It's been a while ....A very long while!

Oh wow it has been a very, very, very long time since I last posted anything here. Over 10 YEARS of dust has gathered !!!! 

I have still been crafting all this time but I guess life, work, family etc. take priority over time spent on the internet.  

Having enjoyed a bit of down time playing with a couple of old favorite Penny Black stamps yesterday I got all nostalgic and thought I would have a go to see if I could remember how to do this Blogging thing.  So if you can see this then I have succeeded in actually posting something!

I thought I would kick off by sharing last nights card make ..... I do still love a Penny Black stamp!

Seeing as I am adding a post I thought I might as well go the whole hog and enter a challenge as too.  Addicted to Stamps and More challenge #447 is CHRISTMAS .... You may see a snowman or two here in the UK at Christmas time so I thought I would enter my card in their challenge (I hope that's OK)  

You can find their challenge Blog here:

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge

OK, going to hit the publish icon to see if this works!

Many thanks for stopping by!

Kaz x

Craft Mag freebie .....

The November edition of my craft mag came with a fab set of Holly Hobbie stamps and I have used one of them to make this card.

Isn't she a cutie ! 
Sorry about the slightly odd looking pic , the card is actually square but looks distorted in the photo?!  Maybe another glass of vino might help?

I would like to enter my card into the Cute Card Thursday challenge 249 - Anything goes

Hugs
Kaz xx

It has to be penguins!!

It feels quite strange sitting here typing this as my blog has been dormant for much of this year.  There are times in life when 'spare' time is a real luxury, and that is how 2012 has been for me.   Not that I see any real change ahead, but I am just more determined to make a little more time for craft/blogging in 2013!

So to that end I have dusted off the keyboard and have spent an enjoyable hour or two sorting out in my craft area today.  So many neglected treasures! 

I am starting out gently, with a mental commitment to join in with a fortnightly challenge .... er well every fortnight.  As my favourite makes are Christmas ones  I figured this was a great place to begin.  I also have a bit of a thing for penguins,  so when I sorted through a box of stamps and came across a LOTV igloo stamp complete with 2 of the little guys I came over all inspired and this is the resulting card........................

I would like to enter my card into the last ABC Christmas challenge of 2012 - Z for zoo animals.

Looking forward to the next alphabet round & wishing you a Happy New Year!

Hugs
Kaz xx

Father's day card

Oooooh things have changed a bit here in blog land!  This all looks quite different since I last posted.......
OK so I know it has been a while!

So lets see if I can work this out......


Yah.....got the picture here  :0)

I was asked to make a cute Father's day card and this is what I came up with.  I do love this die cut bear, a touch of distress ink and gel pen really brings him to life.
So for my first challenge entry in months, I would like to enter this into this weeks Papertake challenge which is ANYTHING GOES with the additional option of FATHER'S DAY/OR FOR A BOY/MAN.

So far so good, off to see if I can remember how to link my card to the challenge now.

Karen xx

Win 20 Promarkers from Handy Hippo

Ooh how could I resist an offer like that! And best of all you get to choose the colours you win too . . . . . woo hoo . . . . . count me in pleeeeeeze!

So the details. . . .

Well, to celebrate single Promarkers now being available to buy from Handy Hippo the kind folk there are giving us all a chance to win 20 single Promarkers of our choice.

So if you want to join in you need to hop over to Jules at Always with a Heart and simply follow her instructions.

Tempted? How could you not be, but just in case here's a little picture

I'm off to enter right now!

Snow cuddle . . .

I'm still trying to pump out Christmas cards, only a few more days to catch the post eeeek!
This one features one of my favourite PB snowman in my favourite winter colours - blue & white. Again a C&S layout with the focus on the image.


Image Penny Black 'Snow Cuddle'
Coloured with Promarkers
A generous application of Stickles 'Star Dust' on the snowman. on the ground and all around the edge of the die cut image square. Not that it shows much in the pic but has lots of sparkle in real life.
Text done on PC

Challenges:~
I Love Promarkers - colour combo Blue & White
ABC Challenge - F is for frosty
ABC Christmas challenge - Yippy - it's almost Christmas!
Stampin for the weekend - Christmas

Thanks for visiting . . . . off to make some more!
Kaz xx

Look into my eyes . . .

. . . Awww just look at that cute little kitty.
I do love this adorable image & used it to make a quickie Birthday card. Kept is very simple as I wanted the image to be the focus.

Hope your enjoying what's left of the weekend.
Kaz x

Left overs ........

. . . . that's what the Cuttlebug team want us to use on our creations. Oh boy do I have a stock of them!
As I am way behind with my Christmas cards I am going all C&S this year and have made not one but 3 of these today, along with a couple of other designs :0)
Here's the red & gold version . . . .

and here's the red & green version . . . .


Apologies for the pics it's just too gloomy now to take a decent pic but you get the idea.

Quickutz bauble die
Cuttlebug D'vine Swirl embossing folder
Highlighted raised areas with Stickles glitter glue
Text done on PC
Gems & bow to finish.

Challenges:~
The Cuttlebug Spot - Left overs
ABC Challenge - Embossing
Colour Create - Red, white & green
ABC Christmas Challenge -Anything Christmas

Enjoy the weekend & thanks for taking the time to have a peek
Hugs
Kaz xx

Anything goes!

Thank goodness for these "Anything Goes" challenges ........ just what's needed when Mojo is in short supply.

Here's another birthday card I made for my daughter from her Nana using the adorable Henry mouse.

Challenges:~

Cute card Thursday - Anything goes :0)

Thanks for peeking

Kaz xx

Retail therapy

Oooooooh it has been a very long time since I last posted :0(

My Mojo is AWOL and life in seriously getting in the way of play time these days.
Roll on the Christmas holidays!

I am peeking through blogs in an effort to kick start my Mojo but in the mean time here's a card I had to make ......... for my daughter's birthday.

This image is just perfect for her as she does love a spot of retail therapy!
Challenges:~
Papertake - Anything goes with the option of something dangling. Well her shopping bags are dangling from her little hands aren't they?
Thanks for peeking if anyone is still out there looking after all this time ......... bet you thought I had left blog land!

I will try and do better.
Until the next time......
Hugs
Kaz xx

Beautiful butterfly....

Good morning!

Oh boy did we have some rain over night, but the sun is shining now so all the plants are happy and so am I.

I had a play with a gorgeous butterfly digi last night and came up with this card. CAS yet it took ages to get the text boxes and image in a position I was happy with. I also wished I had had self adhesive gems to use too. So all in all a fiddly card but I am very happy with the result.......and I have my daughter's birthday card made well in advance for November! :0)

Have a great day & thanks for dropping by!

Kaz xx

A bit more fruitiness

Rummaging through my stamp stash I came across a Penny Black clear set that I have had since Easter but have yet to introduce to ink....... my head is hung in shame!
These are such delightful images, how could I have left them sat on the shelf? Tut, tut.
Spotting a few blackberries on one of the images I just had to make another "fruity" card for this weeks Less is More challenge.

My photography skills seem to be particularly challenged this morning and try as I might I just can't seem to get a true colour to my pic so it's the best of a bad lot I'm afraid.

Image ~ Penny Black Make a Wish clear set
Text ~ Hero Arts Thinking of you message set
Coloured with distress inks Victorian Velvet; Peeled Paint; Wild Honey & Vintage Photo plus a couple of colours from my old school Reeves watercolour set.
Glossy accent on the berries & rose hips
Glamour dust on the dandelion heads (think I preferred it without but it's too late now)

Challenges:
Less is More - Feeling Fruity
Papertake - Anything goes
Critter Challenge - Summer fun
Cute Card Thursday - No design papers
Colour Create challenge - Pink, green & white

Well the sun has returned and it's nice & warm down here today so I'm off for a swim & a snorkel with my OH this afternoon.

Thanks for visiting!
Kaz xx

Strawberry jam...yum!

Ooooh look at me two in one day must be on a roll!
Like many peep across blog land I switched on early this morning keen to find out what devilish task Mandi & Chrissie had come up with for this weeks Less is More challenge. I have struggled to join in recently but was determined to join in this week, and the girls have challenges us to "Feeling Fruity" Ooh er misses!
Eeeek.....not one bit of fruitiness could I find in my stash! But I did come across this fab PB image and decided to go with this idea....


Here's a peep at the inside, I wanted to link the sentiment to the front of the card.

Image ~ Penny Black
Text ~ front & inside done on PC
Coloured with Prismacolor pencils
Strawberries hand cut then embossed on the 'wrong' side with Swiss dot folder.
Strawberry leaves are a small daisy punch roughly cut in half.



Challenges:~
Less is More - Feeling fruity!
Stamping for the weekend - Paws for thought

Thanks for stopping by!
Kaz xx

Cupcake Hamster

This super cute image is a digi stamp created by the very talented and generous Sliekje. If you like cute images and you haven't visited her blog before you are missing out! She has sooooo many lovely images, cupcake hamster is from back in May this year.

I was inspired by this weeks fab sketch by Uma from the Sunday Sketch & Stamp challenge and came up with this card...........

Digi image ~ By Sliekje
DP's ~ MY Mind's Eye
Text ~ Hampton Art mini alphabet set & Personal Impressions mixed sentiments.
Coloured with Prisma color pencils & Promarkers
Distressed with scissors & inks
Faux stitching with grey fine liner.

Challenges:~
Sunday Sketch & Stamp Challenge - sketch #65
The Stamp man - Show us some stitching

Have a great weekend whatever your up to!
Hugs
Kaz xx

Happy Anniversary!

My card today was made for a special crafty friend who has recently celebrated her 1st wedding anniversary. Congratulations Samantha! As soon as I saw this delicious Magnolia paper in the Glitter Pot I just had to have some, it is so pretty and delicate! The 2 large die cut hearts are by Marianne Design Creatables & the heart border is a Martha Stewart punch. The text is a SU stamp.

Hugs

Kaz xx

Pocket card

Yippee............schools out for summer!! And now I get way more play time :0)
It's not been all work though, I have made 5 cards recently but neglected to get a pic of 2 of them .......Doh! The others have now reached there intended destinations so I can start to post those ones. This one was a quick make for my niece and I know she won't see it here so I am safe to post it.

As I was sending an ITunes gift card this image seem so appropriate and I thought I would have a go at a simple pocket card. Had a chance to check out some challenges this afternoon and couldn't believe it when I saw this weeks Kenny K's challenge......yep......Pocket card! Spooky eh!
Image~ Download Diva from Kenny K of course....I love this image!
Coloured with Promarkers
Spotty card~ Doodle dots from Pink Petticoat
White card candy coloured with Promarkers to match.
Spotty ribbon ~ The Crafty Garden in Seaford

Thanks for stopping by my little spot in cyber space.
Kaz xx

Fun with ink

Oh boy it was pouring with rain this morning so what better excuse to craft. I have just found out about a local craft shop in Seaford, The Crafty Garden, from an online crafting buddy Crafting For Pleasure and when Hubby suggested we pop over to investigate I didn't need to be asked twice.

What a lovely little shop filled with gorgeous crafting goodies! I took the opportunity to get some more Bazzill card and they had some lovely spotty organza ribbon which fell into my basket along side a couple of distress ink pads. Will definitely be visiting again.
It's the distress inks that I played with this afternoon. I stamped the image (Scribble Snowman) onto paper, cut it out and used it as a mask, then simply dabbed inked around the image. After removing the mask I coloured his scarf & hat with Promarkers and finished off with a dash of Stickles glitter. The text stamp is by Elzybells.

Thanks for visiting & enjoy the rest of the weekend.
Hugs
Kaz xx

P.S Have decided to pop the mask back on and give the whole card a gentle spray of Crafter's Companion Iridescent Spray & Sparkle as I think it is lacking something.

My gorgeous furbaby

No cards from me today but a moment of self indulgence. A little while ago we lost our gorgeous furbaby Sammy. We buried him in our garden next to our first kitty, who we were lucky to have for 18 years. Poor Sammy was still a baby really, only 2 years old, so sad :0(
Anyhow I have been wanting to pick out some of my favorite pictures of Sammy and today I have. I am also going to change my avatar and use one of these pictures, just need to make my mind up as to which one.
Awwww he was just sooooooooo cute & adorable!!!

Have a great weekend!

Hugs

Kaz xx

P.S Appologies the pics are not staying where I put them......Tut tut!

Snippet clearance continues.....

My white snippet draw has been further reduce by my need to make a set of thank you cards following my Mum's recent birthday party. These are wee little cards that fit into 11cm square envelopes, so a perfect size for snippets :0) I'm on a roll now Jules thanks for the inspiration! If you have an ever growing stash of snippets, and lets face it who hasn't, why not join in
Jules Sunday Snippet challenge and put those snippets to good use.
I started out by sorting out the required number of pieces of white card that I could cut a 9.5cm squares from. Then it was play time with my ink pads and blending tool. Once the backgrounds were done I stamped the text & images with black Versacolor pigment ink and heat embossed using clear embossing powder. These were then simply mounted onto 10cm snippets of dark blue card and then onto my base cards. And voila.....here's 3 of them.

Distress inks ~ Spiced Marmalade; Wild Honey; Tattered Rose; Stormy Sky; Faded Jeans &
Chipped Sapphire.
Images ~ Hero Art Asian Elements
Text ~ Penny Black Salutations

Hope you are all enjoying the weekend!
Hugs
Kaz xx

ABC Christmas challenge

I'm just in time to join in with this weeks ABC Christmas challenge. Now I've not really made many Christmas cards as yet this year, but seeing as we are over half way through 2011 (eeeek!) I guess now is a good time to start if I want to avoid the usual last minute panic. The theme for the weeks challenge is M for Monochrome.
I am also continuing to support Jules' crafty snippets challenge in her bid to reduce stock piles of snippets.
TBH I'm not sure I'm making much progress Jules, as fast as I use up bits I seem to make more :0!

Image - Penny Black 'Majestic' heat embossed with detailed white powder onto a white snippet.
Distress inks - stormy sky; broken china; faded jeans & chipped sapphire.
DP - Pink Petticoat (a snippet of course) mounted onto another snippet of dark blue card.
Navy fine liner faux stitching
Little but of left over ribbon from snippet box.
So that makes 2 card snippets, 1 DP snippet and 1 ribbon bit less in the box :0)
Thanks for visiting!
Kaz xx