Sheena's New Stamps and DVD Blog Candy

Having had nothing to share with you for several months - I just had to share this with you. Friday noon is the time to watch C & C as Sheena Douglass' brand new Christmas Fusion stamps are to be launched on  'Pick of the Week'. There's a new DVD to go with them too and Sheena is very generously going to give away a set of the stamps and a DVD to one lucky person who visits her BLOG and leaves their name with Mr Linky. The beautifully decorated wine bottle container above is just one of the examples you can find there (check the gallery) using the new stamps. The draw for a winner will take place on Friday - so click on the link and see what it's all about.

I'm looking forward to going to Sheena's next workshop in Port Sunlight. It's not till October and I don't think I'll be waiting till then to get hold of the new stamps - and especially the DVD.

I'm hoping to get back into crafting and blogging once the summer is over and the demands of an enormous garden can once again be ignored. Meanwhile, enjoy what's left of the summer (if you've had any in the first place) and happy crafting.

Beryl xx

Here I Go Again

I'm off again tomorrow - this time to stay with my neice Terrie so we can go to Sheena Douglass' workshop in Milton Keynes on Sunday. I won't be back till the middle of next week but I didn't want to miss

Rainbow Lady's challenge this week - especially as I was lucky enough to win the Joanna Sheen voucher on her challenge last week. I had to make a few Easter cards before I went so am entering this one into the current week's challenge - 'Springtime'.

The Sarah Kay image was stamped and sent to me by my friend Martha and I coloured it with Promarkers. The background stamp is from Sheena Doulgass' Busy Doing Nothing set and I used watercolour marker pens to ink it. Sentment - computer generated and ribbon from my stash.

Thanks for calling by. I'm off now to pack ready for an early start to the train station in the morning.

Beryl xx

A Little of What You Fancy....

This card is my entry for Rainbow Lady's challenge this week - 'Lilac Wine'. No lilac the flower on here but the colour fits I think. The image is a Rubber Romance image given to me by blog buddy Jane of Jem's Crafting Blog. It's coloured with Promarkers. The sentiment was also a gift from Jane but was to big for the card so I used the phrase and typed it in my new favourite font - Sandscript. The bp is from a Crafty Individuals pad and the borders also a gift from a crafty friend - Martha in the States.
Thanks very much for visiting today. Hope you are all enjoying this lovely weather.
Beryl xx

Pies? What Pies?

It seems quite a while since I joined in the Bah Humbug challenge. Oh dear. Slacking already and it's only April. I plead gallivanting around the country. That's my excuse. On to the challenge which this week is to raise a giggle somehow. I saw this image on the MCS Craft e Christmas cd and the question just had to be asked.
The spotty bp is from the same CD and the diagonal bits were put through a Cuttlebug folder. The black snowmen were punched and then given a blast of silver glitter spray.
Thanks very much for visiting. I'm looking forward to a blog hop this evening when I can hog the chair by the fire and tuck into my mother's day choccies at the same time.
Beryl xx

For a Special Grandson

This weeks the challenge from the CD Sunday team is to make a card for 'Someone Special'. This card is for my youngest grandson - Joe. Special enough I think to qualify. The base card was printed from the Artylicious Essence of Nature cd. It printed out darker than expected so the leafy pattern is hard to see on the screen. The frog image is a stamp I bought from Stamp Addicts a while ago - coloured with watercolour pencils and then cut out with a Nestie shape. The card candy I bought at the NEC last week. This is my first play with card candy - much simpler than brads I think. The leaves were punched with a Woodware punch and the little fence I'm sure is a Martha Stewart punched one, and was some of a selection sent to me by my friend Martha in the States. The sentiment was computer generated.

Thanks very much for visiting today.

Beryl xx

Rainbow Lady Goes to the Movies

Rainbow Lady's challenge this week is 'A Night at the Movies'. Now I know these little fellows aren't scary but when I looked at the finished card 'The Birds' just popped into my head - so into the challenge it goes.

The stamps are from Creative Expressions, coloured with Promarkers and the bp is from Joanna Sheens Fashion Boutique CD. Not a lot else to say about it really.

Thanks very much for visiting today. Hopefully I'll manage my usual catch up on Tuesday evening (unless it pours with rain and then you may see me call by before then.)

Beryl xx

CD Sunday Challenge - Transport

I'm hoping this post has published as planned as I'll be in Stoke on Trent when this weeks
CD Sunday challenge begins. The theme this week is 'Transport' and I've used a Crafters Companions stamp from the Men's collection. It's stamped with Versafine and embossed and then coloured with Promarkers. The CD element is the backing paper - which is part of one of the Duo papers in MCS Papercraft Library. The torn pieces are some copy paper - spritzed, scrunched and then embossed with gold ep on the raised bits. Brads and cord from my stash and the greeting cut with a Wizard label die.
This is my last week as guest designer with the CD Sunday challenge team and I will get round to visiting your creations - but it may be when I get home.
Thanks very much for visiting.
Beryl xx

Rainbow Lady's Challenge # 145

Just managed time to enter Rainbow Lady's challenge this week before off on my travels again. Tomorrow I'm going to stay with my daughter in Stoke on Trent and we are going to the NEC together on Saturday. I'll probably stay in Stoke a few days after too. This week the challenge is 'Tie a Yellow Ribbon'. Well - it's not exactly tied - but it is there. I've used an image from Joanna Sheen's RHS CD and a computer generated sentiment. The pale green swirls in the background are by Creative Expressions and are a Sheena Douglass design. Said ribbon and pearls from my stash.

Thanks for visiting today. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled on Saturday in case any of you are there.

Beryl xx

Wild Thing!

It's my third week as guest designer with the CD Sunday Challenge team - and the theme this time is 'Wild Thing'. I've made an off centre gatefold card and used a bp from the Jayne Netley Mayhew II cd. It's very pale with just a hint of landscape to I added some birds (Lavinia) and some trees (Judikins Africa cube).
The main image is a Dimension Fourth stamp, cut out and decoupaged onto the topper.
I hope you'll join in this week - there's lots of scope with the theme. I resisted the urge to use a photo of myself after I'd seen the mess the dog made of the newly varnished kitchen floor! Let's see what 'Wild Thing' means to you.
Thanks for visiting today.
Beryl xx

All Grown Up Now

It's my second week as guest designer on the CD Sunday challenge and this week it's a colour theme - Blue, Brown and Yellow.

Well here are the threesome featured in an ealier post at Karen's 40th birthday party. She used the photo of them as 'babes' for the cake and I made the scrapbook page in Craft Artist Platinum.

For the card I used the Bryony Bee CD from Debbeescds. which I was lucky enough to win on the CD Sunday challenge a few weeks ago. The flowers were punched from some printed paper I had over from another project, ribbon from my stash  and the bp is from Robert Adams Handmade Papers cd (although you can't see too much of it.)

I do hope you'll join in this - I look forward to seeing your colourful creations.

Thank you for visiting today.

Beryl xx

Goodbye Pickle

Sorry I've been a bad blogger again this week. We had to say goodbye to my gorgeous Pickle yesterday who has been ill since last week.
If you are reading this Terrie - I can't talk about it yet.
Beryl xx

Cuttlebug meets Promarkers

This week the challenge from the Bah Humbug team is 'Embossing'. I've used a Cuttlebug holly embossing folder and coloured the raised areas with Promarkers. Then sprayed the whole lot with irridescent glitter spray. The sentiment is computer generated and was cut with a nestie ovals die. That's about it really.

Thanks very much for visiting.

Beryl xx

Rainbow Lady's challlenge #142

Rainbow Lady's challenge this week is - 'Masked Ball for Mardi Gras' so I thought I'd use this Judikins Mask stamp that doesn't get to see the light of day very often.  I stamped the mask with Versafine Onyx Black and embossed with Sheena's WOW powder - Pearl Violet. I then used a mixture of H2O's and CosmicShimmers to colour - added some fibres and mounted on to the card with sticky pads. The bp is from a graphicus guild pack - the Harlequin is also a Judikins stamp and the sentiment stamp is from Docrafts. Pearls in the corner from my stash.
Thanks very much for visiting today. After I've caught up with some e mails I'll try to catch up with the blogs. Just need a spare day or two for that then.
Beryl xx

CD Sunday Challenge - Luck of the Irish

I'm back after a quite eventful week away and beginning a month of being a Guest Designer on the
CD Sunday challenge blog. It's St Patrick's day on 17th March so this week the theme is 'Luck of the Irish'. My two cards have been made totally with CD's - the first one was done in Serif's Craft Artist Platinum and the second in quite an old version of The Print Shop. I used to use this cd to make all my cards until I was introduced to papercrafting in 2005 so it was a good chance to revisit the programme. The thing is - after playing with MCS, DSA and Craft Artist I realise that The Print Shop does an awful lot more than I ever did with it. I just didn't 'get it'.
I do hope you'll join in this week - I look forward to seeing your 'green' creations - and there's a £20 voucher from our sponsors this week - The Art of Craft - to be won.
I've dealt with this company before and can definitely recommend them as their service is excellent in my experience. They stock a great range of products too.
Thanks very much for visiting today.
Beryl xx

Last Post for a Bit

This will be my last post for a bit as on Thursday I'm off to visit my daughter for a few days and on the way back will stop over with my other daughter - so apologies in advance if I miss some of your lovely creations.

I'm entering this card in the Less is More challenge - which this week has the theme - Spring. My stamp is an English Stamp Company clear stamp - stamped and embossed in copper and then coloured with Promarkers. The greeting - also stamped in copper and embossed is by Elusive Images and the coppery trimming is some copper mirri paper from Craft Creations.

My second card is for the CD Sunday challenge - Get Ahead - Get a Hat. I've had this stamp for a while - and while I love the image - it's an absolute PIG to stamp. You don't want to know how many times I stamped it to try and get an even covering of ink on the image - and then when I did - I managed to splodge something on it (more than once!) Even this image has a tiny splodge of black but I hid it under the bow - which luckily was in the right place. It was already on the card while I waited for the latest image to dry. The CD bit is the backing paper which is from Sharon Duncan Embossibilities Christmas and the punched used a Martha Stewart one.
Thanks very much for visiting today.
Beryl xx

Rainbow Lady's Challenge #140

This week Rainbow Lady's challenge is to use something from a CD. I have used my Ooh La La Shoes in Bloom CD again for the image - ribbon from my stash, the small piece of bp is from The Paper Factory CD and the large piece of bp is one of Crafty Ann's Abstract Pastel Collection.

That's about it really. Oh - the sentiment is a Personal Impressions clear stamp.
Thanks very much for visiting.
I'm of now to do some inserts before the pile of waiting cards get any bigger.
Beryl xx

Butterfly Tree

I wanted to have a go at the new challenge Less is More. It's week two over there and the challenge this week is to make a 'One Layer Card' with a theme of either a flower or a tree. Shame on me - this is the first time this butterfly tree stamp from Elusive Images has seen any ink. I stamped in Versafine Onyx Black and clear embossed it - then coloured with Cosmic Shimmer paints. The greeting - also embossed is from a Serendipity set and as you can see I didn't get it central - no second chances when you're working on one layer - so I added a little butterfly to the corner.The sentiment isn't blurred IRL but the light's not too good here today and this is the best I could get it.
 I'm glad I found this challenge coz now I've got a reasonably lightweight card ot post overseas.
Thanks very much for visiting.
Beryl xx

Swirls and Pearls

My card today is for the CD Sunday challenge - Pearls and Swirls. I was lucky enough to win the

Ooh La La CD 'Shoes in Bloom' on the CD Sunday challenge before Christmas. It's a fabulous CD and as soon as I saw the theme this week I knew I wanted to use this image. The swirls at the bottom are Sheena Douglass' set - String of Bling - stamped with Brilliance Graphite black and clear embossed. Ribbon and pearls from my stash. The quickest card I've made for ages I think so now I'm off to see if I can come up with something for the Less is More challenge - don't hold your breath though.

Thank you for visiting today.

Beryl xx



Bah Humbug - Doilies

The challenge from Bah Humbug this week is to use 'doilies'. I have got some paper doilies somewhere but they were not punched very well so I put them to one side. Now if I could remember which side - I would have used one for this challenge! Instead - I took a photo of a crocheted doily and made it into an embellishment in Craft Artist. I shrunk it down to make the little embellishments top right too. The bp and blue matting behind it were also done in Craft Artist. After I had printed the design off I printed the doilies again so I could layer them up. The hearts were also from a digikit, cut out and sprayed with glitter spray. It's finished off with ribbon from my stash. Dull and overcast here today so the piccie's not as sharp as I'd like it - but I'm out all day tomorrow so it will have to do.
Thanks very much for visiting today
Beryl xx

For My Lovely Daughter

I made this card for my youngest daughter who will be 40 this year. Where have all those years gone?

As it's got the word 'Love' on it I thought I'd enter it into a couple of challenges. I don't 'do' Valetine cards so this is the closest I'll get to the theme. Rainbow Lady's challenge this week is 'It's All About Love' and I am also entering Crafty Ann's challenge 'Love is in the Air'. I haven't managed to enter Crafty Ann's challenge for ages so she'll probably get a bit of a surprise.

It's an 8 x 8 card and the image is one on Sheena Douglass' Sketchy stamps - coloured with watercolour pencils. The matt behind it is made with a Martha Stewart punch - the swirl a Marianne die and the sentiment plate Nesties.

The bp is Funky Fairy distressed swirls and the flower is made from scrunched up circles of mulberry paper. The butterfly is actually a filigree silver brooch that belonged to my mother. As I've never worn it I have decided to pass it on to my daughter before it gets mislaid somewhere. The white organza ribbon was coloured with a Pro marker and the navy circles/card candy where punched from a small part of a Wizard die.

As you can see by the shadows on the card - the sun is shining, but it's not turned out as warm as I thought it would this morning.

Thanks very much for visiting today. Have a good weekend.

Beryl xx



A Bit Insipid!

'Friendship' is the theme for this week's CD Sunday Challenge. The bp is from My Craft Studio and the image is a freebie from PCcrafter that I've had for ages. The frame is a Wizard pendant die cut from pearlised paper and the 'card candy' is the same paper - stuck onto some white card to strengthen it, I then used part of a Wizard die to punch the circles, rounded them with a ball tool and stuck them on. The greeting is a Dimension Fourth stamp and the label is another Wizard die. This card looks a tad insipid to me - I don't think my choice of colours was too brilliant. Hey ho - I can always use the back of it to stamp an image onto.
Thanks very much for visiting today.
Beryl xx

Easter meets Christmas

Two cards today. The first is for Rainbow Lady's challenge 'Year of the Rabbit' celebrating the Chinese New Year. My card is more of an Easter card but it's got the rabbit. The image and the lovely bp are from a MCS free download  - the trellis border a Marth Stewart punch and the flower is made from a selection of my flower punches and a Sissiz die for the stem. The pot is just a scrap of card cut to shape and scored to make the rim.
The second card is for this week's Bah Humbug challenge - 'Buttons and Bows'. The snowman image is from Serif Craft Artist and I've given him buttons for his buttons - if that makes sense. The snowflake backing is a piece of vellum over a piece of white paper. I folded the vellum top and bottom to fit the paper and stuck it with DS tape. Not brads needed. The buttons and ribbon are from my stash. It all looks a bit pale I'm afraid. Well - it is quite pale but with the poor daylight here today it looks even paler.
Thanks very much for visiting today.
Beryl xx

Floating Hearts

The challenge this week on the CD Sunday Challenge blog is 'Love is in the Air'. Now you know I don't do lovey dovey stuff so decided to make my first Easter card of the year. The CD bit is the gingham backing paper which came from my very first Crafter's Companion cd - Papercrafts'. No - I haven't got shares in Crafters Companion - it's just the way things have been going this week. The image is - I think - A Creative Expressions stamp. It was given to me by a forum buddy and I've coloured it with Promarkers. The eggs - here we go again Pinky - from a Cute Companions set - and the sentiment computer generated. It's finished off with a Martha Stewart punched border, some ribbon from my stash and a Cuttlebug corner.

Thanks for visiting today.

Beryl xx

Old but not Forgotton

This week's challenge on Bah Humbug is 'An Oldie but a Goldie'. I resisted the urge to feature 'me' and instead chose this Santa stamp which is one of the first that I bought from Crafter's Companion. He didn't get used this year  - in fact I don't think he's been used since before I had Promarkers - which I used to colour him this time. The sentiment stamp is also from Crafters Companion and looked as if it had never seen any ink - so I thought I better remedy that. The bp is from a Crafters Companion cd too - aren't they doing well on this one? Finished off with some mirri card (hopefully to look like the fastening on a parcel and a red bow.

Thanks very much for visiting today.

Beryl xx



Rainbow Lady's challenge #137

This week's challenge from Rainbow Lady is 'Beary Good'. Any type of project you like as long as there's a bear on it somewhere.

This is another card that didn't end up as planned. It was going to be a 5 x 5, but the image - stamped with Hobby Art stamps and coloured with Lyra watercolours - was larger than expected when placed on a 5 x 5 . The bp is from a Graphicus Guild pack and the flowers made partly from some of the bp, some white paper coloured with the same blue as in the image and another piece from 'somewhere?'. Butterfly punched with a Martha Stewart punch, pearls and ribbon from my stash.

I'm now going to have another go at getting round to visit some blogs. I tried yesterday but the Internet alternately either didn't load the pages properly or went dead slow and then finally ground to a halt. Wish me better luck this afternoon.

Thanks very much for visiting.

Beryl xx

CD Sunday - 'Waters Meet'

This week's CD Sunday challenge is 'Waters Meet'. I have chosen an image from the Thomas Kincade CD and the bp is from the Artylicious Essence of Nature CD. The swirls are Marianne dies, the border a Cuttlebug die and the greeting is on a Nesties die. Not a lot else to say about it - except that it seems to take me as long to make a card from a CD as it does from stamps and inks. Funny that - but having an idea of where I'm going at the start would help.

Hope you are all having a good day.

Thanks for calling by.

Beryl xx

Plaid and Crackers (not edible)

Can't believe it's a week since I visited blog world. The time has flown this week. This kitchen is finished - almost everything is back in it's place and this room is beginning to look like someone lives here again.
The first card today is for Rainbow Lady's challenge which this week is to celebrate Burn's Night and the topic is 'Highland Fling'. The idea is to incorporate something 'Scottish' in your creation. The plaid bp is from Crafters Companion and the Scottie dog is a stamp given to me by Terrie quite a while ago now. Sorry - I don't know the make. I added some ribbon from my stash and a couple of nestie die cuts. The faux brads in the corner were cut from black card using part of a flower set of Wizard dies.
The second card is for this week's Bah Humbug challenge - 'Crackers'. This cracker stamp is one from a set of Cute Companion stamps and the bp is the other half of the sheet on the card above. The crackers and mice are coloured with Promarkers and the peel offs round the border coloured using peel off marker pens.
Thanks very much for visiting today. Hope to get some time for blog hopping this evening.
Beryl xx

Winter Sketch and Sparkly Tree

Challenge #135 from Rainbow Lady is 'Winter Sketch'. I have used a stamp from Creative Expressions for the main image and some trees from Hobby Art in the background. I coloured with watercolour pencils and then glitter sprayed over the top. The sentiment is a Cute Companions stamp and the 'snowflakes' were cut with a Wizard die from some white card (glittersprayed) and some of the same blue card as along the top. The pale blue trim is a piece of self adhesive paper lace - c0loured with Promarkers and the lovely bp is a freebie from Jak Heath.
The second card is for the Bah Humbug challenge which this week is to use stencils. I haven't got much in the way of stencils but as I don't think this tree one had an outing last Christmas I thought I'd give it a whirl for this challenge. I used embossing paste and then some very dark grey glitter - the nearest I had to black. I've learned from past efforts to cut the shape with a nestie BEFORE doing the paste and glitter bit. Behind the tree plaque is some white card which had been Cuttlebugged and the black ribbon disguises the fact that the card is bigger than the embossed part. I hope! The letters are were cut using Cuttlebug alphabet dies from black card after I'd sprayed it with silver glitter spray. It's all quite sparkly IRL.
It's all going on here at the moment with a new kitchen being fitted as I type. Hope the promise of a brand new kitchen and a dishwasher will bring us some prospective buyers. It's coming up to a year since the place has been on the market and I just want to get on with things.
Thanks very much for visiting today.
Beryl xx

Rock Hard or Chic?

Two cards today for two different challenges. The first is for Bah Humbugs first challenge of 2011 - 'Holly,Fairies and some New Year Magic'.The magic is that I actually started a card and finished it the same day! My fairy is a Rock Hard Fairy from Dimension Fourth. I've paper pieced her dress and wings with some sparkly paper and coloured the rest with Promarkers and coloured pencils. The holly round the edge of the nesties shape is from Crafters Companion - also coloured with Promarkers and the sentiment is from Elusive Images. The background is from My Craft Studio Craft e Christmas.
The second card is for the CD Sunday challenge 'New to Me'. The bp is from my stash - Dovecraft I think and the 'cd' bit is the doorway - again from MCS Craft e Christmas. The Clarity stamp is the 'new to me' bit stamped onto the door image and embossed and then the 'clothing' paper pieced over the top.The sentiment is from Creative Expressions.
Thanks very much for visiting today.
Beryl xx

Rainbow Lady's Challenge #134

It's the first challenge of the year from Rainbow Lady and this year she has a new design team and there'll be sponsors too. This month it's a voucher from Joanna Sheen - so do join in if you can. The theme for the new challenge is 'New to Me'. This can be new crafty goodies or a new card fold or technique - the choice is yours. I've chosen to use the new Sheena Douglass stamps which I didn't manage to get at the workshop in Milton Keynes - cancelled due to the snow - but I ordered direct from Sheena and they did arrive in time for Christmas. I've coloured the main image with Pro Markers and added some colour to the background with chalks. The backing paper was made from the reverse side of some scrapbook papers in my stash - stamped and clear embossed with the beer mug, which is a Crafter Companion stamp. I also stamped one and cut it out. The froth was made using liquid applique which I've had for yonks but keep forgetting it's there. The strip down the side is just black paper and the 'studs' are punched from mirri card and scored across the centre with a ball tool.

Thanks very much for visiting today.

Beryl xx



Check it Out with CD Sunday

CD Sundays first challenge of the year is 'Check it Out'. Very little check on here I know but it is there. The check is from a Crafters Companion cd and the bp is from an Artylicious cd. The stamps are Creative Expressions and have been stamped with Versafine Imperial Purple and some of them shaded with Dusty Concorde Distress Ink.

My resolution for this year is to try and catch up with all the lovely creations on your blogs more than once or twice a week - which is all I seem to manage at the moment. That is until the spring comes again and the garden takes up all my spare time again!

Thanks very much for visiting today.

Beryl xx

Rainbow Lady's Challenge # 132

Rainbow Lady's current challenge - which is covering two weeks - is to choose your favourite of her challenges of 2010 and use that theme. I have chosen 'Black, White and Silver' for this card. I embossed the front of the card through the Cuttlebug and then applied Encore Silver ink direct to paper - covering the whole card front. The borders top and bottom are punched with an MS punch and the toppers cut with Wizard dies. The Harlequin is a Judikins die from Stamp Addicts and the greeting is from the Stamp Man. The 'notes' cube stamp I have was too big for the tag so I used black peel offs. I knew they would come in handy one day.

I'd like to wish everyone who visits a Very Happy New Year and hope it brings peace and prosperity to all.

Thanks very much for visiting today.

Beryl xx