on again. I wanted to think 'outside' the box and this is what I came up with....

 A notebook and pen! It doesn't look like the ribbon matches the purple in the pp but there is some of the same ribbon colour in the pp...honest lol!!! I love making these little notebooks . It gives me an excuse to blow the dust off my Bind It All

I just loved colouring in Snow Covered Log Ruby and adding the flowersoft to the trim of her coat and hat

 I think tying the ribbon to the coils is super duper cute :-D

Ahhhh...it's not just a normal notebook...

 It's a book to hold your receipts for Christmas presents and...

 making a list of the cards you need to make and gifts you need to buy!

And of course the notebook wouldn't be complete without a matching pen. So what do ya thunk? You like?

Normally I would have everyone's cards on my blog but they are now all on the Challenge Blog so make sure you head on over there to see what all the Ladybug's have created and see who won the prizes from last weeks blog hop and challenge.

Don't forget there's only a few weeks left to take advantage of the 15% discount on the LCI website. All you have to do is enter the code CB2010 in the box at checkout.

Right...I'm off to check all the girls cards on the Challenge blog. I hope you enjoy the projects we have created for you this week and will enter next weeks challenge. There is an extra special prize added so go on...I dare you lol!

Catch ya later x

Are you sitting down Tams, Lisa & Hayley???

Nicole and I picked Ruby up from the vet hospital on Friday and spent the next 2 hours trying to get home. Traffic was horrendous as was the weather and I was knackered by the time we picked Rocky up from DDC. Ruby and Nicole were in the back seat and since it was pitch black I don't think Rocky realised they were there but he must have got a sniff of Ruby because he all but jumped from the very back of the car on top of her lol. He was so happy his best friend was back! We'd all been a bit worried about him as he'd been moping around the house on his own but he's well and truly over it now Ruby's back.

She's doing great and she's trying to move about more than she's supposed to without the harness. I've got to try and keep her full weight off the back leg for at least week. I was surprised when I first saw her as I expected her leg to be in either a cast or bandaged up but she came hobbling out with her lamp shade and her shaven leg quite the thing. The vet showed me her x-ray and she is definitely a bionic dog now lol. Apart from the amputation when she was 5 months old, she has a double plate in her front left leg from a break when she was 2 and now she's got a little plate in her knee with 6 screws going in from all directions! The screws looked about 2 inches long on the screen but they must only be about 5mm.

My big worry was getting her to do the toilet while she was suspended with the harness but we have successfully managed #1 & #2 (sorry if that's TMI lololol) and now the worry is keeping her still! She's been a bit of a minx today...one minutes she's lying happily then I turn my back for a second and she's moved across the room! We're going to have to keep an eye on her othewise she's going to have to go in her cage.

She's sleeping in her cage at night for the first couple of weeks. I put the lampshade on her the first night so she wouldn't lick her wound but when I went down to her and Rocky the next morning she had the lamp shade and collar off AND the collar was unbuckled!!! I still haven't figured that one out lol. She's actually really good at not licking her knee (she doesn't like getting into trouble) so I left the lamp shade off last night and she was fine.

Here are a couple of pictures I took today...

 She likes this spot in the house as the sun streams in through the patio windows so it's warm and cosy

Her poor shaved leg

She was on her own one minute then Rocky arrived and this is how I found them

Awww...Best friends

Rocky has taken a shine to the cage but if he had to sleep in there I bet there would be a fight to get him in lol.

So onto a card I made the other week... Pram Nikki. I do hope Tams, Lisa & Hayley are sitting down when they see these as they'll be more than a little shocked when they see the flowers!

 I got the pp from Hayley and thought it was perfect for new baby card. 

You gotta know I was gonna glitter up the pram!

I've got a gazillion flowers and really need to start using them. I thought these worked really well with this card and the colours are perfect with the pp.

That's all the goss I've got for today. Don't forget you've only got until 9am tomorrow to get your card onto the challenge blog.

Ruby thanks you for all your good wishes :-D

Catch ya later xx

Another birthday and Ruby's coming home!

This is going to be uber quick as I've got a million things to do before I pick Ruby up. Yes she's coming home today! She's doing really well and is adjusting to the harness great.

It's Pierce's birthday today...happy birthday honey!!!

I made this card yesterday (as opposed to 5 to midnight last night lol)

I wanted to do something a bit different with Magnum and the Add-Ons so I masked the present to make it look like he's got a stack of presents instead of just one. This was fun to do...it's been a while since I did any masking.

 

For a change I borrowed Mary J's style of cutting the image out...dont' look too close at the jagged edges!

 

The masking up close

 

IRL the colours of the pp are gorgeous.

That's it! Thanks for stopping by. Don't forget to enter your cards into the Challenge Blog by 9am Monday for your chance to win!

Have a flabulous weekend!

Catch ya later x

Happy Birthday Suzy Q!

How fab was the blog hop? I hope you all enjoyed it. What do you think of the new Nikki's? A bit different but you seem to like Ben...isn't he dreamy lol. I want to thank my team as they excelled themselves yet again. I've got a great bunch of girls on my team...not only for their creative genius but we've all gelled together really well, have a great laugh and we haven't even met!

It's my friend Suzy Q's birthday today...happy birthday!!!

 It's a bit of a busy week for birthdays for me...Susan's today, Pierce's tomorrow, his mom's on Saturday and his sister's on Sunday. Then I have Nicole's on the 16th, Pauline's on the 17th, Lynn and Agnes on the 29th, my mom's Dec 1st, Hayley's the 3rd, Alma's 7, mine the 9th (though I don't make myself a card!) and Karen's the 18th. Phew!!!! That's a lotta cards to make. Thank goodness there's only one male card in that lot lol.

This is the card I made for Suzy Q...

Birthday Nikki hasn't been inked in a while and I can't work out why. I love colouring this image in. I used my Copics (got a quick Copic lesson from BFF when she was here...what do you think?) to colour her in and used one of my favourite MS punches for the border. I couldn't decide where to stitch (I can't seem to make a card without sewing on it these days) so just went up the sides of the punched border. I like the fact that I didn't use any pp and just let the image be the focal point. Rose Swarovski crystals follow the border and a bit of glitter and ribbon finishes it off!

 I got out my white gel pen and added a few dots to the big present and bow of the round one

 I decoupaged the present for a bit of interest

So what do you think?

I took Ruby to the vets yesterday for her operation today. Luke is doing her first thing this morning so I'm a bit on edge. He said he'll call me by lunch time to let me know how it went. He reassured me yesterday that this was the best thing for her and this operation has a very high success rate. I worry because she only has the one back leg so it is going to be a bit tricky for the first little while to get her to do the toilet using the harness and keeping her calm with the mad man around.

Poor Rocky...I think he knew something was going on when I left with her yesterday. He wasn't his usual mad self when I came back and moped around the rest of the day and night. He really looked like he'd lost his best friend. I worried that he might wake us up during the night because he was lonely without her but thankfully he let us sleep! I'll pick her up either tomorrow or Saturday. Fingers crossed she'll make a quick recovery though reading the information sheet it could be 4-6 months before she's back to full fitness.

**Edit** Just spoke the vet and Ruby came through the operation well. Her cruciate had all but ruptured and there were only a few threads hanging on! She also has a lot of arthritis in the knee :-(

Must get in the shower and get Rocky to Doggy Daycare. I've got a date with my workroom for all these cards I've got to make. I also have a baby card to make in amongst all the birthday ones plus my card for TLT! I might not surface for weeks lol.

Hope you have a great day.

Thanks for stopping by.

Catch ya later x

TLT - First ever Ladybug Crafts Ink Challeng Blog Challenge...oh, and a new release!!!!!!

{SQUEAL!!!} No that's not a pig that's me being excited lol. I never thought this day would arrive fast enough. All of us at LCI Central have been so excited to get the Challenge Blog under way and now here we are!!!

Yes, it's our first ever challenge at Ladybug Crafts Ink but it's more than that...it's also a blog hop to celebrate the release of the new Nikki & Friends stamps!!!

Firstly - you should have arrived here from the lovely Anita if you are taking part in the blog hop. My question is 'why wouldn't you?' as you have the chance to win all 5 of the new release stamps from Ladybug Crafts Ink! 

This is what you have to do to win:

a) Display the banner (which is at the top of this post) on your blog, either in a post or in your side bar

b) Visit each of the Lovely Ladybugs and leave a comment on each of their blog hop posts

c) Go back to the Challenge Blog and leave a comment to tell us which is your favourite image of the new release stamps.

The hop will close at 9 am on Monday 8th November and the winner will be announced at 9 am on Tuesday 9th November.

If you lose your way go back to the Challenge Blog where you can see the full list.

Now the second chance to win ONE LCI stamp of your choice is by entering our challenge, and this week it's a sketch by the stunnalicious Mary J

with the added option of decorating the inside of the card (however all the DT HAD to do this lol)

So after all that do you want to see my card? Well here it is...

 

 I can't tell you how many people have asked for Nikki to have a boyfriend. 'Ben' has been in the works for months now and I was so excited when I got the final image. See...I do listen lol. I call this image 'Young Love' and I hope you love it as much as I do :-D

 Only thing is Buttercup doesn't look too happy that Nikki's attention is elsewhere lol

{swoon} Isn't he handsome and don't they look so in love {sigh}

You can't see the sentiment very well in the pictures so thought I'd highlight it.

It was a must that we decorate the inside and this is what I did. I had planned on turning the card inside out to take the picture but almost decapitated the lovely couple in the process lol so had to take a picture this way.

What do you think? Is Ben worthy of our Nikki?

I hope I have inspired you to have a go at our first challenge. You can use any stamp in the challenges to be in with a chance to be in our top 3 but you can ONLY win a prize if you use an LCI image.

The best thing is if you don't have a blog you can still participate...just email your project/card to lcichallengeblog@aol.com

I'm the last one on the hop so all you have to do now is head on over to the Challenge Blog and leave your comment.

Good luck everyone - I just know I'm going to see some flabulous work :-D

The Challenge closes at 9am Monday 8th November .. and we will be back to announce the winners of both the challenge and the hop on Tuesday 9th Nov HERE along with our second challenge.

Ok...if all that wasn't enough I have a Kerry Bonus for you. You know how my BFF was working at the SECC at the weekend and she came and stayed with me AND we spent yesterday playing? Well you might remember I told you months ago that BFF was FINALLY going to start a blog and encouraged you to sign up to follow her but until now she hasn't posted anything/nothing/nowt/nada (she's the only blogger I know that hasn't posted a thing but still has 18 followers lol). Wellllllllllllll...drum roll please....Karen has posted her first card and you can see it HERE!!! I think you will agree that it is absolutely flabulous! Please show your appreciation and encouragement (it might make her post more often lol) for more by leaving her some Ladybug Love.

 

Ok, I'm exhausted and I still have to blog hop myself lol. Hope you enjoy and you have a great TLT!

Catch ya later x

ps you might notice that Gaelle isn't in the hop this time. She's actually on her honeymoon (I don't think she's giving us a second thought lololol) but she didn't want to be left out so you can see her card here

The Queen Chick is back!

Some extraciting news today....Jeanie aka The Spotted Chick is BACK!!! She is back and she's got a new nest so make sure you check it out. It is magnifilicous and I can only imagine what treats she'll be creating in there. I don't know about you but I've missed my daily SC fix and can't wait for Jeanie's first crafty post :-D

Here's a card I made last week using Birthday Robyn and Sentimental Numbers.

The papers are from Hayley....I love the softness of the colours and turquoise and brown are a favourite combo of mine. The twill is supersoft white which can easily be coloured with Copics or Promarkers to match any pp and ties beautifully. It comes in 2 widths - 1/2 & 3/4" and will be available on my website soon :-D

I added GA to the balloons for a glossy look...

and glitter to the cake and party hat for extra sparkle.

BFF and I have a busy few hours ahead of us before I have to take her to the airport this afternoon. We don't get to spend much time together so when we do we cram it with as much as possible. Hopefully we'll have something to show you for our efforts today...or not lol.

Tomorrow is THE day...is the first Challenge Blog challenge and we're chomping at the bit to show you the new release. They're a little bit different from the usual Nikki's with a little added surprise! If you haven't got the banner grab it now but don't worry...you don't have to have a blog to enter the challenge or win a prize!!

Make sure you stop by tomorrow to see the LCI DT's gorgeous cards and our November Guest Designer, the flabulous Caroline Counsell! Who?? You might know her as Stamping Caz and have seen her work in the craft magazines. We are thrilled Caz has agreed to be our November GD so make sure you give a big Ladybug Love welcome.

Must get off and finish my card for tomorrow...don't tell Lisa I'm behind or she might turn me into a toad lol.

Have a great Monday :-D

Catch ya later x