Stamp n Sparkle

Spring has Sprung!

2009-04-20T08:55:00.001-07:00

Ahhhhh Spring! Sorry I have not posted a card in a while...I have been painting ceilings - a LOT of ceilings!!!

I thought I should post a few photos of the project I am talking about,

The first photo was just a few weeks ago and the bottom photo was taken this weekend, so as you can see we have been BUSY!!! I still have LOT of painting to do! We ordered carpet which arrives on the 29th and we decided to go ahead and re carpet the whole house too as my carpets are very worn, we were told that all we had to do was remove knick knicks...no problem I thought until I looked around my house and realized just how many knick knacks I have!!! This will take FOREVER! Yet something else added to my looooooooong to do list

It will all be worth it.

Here's what I used for the card:

The stamps are Unity Little Buggers, Spellbinders pinking circles, ribbon by Creative Impressions.

Don't forget I still have Lizzie Anne stamps & Marvy punches on sale and all of my Spellbinders are FREE SHIPPING within the USA.

Happy Springy Monday everyone :D

Going insane!!

2009-04-14T09:16:00.000-07:00

I apologize for being absent from the blogging world, if you saw my house you would know why hahaha!

We have been adding a basement (play area) and also I took down a shelf in my bedroom which was like something out of the Flintstones era!!! It was wood with builders mud and chicken wire!!! UGH!

I have been surrounded by chaos and now my head is in chaos!!! Is it the same for you?

I will try and get a card made this week. I hope you all have a lovely Easter. My girls had so much fun they didn't want the day to end!

HUGS
Zee

As promised...

2009-04-01T12:07:00.001-07:00

...here is my card. I can't believe I haven't made one for over a week! I decided to try out my new Spellbinders emboss plates and they are FAB!

I have a Cuttlebug so to use these in a cuttlebug (and also to emboss the Spellbinder Nesties in the cuttlebug) here's what I do...

...I put the big A plate down, then a B plate, then my emboss folder face up and on top of that I place 2 of Spellbinders Polymer mats. Cover all this with the second B plate and run it through my machine and VIOLA!

I only wish that my camera would have picked up the detail better, it's so stunning in real life! I will try this our with a darker colour in a few days :)

Here's what I used for the card:

Little Buggers Stamp set by Unity

Spellbinders Impressabilities - Paisley

Creative Impressions gingham ribbon

New Stock!

2009-03-31T12:33:00.000-07:00

I now have Labels 1, 2, 3 & 4 back in stock!

I have also decided to sell the Spellbinders polymer mats which I use in my Cuttlebug with my Spellbinder dies :)

The picture at the top of this post is of their new Impressabilities - these look fabulous! Once I have figured out how to use them in my Cuttlebug I will blog about it. I now need to find the time to play! hahaha!

I promise I will post a card REALLY soon! I've been working too hard lately, need to take the time to play a little :D

NEW STOCK! By Our Craft Lounge...

2009-03-28T15:12:00.001-07:00

I discovered these way back in January at the CHA show and instantly fell in love with these Sparkly Flocks...I can't wait to try them out! The best part is that they are only $2.99 a pot!

I have also decided to stock a few of their stamp sets, if they sell then I will buy more...many more! If ever there is something you would like me to stock just let me know and I will see if I can get it :D

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend...I am looking forward to watching the Grand Prix today - fingers crossed for Hamilton!! I also hear that there is going to be an American team doing Formula One next year! It's fun to watch!

Marvy Punches on SALE!!!!

2009-03-24T08:50:00.000-07:00

All my Marvy punches are 25% off!! I love these punches - SO easy to use and some of them are big enough to use around a stamped image! I love the Extra Giga's they are approximately 3"+ FABULOUS!

You can find all these items HERE - happy shopping! :)

Oh yes and I combine shipping - within the USA shipping for one punch is $5.95 (Priority mail) but for 6+ punches it will be no more than $9.80 (priority flat rate box) I will squeeze as many as I can in there for you...SO MAKE SURE YOU STOCK UP!!!!

Bzzzzzzz!

2009-03-23T12:19:00.000-07:00

He'zzzzzzzzz Zo cute!!!! I am having a lot of fun with these Unity Stamps! I am also ADDICTED to Spellbinders hahaha!

I hope everyone is having a lovely Monday...my Monday is going GREAT so far! My good friend Dawn and her beautiful Daughter Rachel stopped by (out of the blue) for a cuppa...not tea...hot choccy! Yummy Cadbury's hot Choccy :) I love it when I get surprise visitors :D

She got to see this card is real life and thought it was CUTE!

Here's what I used:

Unity Little Buggers Stamp set

Spellbinders Large Classic scalloped circles

Prima Ivory Center kisses

Shimmerz Angle Wings

Copic markers - C-1, E00, R32 & Y17

Patterned paper is from a 6x6 Fancy Pants pack

All other cardstock is from my scrap draw (I'm a good girl)

Busy Busy!

2009-03-19T22:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't got around to making another card yet this week...life has taken over. Today I was with my husband - helping with a building project, of course we went out for lunch ;)

Then this evening was my girls' Science Fair - so we had fun looking at all the projects at their school. Tomorrow morning I get to play with my VERY good friends baby all morning - her name is Zoe and she is ADORABLE!! (she's about 7 months old) I haven't see her cry yet! She is SO content. Such a happy little thing!

So there are my excuses...just too busy this week - but in a good way :D

I hope you are all having a lovely week too!

Willing Spring to come!

2009-03-17T12:02:00.000-07:00

Okay so I live near Seattle and yet again last night they were speculating on the news that there was more snow to come!!!! NO!! I am fighting this by making a Springy card...I have put a little green on there to acknowledge St Patrick's Day :D

My daughter is much better now, thank you for all your kind comments and wishes.

Here's what I used:
Lizzie Anne Designs Dreaming of Dots & Say it in Script
Marvy Extra Giga rectangle and scalloped rectangle punches
Shimmerz Angel Wings (center of flowers)
Ribbon is by Alexx Kesh
Rhinestones are Me and My Big Ideas Clear
Cardstock is Bazzil Bling Crystal Blue

I managed to make a card without using my Spellbinders!! I'm in shock! Hahaha!
HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY EVERYONE!

Lynzee's not well :(

2009-03-13T10:17:00.001-07:00

My daughter is home - she has had a chesty cough for about a week now and this morning her tummy decided to join in and be sick too. While she was reading her book (she's ALWAYS reading!) I snook into the other room and made her this card. She is CRAZY about dragons and her favourite colour is...yes you guessed it...green :)
The best part was that she perked up a little when I gave it her so that makes me happy. She is back to reading her book with the card sat in front of her...every now and then she waves back to her little dragon - SO cute!
Here's what I used:
Lizzie Anne Designs Once Upon a Time stamp set
Copic Spika (Sparkle) markers
Spellbinders Pinking circles
Adornit ribbon
Shimmerz Celery (for the wings)

More YUMMY shimmerz!

2009-03-12T08:38:00.000-07:00

I have more Shimmerz colours in my store. I am SO in love with these!!! Lots of yummy colours! Don't forget I also have a sale on Bo Bunny products which includes little flowers, buttons and brads packaged in Magnetic tins! 40% off!!!

I had a very productive day yesterday...I had a to-do list as long as my arm and all but the ironing got done...I'm not a fan of ironing!! Hahaha! Hopefully I will get a chance to make some cards later today!

I hope everyone is having a lovely day - it's cold here (Nr Seattle) but the sun is shining and that makes ALL the difference!

Cocktails anyone?

2009-03-10T09:27:00.000-07:00

Okay so I couldn't resist playing with my new Unity stamps...This Cocktail set is just too juicy! I can see me playing with this a lot - in scrapbooks too!
Here's what I used:
Cocktail Party by Unity Stamps
Prima Flowers - Lemon
Angel Wings Shimmerz (for the glasses)
Cuttlebug swirls
Ribbon - Adornit
Spellbinders Labels One

With all my new Prima flowers and my new Stamp sets I feel like a kid in a candy store! I have to be good and just pick a couple to play with...wish I could have them all!!!

UNITY STAMPS ARE HERE!

2009-03-09T11:59:00.000-07:00

They have arrived!!! I now stock UNITY STAMPS! I love the red rubber which is why I love Lizzie Anne stamps so much so Unity stamps were the obvious next step for me :D

If there are any stamps from this company that you would like to see in my store then please do not hesitate to ask...I can't wait to play with them all!!!

I was in SUCH a good mood this morning that I have decided to have a sale on all Bo Bunny items...40% off!!! I must be mad!! Hahaha!

A very happy Monday to you all.

Zee

British Mother's Day

2009-03-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

The British mothering Sunday in March 22nd this year and this is why I have made this card early in the eyes of anyone American...I'm lucky I get 2 Mother's Days ;) part of the perk of living so far away from home.

This card is for my Mum...the one who likes butterflies...you know who you are hahaha! (yes I know you are reading this too!)

Mother's Day is the day after my Niece Lauren's Birthday...Lauren has already seen her card thanks to Grandma tipping her off (ballerina below) so now it's Lauren's turn to call Grandma and tell her that her card is on my blog now ;) it's only fair! Hahaha!

I don't mind people seeing them before they get the cards as the photos NEVER seem to do them justice!

Here's what I used...

Lizzie Anne Designs Au Naturale set

Spellbinders Labels One

V-15, V-17, Y-17, YR68, 0 Copics

Patterned paper is Basic Grey

Shimmerz - Marigold

Prima Center kissed Ivory gem flowers

This was made with the Lizzie Anne template of the week which you can find here. I really enjoy doing these!

I GOT AN AWARD!!!!!

2009-03-04T10:14:00.001-08:00

I don't get awards very often but I have received TWO from Linda within just a few weeks!! She is SO sweet! I need to pass this along to 10 of my Fav's...this will be SO hard! I have to include the lovely Linda as one of them :) Here's the other 9

Tricia (Lizzie), Marlou, Maureen, All Pink Girl, MiamiKel, Jean, Danielle, Terrie B and Connie (stampinfrog)

These are the ladies who I have seen visiting my blog a lot lately and I LOVE YOU ALL!

YUMMY Prima Flowers and gems!

2009-03-02T11:07:00.001-08:00

I Bought these at CHA - which seems SO long ago now!!! These are GORGEOUS!!! So detailed. You can find all of my new PRIMA products here

The ones above are the Painterly collection. The gem flowers below are so sparkly and FUN! I can't wait to play with them!

These Daisy Dreams are SO fantastic I feel like plonking them all one one card as it is and VOILA - done! Hahaha! I think you might see me playing with these a LOT!

I have made my prices VERY competitive and remember I combine shipping! HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE!

LAD Challenge

2009-02-26T09:40:00.000-08:00

When I saw that Lizzie Anne's Challenge this week was to add sparkle I just HAD to join in :) You can find their challenge here

This is made with Lizzie Anne Design's In The Meadow stamp set - SO cute!

The sparkles are Shimmerz Pixie Dust and a Me & my big ideas bling gem

The green card stock is Bazzill Bling

I need to join in more often with these :) it was fun!

Aloha Shimmerz!

2009-02-23T09:36:00.000-08:00

I am in LURVE with these Shimmerz! I have used Pixie Dust on my little Hula Girl today and it just WOW's it! You can kind of see it in this photo.
I am trying to get through all my cardstock scraps...trying to be 'green' and not wasteful. It is quite inspiring actually. I highly recommend it ;)
Here's what I used:
Pixie Dust Shimmerz
Lizzie Anne Garden Isle Set
Prima Flowers (coming VERY soon to my store!)
Giga Scallop Oval punch
Cardstock is Stampin Up and the patterned cardstock is DCWV pockets full of posies matstack (I think!) again it was one of my scraps :D
This is going to be a GREAT week I can feel it! I hope you all have a FANTASTIC week too!

It's Tea Time!

2009-02-20T09:08:00.001-08:00

YAY! I finally got around to making a Tea Time card...these images have been coloured in for a while just waiting to me made into a beautiful card! Tricia inspired me to get it done by her lovely words on her blog.
Being British EVERYTHING revolves around Tea...Tricia mentioned that I even take my tea on mini Vacations...well...when I went to China for 3 months I took enough of my favourite tea to last our entire visit hahaha...that's a LOT of tea when I drink between 3 and 4 cups a day!
I actually like it now that Tricia has moved further away (bare with me!) as when we see each other now it's not such a mad dash. When she drives to my house it takes her around 45 minutes so naturally she is not going to drive straight back home...so she stays for a cuppa, my card is dedicated to Tricia 'Fancy a cuppa darling?'
In England it's a daily occurrence, friends are always popping around for a cuppa and a chat...we need to do more of that here is America, people are just too busy, we need to make time to smell the roses and enjoy tea with friends :)

Here's what I used to make this card (most of which is in my store):
Lizzie Anne Designs Tea Time stamp set
Stickles Diamond
Marvy Mega scallop oval punch
Spellbinders Ribbon Tags trio (can you tell I like these??)
Ribbon is from Making memories
The stripy cardstock is by Lizzie Anne Designs - it's FAB!

I have FREE SHIPPING within USA on all my Spellinders now :)

Ballerina

2009-02-18T11:41:00.001-08:00

I am SO happy with this card! I needed a beautiful card for my beautiful Niece and as her favourite colour is purple I think she will like this card!

I absolutely adore this polkadot ribbon! YUMMY! The Ballerina is of course Lizzie Anne's along with the sentiment which was taken from their Sketched Sentiments set.

I used Spellbinders Ribbon Tags trio and also the cuttle bug dots. I also used my marvy giga and extra giga scalloped rectangle punches...I can't seem to do a project without using a punch!

I coloured the ballerina in with my Copic Spica's and C-1 and E00 Ciao's.

As I am writing this I have 3 guys digging up my garden ready to lay paving for my patio!! I am SO excited! I will post before and after photos when they have finished :)

I am now off to read the end of my book...Deception Point by Dan Brown...oooh it's gripping!

Big and Beautiful Butterfly.

2009-02-16T10:45:00.000-08:00

POP! Wow! This turned out better than I had hoped. I love the butterfly and I embossed it so it's absolutely GORGEOUS in real life but maybe it was too big for this size card :S Ho Hum! This photo actually does it no justice...

The butterfly is from an Inkadinkado set. I am a die-hard Lizzie Anne Designs fan but I think I need to have more selection in my store and I had a lot of fun playing with this stamp.

My 2 lovely daughters are home from school today and tomorrow so we get to play :) My eldest daughter (9yrs old) is a read-a-holic and is currently ploughing through the Twilight series...she is WAY ahead of me! My youngest (7 yrs old) LOVES to draw. Both love making cards - just Mummy has a hard time sharing ;) tee hee.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend...roll on Spring!!!!

HAPPY VALENTINE"S DAY!

2009-02-14T11:01:00.000-08:00

THANK YOU to everyone who entered my BLOG CANDY. I have a list of all your colour combo's next to my craft desk for inspiration :)

Now let me announce the winner of my BLOG CANDY! Drum roll please......my daughter picked the number and it is.....number 3. CONGRATULATIONS MiamiKel. Let me know which stamp set you would like.

Here is a card that I made for my Husband...

...This is Lizzie Anne's Tattoo single stamp and then I stamped 'You Rock' inside :)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY to everyone <>

Shimmer Shimmery Shimmerz!

2009-02-06T13:44:00.001-08:00

POP POP POP! Oh my I am LOVING these Shimmerz!!! Look how it made this cake POP!

Here's what I used (click on them to see them in my store)...Don't forget Lizzie Anne Stamps are on sale right now for a limited time!

Shimmerz (Angel Wings), Spellbinders Scallop Square Large & Tiny Tags, Lizzie Anne Designs Gettin' Hitched, Just words and So Swirly stamp sets.

I wish I knew someone who was getting married!! I was just in the mood to colour in this cake! Here are the colours I used. Click on the picture to see it larger :) This is my favourite colour combo at the moment.

Don't forget to enter for my BLOG CANDY below. All you have to do is tell me your favourite colour combo to enter :)

Shading!

2009-02-04T10:25:00.001-08:00

Okay so I have been noticing lately how FABULOUS shading looks and so decided to jump in and give it a go! I tried the 'kidney shape' trick! Hmmm, I think it looks okay - I would love to hear what you think or if you have any tricks :)

I love this Lizzie Anne set - High Hellos - it is definitely one of my favourites. Don't forget all Lizzie Anne sets are on sale in my store at the moment...I don't put them on sale very often (normally just once a year) so don't miss out!!!

You can find them here...Lizzie Anne Sale

Also don't forget to enter my Blog Candy...thank you to everyone who has entered so far. I will be trying out your colour combos on my future cards ;)

BLOG CANDY!!!

2009-01-29T18:16:00.000-08:00

WOO HOO! It's Blog Candy time!!!

I am giving away one of the FANTASTIC Lizzie Anne Designs stamp sets and the lucky winner gets to CHOOSE which set they would like from my store! You get to pick!!!! You can have a look at what I have here.

The only 'rule' I have is when you leave your name please also leave your favourite colour co ordinations too. I have Stampin Up markers and have recently invested in the Copic Ciao sets so either leave their names or their numbers - I can't wait to see what you favourites are.

I swear I am slightly colour blind - I am NO good at coordinating colours at all! I need your help :)

Thank you in advance and GOOD LUCK!

I will be drawing the lucky name on Valentine's Day

CHA fun!

2009-01-28T11:05:00.000-08:00

Well, we worked hard and we played hard!Here I am with Tricia (left) from Lizzie Anne Designs outside CHA. The show was much smaller this year but we still managed to find some cute new items for our stores. The Beach photo was taken the morning we were leaving to go back home. That's Meridith from Lizzie Anne Designs on the left :) It was such a nice warm day it would have been criminal NOT to walk along this beautiful beach!

There was a lot of hustle and bustle when Paris Hilton entered the convention - yes I said Paris Hilton!

I did get to see Jane Seymour and she is SO beautiful! My husband bought me her open heart necklace for Christmas.

She was a little more creative than Paris - she painted while she was at the show and it was amazing to see. She is breathlessly beautiful!

We missed you Joslyn!

All in all we got a lot done and had a lot of fun doing it. I can't think of 2 nicer ladies to spend 4 days in the sun with.

YUMMY Spellbinders!

2009-01-23T13:59:00.000-08:00

I love love love these newer shapes from Spellbinders!!! I have been away for a while so I am probably the last to know about them! I have about 7 new shapes in store right now and I am off to CHA tonight with Tricia from Lizzie Anne Designs to see their even NEWER stuff! I am SO excited! I also have the new Extra Giga punches just delivered which I am trying to get into my store before I leave! So much to do so little time! I will be back home late Tuesday evening so any orders in my store will be shipped out Wednesday morning :)

ALL Lizzie Anne on SALE!!!

2009-01-20T20:28:00.000-08:00

I don't do this very often but I have been in a very happy mood today and wanted to spread some happiness and so therefore I decided to put ALL Lizzie Anne sets and singles on SALE!!!

GRAB THEM FAST BEFORE THEY ARE ALL GONE! I love Lizzie Anne!

I go to CHA this weekend and can't wait to find some cute new goodies for my store - I will share all my finds with you when I get back - I'm SO excited!!!

Heartfelt Birthday

2009-01-19T16:44:00.000-08:00

Oh how I love buttons! These are Wild Berry by Bo Bunny. They have co-ordinating brads and scrummy flowers too! I'm trying to stick with my new 'simple' theme but I won't lie - it's hard!!!

I coloured in using my Copics. The stamps are Lizzie Anne Designs L'amour and Happy Birthday and the Ink is Brilliance Graphite black - it's a shimmery FAST DRYING ink - LOVE it! The ribbon is Creative impressions. The pink card is part of a card and envelope kit - it makes things SO much easier having it to hand.

Happy Monday! HUGS!

In the Hula mood!

2009-01-14T09:26:00.001-08:00

I apologise for not making cards sooner but I am SUCH a nice person that I lent my good friend Dawn all my Lizzie Anne stamps while I was away and with all the snow and flooding we have had I have only just got them back :)
So for Christmas we bought my 7 & 9 year old girls a Wii - and yes I am LOVING it! I especially like the Wii Fit and I am Hula Hooping ALL the time! In fact on Monday my friend Laurie came over and we played like little kids and then yesterday I had Tanya and Dawn (with my stamps ;)) come over and we all played and had fun! I'm thinking we should make this a weekly thing! My abs are going to be rock hard by next month! Who'd have thought that keeping in shape could be so much fun!
This beauty is from Lizzie Anne's Garden Isle set, the bling - me and my big ideas. My New Years resolution is to 'keep things simple' this card to me is as simple as it gets.
I hope you like it :D

I'M BACK!

2009-01-12T08:50:00.000-08:00

After my whirlwind adventures I am now home. 3 months in Beijing was a positive experience - The Great Wall was more than Great! It was truly breathtaking. We got home at the beginning of December and then 2 weeks later we headed to Florida to meet up with family for Christmas - boy did we have fun!

I am home now and getting back into the swing of things, my store is now back online and I am working on making some cards to show on my blog :) Please keep checking back.

I hope you are having a fantastic Monday. All great weeks start with a fantastic Monday ;)

My Beijing Adventure...

2008-09-02T06:06:00.000-07:00

I am in Beijing until the end of November...you can follow my Beijing adventure FunInBeijing.com I will start posting back to this blog after I return :)

Look what I did!

2008-08-21T18:03:00.001-07:00

This is my first Digital page! I am SO excited that I managed to do it!!! I did it through Photoshop Elements. My lovely friend Rebecca sent me a link through YOU TUBE which was a tutorial and I couldn't have done it without that! The paper etc. for this page was FREE from Shabby Princess I downloaded them ALL!! I was trying to figure out if I could get clever enough to do this while I am in Beijing. I have a LOT to learn but I am so happy that I have finally finished a page!

STORE CLOSED UNTIL JANUARY 09

2008-08-01T19:23:00.000-07:00

Just a little reminder that my store will now be closed until January 09. We leave for Beijing at the end of August but I needed to make sure that all of my orders (especially my overseas ones) were all completed and items arrived safely :)

I have started to get ready for my trip. I have about 5 boxes of Fiber 1 cereal and I have 120 bars of Cadbury's fudge hahaha! I can live on just those if I need to ;)

I am chatting with a lady called Kristen who has been in Beijing for a while now and is staying in the same building that we will be in and she is helping me out, telling me places I can go and things I can do. She has also put me a little package together of pain medications for my kids & wet wipes, vitamins etc. She is SO nice. She is even on the hunt for my Fiber 1 over there. LOVE her! Here is a link to her blog - hey mine will look like hers soon! Maybe not so many words though, I'm not too good at blogging...I'm still quite new at it all.

Make sure you keep coming back and checking in on us :)

NEW LIZZIE ANNE SETS IN STORE NOW!!!

2008-07-24T12:45:00.001-07:00

Oh my! What a beautiful sight it is!!!! I now have all of Lizzie Anne's new sets in store. I WANT THEM ALL!!!! What talented designers they are. This is just a sneek peek! Make sure you check them out!

Summer Madness!

2008-07-18T11:01:00.001-07:00

It seems I am finding it hard to find time to play with my stamps lately - what with my girls home from school. I actually made this one ON my birthday but just haven't found the time to put it on my blog! I am trying to still get my head around the fact that I will be moving to Beijing for 3 months!

I have decided however that I will be closing my EBay store on Tuesday 1st August so that I have time to send the last packages out (make sure they arrive internationally too) and sort out my taxes as we get back in December and less than 2 weeks later we fly to Florida to play at Disney World with family (meeting us from the UK). So I will not be opening my store again until January 1st. It seems SO far away! WOW! Anyway, make sure you get your orders in before then :)

AND THE WINNER IS........

2008-07-10T21:48:00.000-07:00

.......PatsyB, (number picked at random.org) here is what she wrote...

Love your blog!! My best birthday ever was the year my son graduated from The Citadel Military College. I was so proud and what I thought was a party for his graduation actually turned into a surprise party for me! I also got new wood floors for my house! Does it get any better??

It seems things DO just get better ;)

CONGRATULATIONS! Send me your address and I will get your prize to you :D

Thank you to everyone, it was really nice reading about all your favourite birthdays. I too would LOVE a surprise birthday party one year - not had one yet!
Don't forget, there is more blog candy to be won, click on the Lizzie Anne Celebration link on the left and see who's blogs are taking part.
Thank you again for stopping by!

Lizzie Anne Celebrations!

2008-07-09T01:00:00.000-07:00

It's my turn to share the joy!!! Oh and what Joy it is! Lizzie Anne has SO much going on in celebration of their 2nd birthday! Make sure you click on the link on the left (which takes you to their schedule :)

Today you get the chance to win some much loved BLOG CANDY from the one and only Lizzie Anne Designs themselves. All you need to do is leave a comment on my blog and you are entered to win...as it was my birthday yesterday I would love to know what you best birthday present ever was/is. Mine was my 30th (NOT that long ago ;)) when my husband made me a scrapbook titled 'Things I will do when I am 30' he wanted me to do things I hadn't done before so he had booked me tickets to go and see the Corrs at a local winery, a football match between Chelsea & Man United (no David Beckham but there was a streaker on the pitch!) and that year we also went to Paris. I was able to document it all in my lovely scrapbook. Make sure you leave your comment before midnight tonight to secure your entry :D Good luck everyone and thank you for stopping by!

My Green Tu-Tu

2008-06-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIZZIE ANNE DESIGNS!!! Of course this is their beautiful Ballerina. Doesn't she look FABULOUS in her sparkly green tu-tu? I'm so excited about the flowers on this card. Bo Bunny have come out with a new line of co-ordinating flowers/buttons/brads. I already stock the flowers and brads in my store and the buttons are on their way ;) They are packaged in very cute tins with magnets on the bottom for easy storage - PERFECT! The cardstock is Cosmo Cricket :D I hope you are all having a splendid Monday! Don't forget to click on the Lizzie Anne Celebration link on the left and join in the fun! Thanks for stopping by!

Welcome Little One

2008-06-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

Just another little card that I whipped together :) Make sure you keep checking my blog. Lizzie Anne Designs will be celebrating their 2nd Birthday in July and have lots of exciting things going on. Their design team (including me!) are a huge part of it too. So stay posted!!!

Simple Ballerina

2008-06-28T18:54:00.000-07:00

She is such a beautiful ballerina (By Lizzie Anne of course :D) The background swirl is from the fabulous So Swirly set. Simple and elegant! I hope everyone is having a nice weekend - we have glorious sunshine (it's in the 90's) it's perfect!

Baby bib!

2008-06-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

Oh my! This turned out better than expected! My VERY VERY good friend Tanya is having a baby shower this Thursday and I was inspired by Lizzie who was inspired by Lauren. Instead of a baby onesie I thought I would try a dress with a bib! I used my cuttlebug for the swirls and the buttons are all from the Making Memories embellishment jar. The image is from Lizzie Anne's L'Amour set, the ribbon is one of my collections which I sell in my store :) I'm just so excited at how it turned out :D Now I MUST go and lay with my girls. They have been hovering over me all morning waiting for me to finish this card before I take them to the park :)

Beijing here we come!

2008-06-15T19:28:00.000-07:00

It's official. On September 1st 2008 we will be going to Beijing for 3 months!!! My husband works for Microsoft and they need him out there for a few months to help set up a new group and we are able to go with him! I am half excited and half scared to death! I've never lived anywhere that didn't speak English. We are currently looking into schools for the girls and also apartments. Even more fabulous than all of this is that my Mother-in-law Elva will be coming to visit for a couple of weeks...THAT I am excited about :D she's used to travelling. I'm not!

Because of this I will be closing my online Ebay store from mid August until January 1st 2009...the reason for December is becasue we get back from Beijing and 2 weeks later we fly to Walt Disney World (opposite corner of America to us!) for a family get together with Elva ;) and also Deb, Rob and Lauren (my beautiful neice). We did this trip 3 years ago in May and had the time of our lives so the only way to top it was to do the same again but at Christmas! We are REALLY looking forward to this trip. So you see I have to close my store. But I will be ready to re-open 1st Jan :)

My biggest fear about going to Beijing is needing more immunizations! :( Keep your fingers crossed for me!

I hope everyone had a lovely Fathers Day - we went on a lovely bike ride. It's a beautiful sunny day here today in Duvall (and about time too!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIZZIE!

2008-06-09T11:53:00.001-07:00

CONGRATULATIONS 'Letters from Lizzie' on your one year BLOG Anniversary!!! WOOOO HOOOOO! And to top that she has Blog candy ;) - YUMMY! Yes I made this card especially for her, she is such an inspiration to me and I know she LOVES cupcakes so there just HAD to be one on the card tee hee! Don't you just LOVE that adornit ribbon!!! And of course I have my sparkle back! Almost everything on this card sparkles as I used my glittery Copic markers to colour it in :) I hope everybody had a fabulous weekend - I did although now I am getting a cold - my daughter Lynzee just loves to share her germs!

Pow of RED!

2008-06-04T10:09:00.000-07:00

Yes I used my Copics! I'm so in love with those! I also used my Adornit ribbons aren't they scrummy! Black and red are so powerful! I just love how this turned out! Well I got all of my scrapbooks done for my daughters school, I was able to tidy up my family room - it no longer looks like a craft store exploded in there! Hahahaha! They turned out cute. There are only about 6 boys albums left to do but I am hoping that some other Mum's do those as I'm not very good with boy things - I'm a girly girl through and through :) I told the teacher that if she didn't mind girly boy albums that I would do them...tee hee! I did do 5 and was as masculine as I could be but of course flowers still made their way in there...along with a few sparkles of course ;)

Oooooh Copics are FUN!

2008-05-29T09:43:00.000-07:00

So I played with my new Copics yesterday and had a LOT of fun! This is Lizzie Anne Designs Fun to be Floral set and I coloured in part of the flower and then glitzed it with the Copic Clear sparkle pen! It looks gorgeous! This is my sister Paula on her wedding day - my sister Lynn took this photo, she definitely captured a moment :) Paula has been on my mind a lot lately, she's not well and has just had a major operation which was very successful thankfully! Paula I love you squillions! Get well soon!

COPICS ARE HERE!

2008-05-28T10:56:00.000-07:00

I have been waiting FOREVER for these to arrive! I have a few sets in my store :) I'm going to have SO much fun with these, maybe it will give me my card making mojo back! I remember playing with these at CHA and oh boy they are good. Especially the Sparkle Pens, made with tiny particles of glass no less! The clear Sparkle pen is the best! It's really clear - not silvery like most and you won't believe how sparkly! Right, off to make a card, see you later :D

It's all about the bling!

2008-05-21T12:07:00.000-07:00

It's baa-aack! Yes because I have tried a few cards with no bling and no girlyness I went a little bit mad with this one!!! Hahaha! This is Lizzie Anne's Fun to be floral set and I also used Cosmo Cricket paper and Adornit Ribbon and of course I used a punch! The giga circle. All of these items can be found in my store :) Oh the tag was made with a Spellbinders die. I used it on my Cuttlebug and it worked great! It's feels so good to get back to using the sparklies again, I'm just not cut out for 'simple'.

Maggie & Evie

2008-05-19T23:25:00.000-07:00

I just have to post a little something more about these 2 little girls. I promise I will post another card soon :) I had such a lovely time in Montana visiting Carrie & Joe and their 2 beautiful little baby girls. It's amazing to see such little babies and knowing all that is being done to help them grow...just amazing. I can't wrap my mind around it! This is Carrie with Maggie 13 days old. Please feel free to visit their website MayDayGirls I wish we lived closer :(

More trees :)

2008-05-15T11:25:00.000-07:00

So I have a confession, as you may have noticed my blogs are few and far between - I'm finding it hard to get back into routine since my Mum left. This weekend we are going to Montana to see friends of ours that had Twin baby girls 15 weeks early! They are both under 2lbs but are little fighters. Please have them in your prayers. Their names are Evelyn Mae and Margaret Ann.
This card was hard for me...do you notice anything missing...yep, bling! Oh my that was so difficult to stop without putting on my sparkles. I don't think I will be able to do that again! Well I hope everyone has a lovely weekend, we are supposed to get a heatwave YAY! Unfortunately we will be in a car for 8 hours tomorrow though! Should be a pretty drive through the mountains though.

Back to normality

2008-05-08T16:05:00.000-07:00

Well my Mum went home and all the Shopping Malls within a 30 mile radius are weeping ;) We are very sad that she had to go home. It felt very quiet and lonely this morning without her once the girls had gone to school. My car is in the garage not knowing why it isn't driving to a Mall today!!! Hahahaha! it's back to normality now.

In the Treetops

2008-05-03T11:44:00.001-07:00

I made this card at my Girly Scrapbook Retreat last weekend! We had a LOT of fun. I got 36 pages and 3 cards made!!! AND I used all of my old stuff - nothing new! I'm such a good girl. My Mum is still here, we have been to see the tulips and that was beautiful. She leaves on Wednesday evening - it will be said to see her go. I have really enjoyed shopping with her, honestly we have been shopping almost EVERY day! My feet have not had time to touch the floor! Anyway, hope you are having a nice weekend. We have rain :(

My Mum LOVES JCPenny!!

2008-04-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

My Mum arrived Monday night and we have already had 2 full days of shopping at JC Penny - 2 different ones at that! This is a photo of me carrying all of the items we wanted to try on. My Mum has just had an operation on her foot so I was getting a very good workout! I have been having a lot of fun shopping :) I apologize for the lack of cards on my blog lately, I just can't find the time!!! Having too much fun with my Mum. I will be popping in every now and then and maybe a card will be made but no promises. My Mum has flown all the way from the UK (5,000 miles) and so I want to spend all of my time with her. I'm sure you understand ;)

Kitchen - Phase 2

2008-04-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

TA-DAAAA!

This is why I haven't been blogging lately - LOTS of very late nights refacing my kitchen. I am SO happy with it. We got the door from Reface Depot online they sell the same door that Home Depot do but for a fraction of the price. As you can see we started with the countertops (shown in the before photo on the right)

Let me know what you think :)

Lizzie Anne Design Challenge #22

2008-04-09T11:26:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to use this cupcake since I got it! This is for the Lizzie Anne Design challenge this week. The twist was to add some circles. This card was a challenge for me, I had to tell myself to stop - don't add anything else. I pat myself on the back for that but I am itching to add something - I don't know what but something! I'm not good at clean and simple - I need BLING! Hahahaha! i bet it has some added before this day ends :D

...and the winners are...

2008-04-07T11:40:00.000-07:00

Julie a. & Sandyh50 WOOO HOOOO! You are the winners of my blog candy this month CONGRATULATIONS!
Thank you to everyone who took part - it was cool to find out that there are so many other Lizzie Anne fans out there. I am completely hooked (if you haven't already realized that is!!!)

I need both you ladies to contact me with your addresses so that I can get these goodies in the post to you ASAP!

HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE! Only 7 days until my Mum gets here!!!

BLOG CANDY TIME!

2008-04-03T14:52:00.001-07:00

IT'S BLOG CANDY TIME {scream!}

I am SO excited about this one I'm not just giving it away once...I'm giving it TWICE!!! That's right - there will be TWO drawings! (oh my I sound like one of those BUT WAIT commercials!!! hahaha!) So make sure you tell all your friends!

All you need to do is tell me which Lizzie Anne set is your favourite :) This 'Fun to be Floral' is actually one of my favourites - nice thick lines for glittering ;) My ultimate favourite though is So Swirly - SO versatile.

My drawings will be Next Monday morning so make sure you check back to see if you have won!

GOOD LUCK!

Lizzie Anne Design Challenge #21

2008-04-01T16:18:00.000-07:00

Stamps: Lizzie Anne Blissful Blossoms & Celebrations Sayings

Cardstock: Patterned paper is from the Cosmo Cricket Honey Pie 8x8 paper stack

Ink: SU Bravo Burgundy & Always Artichoke

The Ribbon is May Arts (I think) & I used the Marvy Extra Jumbo scallop oval

I colored in using watercolor pencils

This is for the Lizzie Anne weekly challenge. I love how they give you a layout and a twist! This weeks twist was to use flowers - I know how we are ALL longing for spring to arrive! Lets at least hope that the weather is nice next week for Spring break!!

For Brooklynn

2008-03-30T11:49:00.000-07:00

Stamps: Lizzie Anne High Hellos

Cardstock: Bazzill Bling & SU Eggplant Envy (I think!)

Ink: SU Eggplant Envy & Basic Black. SU Markers - Yoyo Yellow & Only Orange

Tools & Embellishments: Scalloped corner adorner, deckled scissors & corner flower punch. For the sparkles I used a quickie glue pen & SU Dazzling diamonds (these are still my favourite sparkles!

This card was made for Brooklynn, she's 8 - well she's really 2 as she was born on Feb 29th! She was Baptised yesterday and we were honored to be invited to share in her special day, she LOVES yellow so it HAD to have yellow!

Well we had 4 inches of snow last night!!! My poor daffodils are buried :( My girls have been having a lot of fun with the snow - VERY exciting! They made a Kitty, a Dog, a Rabbit, a person and a bird! All out of snow - how very clever! We took a photo but you can't really make them out which is a shame because they worked so hard on them :)

In the Treetop

2008-03-28T14:15:00.001-07:00

Stamps: Lizzie Anne Designs In the Treetop

Cardstock: Bazzill Bling & SU Whisper White

Ink: SU So Saffron & Always Artichoke

Tools & Embellishments: Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirl, Marvy Giga Scallop Rectangle & Adornit Swirly Ribbon

I had a lot of fun making this card. I decided I would dust off my cuttlebug and actually use it hahaha! I have only 2 emboss folders, this swirly one and then a snowflake one! I really must invest in a few more ;) The Ribbon takes center stage here, I absolutely LOVE this ribbon, Creative Impressions have a few different colours too. I'm off to get my taxes sent off (finally!) it's at times like this that I wish we lived in England and to top that it's SNOWING!! Quite heavily too!

Spellbinders Nestabilities!!!

2008-03-28T09:17:00.001-07:00

I am SOOOOOO excited, a bunch of my Nestabilities came so they are now in my store :) This picture shows what the dies can do - as well as die cutting you can emboss with them and stencil with them too!!! I still have a few of them on back order - all the new long rectangles and the new tags but I do have some of the classics! Now I need to figure out how to use them with my cuttlebug - hmmm, this is going to be fun! I will post another card later today...I have to do a few household chores first and then my mind will be free to be creative. Right now all I can think about is all the ironing I have to do!!!

Fairy Wishes

2008-03-26T00:09:00.001-07:00

Stamps: Lizzie Anne High Hellos & Fairy

Cardstock: (Scraps)

Ribbon: Adorn it

Tools & Embellishments: Me & My Big Ideas self Adhesive Rhinestones, Icicle Stickles, Fiskars hand held flower punch & Flowers are from the Noteworthy Embellishment jar

I love love love these self adhesive Rhinestones! I can't seem to make a card these days without them! I have had another busy busy day! I need a vacation to look forward to! My Mum gets here on the 14th April so we are all counting down to that :) My little girls are excited to see their Nanna.

I GOT AN AWARD!!!!!

2008-03-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

It's my very first one and it was given by the FABULOUS Dawn at Buggin' around she so nice and her creations are gorgeous!
It's the Arte Y Pico award! I am completely thrilled! Apparently the "Arte Y Pico" (Art & More) is given to bloggers who share their art and creativity making their contribution to the blogger world. My turn to pass it on :) I choose Carol at Crazy for Crafting and I have just realized it's her Birthday today so Happy Birthday to you :D, I also pick Dawny P at Pink Piggy , Dawn at All Pink Girl , I would also like to give it to Tricia at Letters from Lizzie (she is a very busy lady) at lastly I would like to send it back to Dawn at Buggin' around (linky above)...she inspires me too :D (It didn't say I couldn't do that in the rules ;) ) I've just realized how many Dawn's inspire me!!!
Here are the rules:

1) You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.

3) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.

4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte y Pico" blog , so everyone will know the origin of this award.

5) To show these rules.

Updated Kitchen! (Phase one)

2008-03-25T08:23:00.001-07:00

We have been SO busy this weekend. We had new Quartz countertops fitted on Friday (Yay no more grubby tile grout to scrub with a toothbrush!) and so Saturday I spent 12+ hours painting the kitchen, hallway and nook. 12 hours!!! There was a LOT of edging! John (my clever husband) was the Gas Man...a plumber...and a tiler!!! among other professions! A very productive day. The next step will be refacing the cabinets. We found a fabulous direct buy website which only costs a fraction of the price that you would buy it from Lowes or Home depot for the exact same product :D Now I have chairs to fit together...I promise I will make a card today and post it by this evening. Right now I need to help at my daughters school...if I don't mark the Math homework then nobody will!!!! Hahahaha!

Sharing the Lizzie Love! 20% off entire line!!!

2008-03-20T15:51:00.000-07:00

This card has been made using Lizzie Anne's High Hellos set. The Rhinestones are Me & My Big Ideas. Unfortunately I can't remember where I got the patterned paper! I have decided to have a bit of a Spring Fling and those who love Lizzie Anne stamps are going to benefit from it - yes I have ALL my Lizzie Anne stamps on sale for the very first time for (drum role please) a massive 20% off!!! This is only for a limited time so make the most of it ladies :) I don't plan on having them on sale again until maybe next year. HAPPY SHOPPING!

(((SCREAM)))

2008-03-19T16:08:00.001-07:00

It arrived!!! It finally arrived!!! My Cosmo Cricket order from CHA! Ooooooohh it's all just so lovely and scrumptious! I've made sure that my prices are very competitive so check out what I have in stock. Here's a sneak peak at a little bit of what I have...

The COGSMO collection is SO CUTE! The Paper Crafting Kits are BRILLIANT! Can you tell how excited I am - I'm about to burst!!!

A very happy Wednesday to everyone :D

Lizzie Anne Design Challenge

2008-03-17T17:37:00.000-07:00

You can find the Lizzie Anne Design Challenger here. The challenge was to keep it green in honour of St. Patrick's Day :) The BEST thing about this card...I used all scraps! What a good girl I am :) HAPPY St. PATRICK'S DAY TO EVERYONE!!!

Busy SHOPPING!

2008-03-12T14:31:00.001-07:00

Stamps: Lizzie Anne Designs High Hellos

Cardstock: SU Eggplant Envy (yes it's the old stuff!), Bazzill Bling & Gypsy by Basic Grey

Ink/Markers: SU Markers & Brilliance Graphite Black ink

Embellishments: Diamond Stickles & butterfly punch

So I actually made this card on Monday but for the rest of Monday I Spring Cleaned the downstairs of my house - SO - to congratulate myself I have been shopping since :) Tuesday I bought myself a beautiful springy dress (Spring WILL arrive soon!) and also found the PERFECT pair of capris, it's so hard to find the perfect pair...now I wish I had bought two!!! Anyway today my very good friend (she's like a sister to me) Tanya invited me to go to Costco with her. So 2 days of shopping! My kind of life! I still have SUCH a big to-do list, it's so long it's off putting! I'm taking babysteps...it's the one great thing I learned from FLYlady. Oh and the 10 minute dash is a LIFESAVER! My kids love it when I set the timer and tell them we only have 10 minutes to tidy their playroon and bedroon AND it actually works and instead of them dawdling it motivates them to speed up. More time for playing :D It's a WIN WIN.

Lizzie Anne Design Challenge

2008-03-06T13:55:00.000-08:00

Stamps: Lizzie Anne Design's Once Upon a Time and Dreaming of Dots

Cardstock: All SU Blues

Inks: SU Blues

Embellishments: Creative Impressions Ribbon, Waterfall Stickles & Making Memories Embellishment Jar Button

Tools: Super Jumbo Circle Punch & Mega Scallop Circle Punch

I AM LOVING THIS RIBBON! Okay calm down and breathe...1...2...3...I'm okay now! This is for the Lizzie Anne Design challenge this week. The fabulous Joslyn gave us the layout and the twist was that you had to stick with the same colour family - harder than I thought it would be! Haha! I decided to make another dragon card (my second) as my daughter Lynzee is MAD about them and it was about time I made her another one for her shrine!

Adornit Ribbons! YUMMY!

2008-03-05T21:46:00.000-08:00

Ta daa! This is my GORGEOUS Adornit Ribbons! I can't wait to use some of it! This is a little more pricey than my other ribbons - almost double the price but I still wanted to keep the price down so they are on sale for $4.99 for 4 Yards! BARGAIN! You can find them here. I think I will work on the Lizzie Anne Design Challenge tomorrow morning, I'm a little tired right now - could do with an early night!

Thanks for stopping by :D

High Hellos

2008-03-05T09:49:00.000-08:00

Stamps: Lizzie Anne Design's High Hellos

Cardstock: Red with Pink envelope set, Orange from 6x6 Basic Grey Gypsy paper pack, SU whisper white and Basic Black

Inks: Brilliance Graphite Black & SU Watercolor Pencils

Ribbon: Creative Impressions red with white dots and edge.

Punches: Uchida Extra Jumbo Scallop Oval & SU Rectangle hand held punch

Embellishments: Me & My Big Ideas Rhinestones red, pink & orange

I am like a child is a sweet shop! I am surrounded by SO much beautiful ribbon! I just HAD to start using some. I love this red with white dots, so eye-popping! I had a lot of fun yesterday putting together ribbon collections you MUST check them out. I also have some Adorn it ribbon that I am hoping to get in my store later today! This ribbon is SO gorgeous! I just ran out of the Cropper Hopper Ribbon Cards to store them on so I need to pop out and buy a few more :)

Ribbon heaven!

2008-03-04T16:51:00.000-08:00

I am on cloud 9 right now...I am drowning in BEAUTIFUL ribbons! I bought far too many from CHA (I just couldn't stop myself!) and now I am creating samplers to sell in my eBay store :) This is the first one that I have put together. It is ribbon by Alexx Kesh & Co. Daisy ribbon, Herringbone ribbon and poco-dot Satin ribbon stored on a hangable ribbon card. All are SO beautiful!!! I will be adding a ribbon section to my store so you can easily find all these luscious goodies.

For my Beautiful niece Emma...

2008-02-28T21:45:00.001-08:00

I wanted to create something really special for my lovely Niece Emma. I am a terrible Aunty and forgot her Birthday! I love how this card turned out. All these buttons are from the Making Memories Noteworthy jar and then I also used a swirl from Lizzie Anne's So Swirly set. I'm feeling much better today - still got a bit of a thick head and a delicate stomach but I did manage to get some housework done which must mean I am feeling better. Chloe is also doing great. She went back to school today - boy I wish I could bounce back as fast as she did! Thank you everyone for your kind wishes :)

For my Princess

2008-02-26T11:26:00.000-08:00

Stamps: Lizzie Anne Once Upon a Time, So Swirly & Simply Sentiments sets

Cardstock: SU Pixie Pink, Green Galore & Whisper White

Ink: SU Black & Real Red, Pixie Pink Markers & Versamark

Embellishments: Pearl Emboss powder, Doodlebug Paper Ribbon & M&MBI Icons (gems)

Well I prayed that it wouldn't happen but alas it did, my little Princess caught my Flu! We get VERY worried when she gets even a cold because she has had febrile seizures a LOT. She had a temp of 104 this morning and no seizure YAY! My little Princess is becoming very strong. I'm so proud of her. She loved having ice cream for breakfast :D. Anyway this card was made for her with her 2 favourite colours - bright pink and bright green. GET WELL SOON CHLOE!

A bit under the weather!

2008-02-23T21:28:00.000-08:00

Stamps: Lizzie Anne Design's Gettin' Hitched & Just Words

Ink: SU Markers & Basic Black

Cardstock: Bazzill Bling scraps! (aren't I a good girl!) the white is SU Whisper White

Tools: Marvy Mega Scallop Oval Punch & Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirl

Embellishments: Buttons from Making Memories Embellishment Jar

I made this card a few days ago when I was feeling happy and well. Since Thursday afternoon I have been getting poorlier and poorlier :( I ended up with the flu! Which I don't think I have ever had before - well lets just say I have never in my life (apart from when I had sunstroke maybe) felt this ill before . I had a fever of over 104 and back pain like I was in labor!!!! Anyway I feel a bit better now but I am trying to rest. Of course this is the weekend that my husband decides he wants to paint all the cabinets in the kitchen! Hahaha!

Swirly Friends!

2008-02-20T14:28:00.000-08:00

Stamps: Lizzie Anne Design's So Swirly & Simply Sentiments

Cardstock: Red with pink envelopes

Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black & Moonlight White

Embellishments: Making Memories Embellishment jar, Doodlebug paper ribbon, Stampendous geo shapes, Satin Pearl emboss powder & Etched Elegance Pewter by Imaginisce oh and also Pebbles Shimmer Chalks

How can such a simple card contain so many parts??? I started to list what I had used and am shocked at how many items were actually used!!! I thought I would try embossing straight onto the pewter and I quite like how it turned out :) I lightened up the swirls with white chalk. I am off to take my girls to the park, it's a lovely springy day and I can no longer stare at in from inside! I'm sending good sunny vibes your way so that you may receive a little sunshine too :D

Lizzie Anne Design Challenge

2008-02-18T12:58:00.000-08:00

Stamps: Lizzie Anne Sketched Sentiments and Floral Frenzy

Cardstock: Pink with red envelopes & Basic Grey Gypsy

Ink: Brilliance Pearlescent Crimson (YUM!)

Embellishments: SU Ribbon & M&MBI Icons (bling)

I wanted my ribbon to punch and knock you over...I think I acheived this!! Hahaha! This was made for the Lizzie Anne Design challenge this week. Meridith (Anne) had a FAB idea of stamping extra lovelyness onto the patterened paper so I gave it a go and my oh my it's nerve-racking! Especially because this was my only piece of this gorgeous cardstock! I have been wanting to use my 'YOU ROCK" stamp for a while so I am VERY happy that I have finally used it :) I hope the sun is shining wherever you are, it is a little chilly here but the sun makes ALL the difference!

NEW PRODUCTS COMING SOON!

2008-02-16T14:05:00.000-08:00

I LOVE SHOPPING!!!!! I had SO much fun shopping at CHA. I had an idea of what I would like to find before I went which helped a little but it was hard not to get TOO overly excited! I started with Paper. I knew I needed something that could be used in making cards. Of course I headed straight to Basic Grey and was handed a colour coded wrist band with a number on it too which they told me would be the order in which the orders would be shipped which told me that they were planning on have a LOT of orders and sure thing they were busy non-stop. I remembered Meridith (Anne of Lizzie Anne) mentioning how much she LOVED Cosmo Cricket so I took a look and completely fell in love! Their Cogsmo paper alone got me hooked! My new friend Joslyn took a photo of me making my very first purchase. I can't wait for it all to arrive :D I also wanted to stock some nice markers and whenever you ask "wow what beautiful colouring in, what did they use?" the reply would come back "Copics" so I ventured over to see them and who should we bump into but Debbie Olson of Thinking Inking. She is SO nice and took the time to show me the benifits of the markers and how to use them. HOOKED! I also bought from Spellbinder - their new Nestability tags and rectangles along with a few of their other items. But my biggest purchase HAD to be RIBBON! I just couldn't stop myself. I actually took Joslyn, Meridith and Tricia to see which ones they liked best (as we all have different tastes) and after making purchases at 3 places I had to tell myself NO MORE! I'm excited to start selling it though, it means I get to play with it too ;) The one other place I ordered from was all about the glitter, Glitter spray and also a fantastic glue pad by Palette - I was sceptical about this at first but after seeing the demo I was convinced that this is what I needed. NEEDED. I'm still in a bit of a trance from lack of sleep!

I'M HOME!

2008-02-14T10:02:00.000-08:00

I'm exhausted!!! Not only did we work VERY hard we played extremely hard too :D Here we are on our first day. This is after practically 2 crazy days at Disney!!! So before the day even started our feet were crying!!! The booth turned out beautifully. We gave out a LOT of Catalogues too. VERY exciting! Joslyn and I walked around the show floor to see what was new and a 'MUST' have. CHA is HUGE! Very easy to get lost. I made some purchases for my store which I am excited to tell you about later (SOON!).

Erm...Soarin 7 times in a row baby!!!! Yes you read it right. We went to a CHA dinner dance at California Adventure Tuesday night and we got to ride Soarin exclusively for 2 whole hours, I dare say we made the most of it! 3 times in a row we were able to stay on - IN THE FROM ROW! I love Disney! We really needed it too, we needed to de-stress and this was PERFECT!

I think we were all in agreement that Space mountain was one of our favourites. We waited about 30 mins, what a fantastic ride. When the ride had finished I said "AGAIN AGAIN" and guess what...they got a bit muddled and ended up sending us again! Hows about that for positive thinking!!! We were SO happy we were cheering SO loud! When the ride finished again I thought I would try my luck again but alas it only works one time! But then later that day (at least I think it was the same day) we got in the loooong line to ride Splash Mountain and got chatting to one of the cast members and he gave us a group fast pass!!! How fabulous is that!!! What great luck we were having! We had a LOT LOT LOT of fun. Disney at night is beautiful.

I have some fabulous items that I had purchased before I went to CHA which I will get in my store some time today. Yes I caved and now sell the Crop-a-dile and also some of the Making Memories tools, the new set ;) I will tell you soon about my new purchases too...SO exciting. But first I think I need to have a cup of tea and maybe take a little nap. We haven't stopped for 7 days!!!

Fun to be Floral!

2008-02-07T09:16:00.001-08:00

Stamps: LAD Fun to be Floral

Cardstock: Bazzill Bling & SU

Ink: SU Choc Chip

Embellishments: Button from MM Embellishment Jar (from Tricia's jar actually ;))

So I have been trying to make a few masculine cards lately and it's HARD!!! Even this one still has PINK on it hahaha! Well I fly to California with Tricia (Lizzie) today and I am SO excited :D

This is the longest time I have ever been away from my girls! I know they will have fun with their Daddy though and I will be kept very busy either working hard at CHA or playing hard at Disney ;) I am hoping that I come back with some new fabulous goodies for my store! I will share my findings when I get back. My Husband will be controlling my business for this week so wish him luck! He's already such a busy man I hope he manages to juggle it all! I'll be back Valentine's Day :D

Swirl Swirl Swirl

2008-02-04T08:36:00.000-08:00

Stamps: LAD So Swirly & Simply Sentiments

Cardstock: Red cards & Envelopes set & Basic Grey 6x6 Gypsy pad

Ink: SU Basic Black

Embellishments: Making Memories Love Story Ribbon & flower from Embellishment jar. Fancy Pants Pin and the blue flowers I have had for a while and cannot remember where from!

A very basic card for me! I'm still wondering if it needed a little more to it. Hmmm, I'll have to think about that one! Hope you are all having a nice Tuesday. Todays my day to help out at my daughters' schools. I bet I have a mountain of Math to mark!!!

So very Swirly!

2008-02-02T12:28:00.000-08:00

Stamps: LAD So Swirly & L'Amour

Cardstock: Deep red card & Envelope set, Bazzill Bling Black tie

Ink: SU Basic Black & Brilliance Starlite Silver

Embellishments: Doodlebug Paper ribbons, Making Memories Flowers from Ava Embellishment Jar. Heidi Swapp Bling

So so VERY Swirly! I wanted this background stamp set to take center stage and I think I managed it :) Whilst I was making this card my daughters (now 6 & 8 years old) wanted to play outside with their friend. Hmmm, they wanted to play on the bridge at the bottom of our road. I said yes (reluctantly) because I know I need to let them explore and be kids but it's hard to let go when you hear so many horrible stories on the news! My heart was in my throat until they came safely home - PHEW! Silly me!

Lizzie Anne Design Challenge

2008-01-30T10:51:00.000-08:00

Stamps: LAD In the Treetop & Celebrations Sayings

Cardstock: Red/Pink card & envelope set, Bazzill Bling Black Tie, SU Whisper White & Bordering Blue (I think!)

Ink: SU Basic Black

Embellishments: Making Memories Love Story Ribbon, Sweets

& Mini Brad Value Pack

Lizzie Anne Design Challenge for this week is this layout but you had to make it a masculine Valentine card...I don't do masculine normally so this really WAS a challenge for me! I like how it turned out though :) I love love LOVE that ribbon! Not sure if it's really masculine though! But I tried!

Punch Storage Solution

2008-01-28T15:29:00.000-08:00

FINALLY! I have my punches off of my desk! I Googled 'Craft Punch Storage' and came across the idea of using towel rails!! BRILLIANT! Only one problem, I only had about 16" to play with and most are 21"w or bigger. Anyway I found some smaller ones at Ikea (link to product) and guess what! They were only $4.99 AND they came with a shelf and some extra bits too - a cool idea AND a bargain, I was in heaven! So as you can see I have my punches on the towel rails and of course I made sure I had room for more ;) The Shelves are on the right near the window and are doing a fabulous job of holding all my everyday goodies. This all started because I wanted to get at my Cricut and it was always buried under stuff but now it has pride of place but is not in the way because it is sat on top of a shelf which is normally used at the back of your kitchen sink! Genius! Anyway, just thought I would share.

Happy Birthday Princess!

2008-01-27T16:19:00.000-08:00

Stamps: LAD Once Upon a Time & So Swirly

Cardstock: Bazzill Smoothies

Ink: SU Forest Foliage & Basic Black

Embellishments: Ribbon - May Arts & Heidi Swap Bling

Oh here she is again! I Love this Princess. The bling is just the right amount of sparkle she deserved :) I've been having a good sort out of my crafting area (again!) and found some really neat shelves in Ikea (available online too) that I was able to store my punches on and it also came with shelves too...SO reasonable priced - I love a bargain! I will put a photo of it all tomorrow, I have a few bit to finish off. Hope you had a lovely weekend :)

NEW LIGHT BOX!

2008-01-24T10:15:00.000-08:00

Stamps: LAD Fun to be Floral & In the Background

Cardstock: SU, Ink: SU

Ribbon: May Arts

Tools used: SU Oval Punch

Embellishments: Making Memories small circle clips

I got my new light box today! I am SO thrilled! I have been playing with it a bit, still need to figure out which buttons on my camera will help out the lighting, I think I have it sussed though :) Hmmm, maybe it's still a bit bright! I took the photo of this card using my light box and the fairy one below was using my flash (no light box for that one) I can tell the difference can you? I got 3 rooms in my house organized yesterday which is quite an achievement, I am hoping to get a couple more done today. Happy Thursday everyone :D

My Hearts a Flutter

2008-01-22T22:37:00.001-08:00

Stamps: Lizzie Anne's Simply Single Fairy & L'Amour set

Cardstock: Red cards & Envelope set & Basic Grey GYPSY 6x6 Paper Pad

Ink: SU Markers & SU Basic Black & Real Red

Embellishments: Making Memories Pebble Clips & Diamond Stickles

Tools: Marvy Mega Circle punch

Ooooooh LOVE this card! It turned out so nice - even if I do say so myself ;) I am so in love with this fairy stamp! I am having one of those days when everything goes wrong, like when you crack an egg open and somehow it ends up on the floor!! (yes it actually happened!) it doesn't help that my house is in such turmoil! I have been trying to get organized which ultimately means that the house gets trashed! It's driving me nuts!
On a brighter note my lovely precious friend Bridget has been kind enough to let us have her beautiful Roland digital intelligent piano on a semi-permanent loan :) THANKS BRIDGET! You made my day...now I just have to find somewhere to put the old keyboard, my daughter had tears in her eyes when we said we might sell it - bless her. So we are going to put it away for a while. Tomorrow is a new day, lets hope I have the umph to climb out of my mess!

Wedding Wishes

2008-01-21T18:27:00.001-08:00

Well after all that Blog Candy excitement (a great big THANK YOU to everyone who took part) I am now getting back into making cards :) This one is very simple (not like me!) but I saw this crimped technique in a magazine and just HAD to try it! My photo isn't brilliant but I am happy to announce that they should get better pretty soon, yes I caved and have bought a little portable light studio - in fact it was Lizzie (of Lizzie Anne Designs Stamps) that spurred me on, she showed me a picture of the one she had just purchased and so I drooled for a few days before I bought my own...I have ZERO will power! She's such a tease!
It's not long now until I go to CHA with Lizzie Anne Designs to help them at their booth. I am SO excited. I helped out last year when they were newbies and had a LOT of fun, I only stayed 2 nights that time though, this time I'm going for 6 nights!!! All I can say is that I am very thankful that it is SO close to Disney too...work hard and play hard...that's my plan ;)

DRUM ROLL PLEASE.........

2008-01-21T09:19:00.000-08:00

....and the winner is.....NUMBER 23 Becky! Congratulations! My daughter had a lot of fun choosing a random number, she felt VERY important :) Becky please email me at Zee@StampnSparkle.com with your address so that I can get your fabulous Lizzie Anne set out to you ASAP! I think you chose Petite Phrases. Let me know if you have changed your mind or if you would still like the same one.
I enjoyed this SO much I will be doing another one in a couple of months with a different question so keep coming back and checking :D
Thank you to everyone who took part and gave me GOOD ideas on where to get some inspiration. It's nice to see how many people pass by my blog! 49 comments, I was AMAZED!

BLOG CANDY!

2008-01-16T08:33:00.000-08:00

Okay so I am celebrating reaching 4,000 hits!!! WOO HOO! (it's at 3,993 as I am writing this) My blog was born September 13th and I had NO idea what I was doing. My fabulous friend Tricia (Lizzie) took the time to show me the ropes...Love ya Tricia! I have met some wonderful ladies through my blog. Marlou was my first regular visitor, thanks to everyone who visits my blog often...you will now have a chance to win some Blog Candy!
As you may notice my blog contains 98% of cards which have Lizzie Anne Designs Stamp on them - I love Lizzie Anne Designs SO much I decided to use one of their sets as my Candy. Now instead of telling you which one you will win I thought I would let YOU decide which one you would like to receive. To win the Candy all you have to do is answer this question...
Where do you get your inspiration for your cards/scrapbook pages from? I would also LOVE to know what your favourite product or embellishment is right now. Don't forget to mention which Lizzie Anne set you would like (click here to see your choices) and also number your replies. I will get my daughter to pick a number from a hat on Monday 21st Jan! GOOD LUCK!

In the Valentine's mood!

2008-01-15T09:41:00.000-08:00

Stamps: Lizzie Anne L'amour set

Cardstock: Paper Accents Card & Envelope set

Embellishments: Making Memories Heart brads, Love Story Trim and Sweets

Tools: Scallop corner punch

We have BEAUTIFUL sunshine here today...along with some snow of course! The schools are running 2 hours late so my daughters and their friend are having fun sledding. I have been having fun playing with my new Valentine goodies from Making Memories, they outdid themselves this year I think! I'm quite impressed. So impressed I have ordered more ;)
Please feel free to share your latest and greatest embellishments/tools. I'm normally a little behind on what's hot and would love to know what you are all playing with right now :)

NEW Valentine's items

2008-01-14T13:38:00.000-08:00

No new card to post yet today...I have been busy busy making sure I get all my new stock on my eBay site.

Check out my newly listed items! I have added a Valentine's Category to make it easier to shop :) My shipping is FAST! I go to the post offive EVERY DAY!

Dreaming of Dots

2008-01-12T10:14:00.000-08:00

I have to give credit where credit is due, I took this idea from the Stampin Up catalogue...HOW CUTE! I used Lizzie Anne Designs Dreaming of Dots and the sentiment is from their Heart to Heart set. The background hugs and kisses are from their L'amour set. I used SU markers to colour in the flowers and the pink flower is part of the making memories Noteworthy jar...oh my goodness that jar is FULL of cuteness. Tricia brought it to our card making night last night and I was drooling all over it! I will be stocking them in my store and the best thing is they match the Noteworthy ribbons I already have there. The photo isn't very good as we have zero light today...VERY overcast and dark here!

Spot the difference!

2008-01-09T12:05:00.001-08:00

Okay so this is what I have been doing today...Playing with my camera. A friend of mine mentioned in passing that I needed to play with the White Balance, hmmm, I had no idea what that meant but her cards look FAB (I'm talking about Lizzie of course). So I have been searching the internet trying to find tips on this very subject and found this place - Digital Photography School - I thought I would share my findings as it helped me SO much. Of course I love anything that describes things visually. So I got my manual out and found which buttons I needed to press and voila...what do you think? The one on the right is obviously the one with the White Balance adjusted. I did the manual - show the camera a white piece of paper and then take the picture. I'm quite happy with it. It's much better than the one on the left which was taken in a white washing up bowl with an Ott-lite shining at it!

Lizzie Anne Design Challenge

2008-01-08T23:44:00.001-08:00

Here is my card based on the Lizzie Anne Design challenge this week. They gave me a great template to work with (I love being given templates!) I used Lizzie Anne Design's NEW Ballerina and Ballerina saying stamps and also the flowers from the In the Background set. I used my SU markers to colour it all in and a Giga Scalloped Circle punch although I think the Mega may have been big enough! I added Star Dust sparkles to complete her fabulousness...got to have some glitter! (Apologies on the photo, I'm still trying to figure out my new camera Nikon DX40, might have to get one of those light boxes!) ANY TIPS ARE VERY WELCOME!

Lizzie Anne Designs new set NOW IN STOCK!!

2008-01-08T07:40:00.000-08:00

Oh my! Lizzie Anne Designs have definitely outdone themselves this time! They have released a bunch of new sets and singles and they are Out of This World!!!!!! I NEED THEM ALL!! I now have them in my eBay store. I'M SO EXCITED!!!!! I ship all around the world and if you don't see the one you want let me know...I live about half a mile away from Lizzie herself so I am able to get my orders FAST ;) (location, location, location)

I already own the Once Upon a Time set and I think my next set may be Dreaming of Dots although I really do like their new Petite phrases...SO cute! No I think In the Treetop may be my next purchase, I love the 2 step stamping! Oh it's SO hard to choose! I wish it was my birthday. Keep posted as I will be giving away my first BLOG CANDY. Details coming soon :D

Princess

2008-01-06T15:41:00.000-08:00

I am LOVING this Once Upon a Time set, I have a use for ALL the cards I have made so far with it! I will have some in stock to sell at my eBay store first thing tomorrow morning :D
Here's what I used...
Patterned paper - from the DCWV Christmas Glitter Stack
SU Markers - Real Red, Positively Pink & Chocolate chip
Ribbon - SU Turquoise grosgrain
Punches - Marvy Super Jumbo Circle, Mega Circle and Giga Scallop circle.

Once upon a time...

2008-01-03T00:24:00.000-08:00

...there was a beautiful princess. Lizzie Anne Designs are releasing their BRAND NEW sets VERY soon and to top that they are giving sneak peeks before they are even available to buy. I am lucky enough to be on their design team so I got my hands on this outstanding set early! I can see me having a LOT of fun with this set. I have very girly girls and my eldest daughter LOVES dragons and this set has a cute waving dragon in it!

Waving Dragon!

2008-01-03T00:01:00.000-08:00

This has to be the cutest dragon I have EVER seen! Oh my! My eldest daughter is overjoyed with this 'cool' dragon and can't wait to get her hands on the set (nope, I haven't let her yet). This is Lizzie Anne Designs new Once Upon a Time set which is being released next week! I'm sure I will be posting many more cards using this set so come back soon!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

2008-01-01T13:22:00.000-08:00

We had a New Years Eve party at my house last night and boy did we have fun. As you can see we had a chocolate fountain, it didn't work but who cares it's melted chocolate!!! My friend Bridget is in this photo she's the culprit that brought the HUGE tub of cream puffs!! That's me eating my completely covered strawberries and angel food cake.

Here I am singing with my good friend Tricia (Lizzie of Lizzie Anne Designs). I think we were singing Erasure. We were doing battle and I think she won, my daughter Chloe turned to us though and said "No, you are both winners" bless her. Her glass is ALWAYS half full.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE.