Roooooaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ...

I am thinking that the world really needs an International Dragon Day so that I can keep on using this little dragon boy rubber stamp!  Honestly it's just the cutest thing.

A New Lollipop Card ...

I was so glad that payday paid another visit during this week as last month I went slightly bonkers conkers with online shopping and several parcels arrived on Friday including my new stamps from Stamping Bella.  I inked up some of them last night including this new Lollipop stamp.  I'm really hoping that Lori designs some more of her Lollipop stamps as I really love them and they're easy to colour too.

I am entering my card into the DCM challenge this week which was to use diecuts on your card. I used a Nestabilities label die and my lovely new Papertrey rikrak die - as well as gorgeous new October Afternoon papers that I got from Jean and a spotted embossing plate from Papertrey

A spot of enabling ...

My friends and I do enjoy a spot of 'enabling' between ourselves. I like that word 'enabling', I love to see it as a title for a forum message or email as then I know someone has seen an 'essential' they just know that I will have to buy!

So, I thought I would do a spot of enabling myself and point you in the direction of a few goodies that I just know you'll *need*

I'm starting off with the brand spanking new kit from Nitwit Collections called Just Ducky

Next up is one of my favourite ever collections of paper from Sweet Shoppe Designs

My favourite Lori Boyd Lollipop stamps from Stamping Bella

and finally my most frequently used sentiment stamps from Papertrey

I'd love you to do some enabling and tell me about things you think I would like to buy :)

Complete Cardmaking ...

I just got my latest copy of Complete Cardmaking through the post so I think it's safe to share the cards that I made for the previous issue, the theme was birthdays and invites

40 ...

This week we also needed a card for my cousin who was 40 so I delved into my Sweet Shoppe folder looking for some 'man papers' and remembered I had this kit that I got a while ago, perfect man papers in there and this is what I made

Happy Birthday Little Brother ...

Yesterday it was my 'not so little' brothers birthday and this is the card I made him. Something suitably grown up for a 6ft 32 year old with no hair, tattoos and a few body piercings - ha ha! At least he liked at and I really enjoyed making it - coloured with my new Copic markers of course and I had these papers in a new kit by Suzy that I downloaded from Scrap Orchard which all just went perfectly together

Digital Stamps ...

So, I guess by now that anyone who reads my blog (and I was pleasantly suprised when I added the 'followers' gadget to my side bar at the weekend to see so many of you :o) ) has realised that I love to use my computer when I papercraft so digital stamps are, in my opinion an excellent invention. No need to take up lots of room to store them, no need to shock your friends when you tell them that you *never* ever clean your rubber stamps (ahem, Nat that was for you) and you can resize them to fit any sise of card.  Anyway, enough rambling, I used some new digital stamps to make a few cards

The white rabbit stamp is a Mo Manning image and the lion is a Meljen's Designs image

Copics - WhooHoo! ...

So I caved in and admitted defeat and bought the whole Copic Ciao collection *gulp* They were only the cost of a small house but oh so worth it.  I have been playing with them and I absolutley love them.  On the recommendation of Jane I have been stamping onto Stampin Up whisper white paper and I am using my Memento inks that I had for my Promarkers. My Copics I bought from The Scrapbook Shop, I had a full loyalty card and you can imagine how many new loyalty stamps I got to put on my new collecting card :)

These are the first two cards that I have made using the Copics to colour the stamped image

I used the Hanglar bumble boy stamp again, it's definitley one of my favourites at the moment

The second card was made with a Lori Boyd Lollipop stamp from Stamping Bella, I love these and I'm just about to place an order for a few more :) I submitted this card for the Friday challenge on the Stamping Bella blog

I have no idea what is going on with the yellow colour schemes recently, perhaps it's the thoughts of summer

In A Flap ...

.. well not literally.  The challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week is to make a card with a flap and here is mine.

A sweet little Hanglar boy coloured with my new Copics (I love them by the way) and I made the little hinges with a stampin up tab punch.

Little Cards ...

I have been making a few mini cards, just to keep when you need to send a note to someone or to pop in with a parcel to brighten someone's day :)

 

The little images are from Pink Cat Studio and the shapes were cut with my nestabilities dies

Butterfly Banner ...

I created this banner for my craft room last week and posted about it over at the Sweet Shoppe Designs forum so thought I would add it here too

The banner was a Maya Road butterfly chipboard album that I repurposed

I used 6 of the 'pages' to make my banner and covered them with Melissa's Bee Happy papers (totally gorgeous papers by the way, I could easily wallpaper my house them ). You only need to cover one side.

When you have them covered turn over and use a hot glue gun to attach braid, lace or pompom trim around the edge. Go slowly and do small sections. Watch your fingers because that glue can get HOT! Apply small lengths of the glue and then press the trim into it getting it as close to the edge as you can.

It doesn't matter how messy and untidy it is as no one is going to see the back. I used lace on some of my butterflies and I can tell you the back of those ones are really untidy

The hot glue will dry really quickly so you can flip the butterfly over and decorate the front.

I coloured my chipboard letters with a Promarker first as it is quick but any felt pen or paint would work.

Then I covered each letter with glue and added some chunky glitter from Doodlebug - my new passion

Choose paper flowers that come in different sizes so that they can be stacked and glued onto the butterfly and then glue the chipboard letter on the top.

Then either punch holes and string the butterflies or use little clips to attach them onto a string

Here are some of the butterflies

A Spot Of Shopping

I do love my postman, he brings me such lovely things :)  I'm not sure he loves me though as I make him carry heavy packages and he never sees me at my best - hedgehog hair, pyjamas and that creased look on the cheeks when you've just climbed out of bed (you have a mental image now don't you).  Anyway, this is what my lovely postie brought me just the other day

Lots of gorgeous gorgeous felt from Paper and String and lovely Papertrey goodies including turquoise ribbon and my new flower shaped dies.  Such prettiness, and I have even used quite a bit of that lot already which is quite good for me as I tend to keep everything for 'best' and stockpile - I'm sure you know what I mean :)

The Sun Is Shining ...

Hopefully this might be the start of Spring, keeping my fingers crossed because I bought some pretty new clothes at the weekend and they definitley look their best in the sunshine instead of hidden under several layers of sweatshirt, scarf and padded jacket!

I have made some sunshiney/spring inspired cards the other week using the Spring Breeze digital kit from Nitwit Collections. I love the colours and I do have a soft spot for ladybrids :)

I used some gorgeous black glitter on the spots of the big ladybird shaped card which you can't see very well in the photograph but it lookds very sparkly in real life and those little polka dot buttons are a recent purchase from Paper and String

TiddlyInks ...

I have really been enjoying using my new digital stamp purchases from TiddlyInks. I have been eyeing up some similar real rubber stamps by Christy Croll at Stamping Bella but I love the versatility of digital stamps so I was really pleased when I spotted these. 

I think I love them best because they are so easy to colour in :) Speaking of colouring in - I'm waiting for my Copics to arrive at the scrapbook shop, should hopefully be this week!

It's A Jungle Out There ...

There's a rumble in the jungle

There's a whisper in the trees

The animals are waking up

And rustling the leaves.

Have you and your kids read Rumble In The Jungle by Giles Andreae?

I am preparing to turn my classroom into a jungle for our topic next term - lots of monkeys in my class :) and some of the animals seem to have escaped and have found their way into my craft room

(All made using Hullabazoo, Jungle Fun and Animal Talk from Nitwit Collections)

Bumble Boy ...

How I made this ...

Resize, print and cut papers. Stitch around edge with sewing machine

Glue to cardblank and tie with a ribbon

Cut shape with nestabilities label die, glue to white card and stitch around the edge

Use dimensionals to attach to card

Stamp image, colour with distress inks (I'm still learning how to do this) and cut out

Use a glue pen to cover the wings in glue then add glitter

I used glamour dust glitter and a sakura glue pen

See those stray bits of glitter? Use a dry paintbrush to swoosh them away when the glue is dry

Select a sentiment stamp, add ink and press firmly onto cardstock



Trim to a tag shape, punch a hole and tie onto the ribbon with twine

Hey presto! You've made a Bumble Buy card like mine :)

(Papers - Bees Knees by Libby Weifenbach at Sweet Shoppe Designs, Stamp - Hanglar, Colour medium - Ranger Distress Inks, Glamour Dust glitter, Sakura glue pen, Nestabilities die, Papertrey sentiment stamp and twine, Beresfords ribbon, sewing machine)