Sugar Bowl sketch

I have created this card for the Sugar Bowl challenge which is a sketch and paper piecing. The papers are all Basic Grey, the ribbons Papermania, blooms are Hero Arts, jewels are Inkadinkado. Stamp is Sugar Nellie.In case you can't tell the paper piecing is the dress, it is the same paper as the large piece in the background. I coloured the dots with a blossom Promarker.

Toodles and Binks blog candy

Toodles and Binks are giving away a sheet of these lovely stamps that were featured in Craft Stamper magazine. Enter by 6th October to win.

Quirky Crafts Challenge 13

It is challenge 13 over at the Quirky Craft forum.  The topic is Out and About chosen by Fe Fe.  You can make any papercraft or altered item for this challenge and you could win a prize.  You have two weeks to enter the challenge.

I choose a Penny Black stamp called Wooly Dames, stamped with Memento ink, coloured with Promarkers. Cut out with Spellbinders Nestabilities labels 2. Papers are K&Co so is the stick on jewel. Sentiment is Hero Arts, blooms are Bazzill Wings, ribbon by Papermania.

The Crafty Pad challenge

I am honoured to be a guest designer on The Crafty Pad this week. I won this honour by entering a challenge a couple of weeks ago or so.  I got to use and keep this great new stamp called Percy Stargazing.  The challenge is to follow the sketch shown above. Percy stargazing is available to buy from The Crafty Pad, and he comes with the star stamp too.

I stamped and embossed Percy then I filled the ice "cube" with some blue Papier Glass Finish gloss by Plaid.  Then I coloured Percy and cut him out.  I stamped the star stamp that comes with Percy Stargazing onto the blue metallic card with white Brilliance (can't find my white Stazon, did I imagine having some of that?), and that was the background for the stamp and the bigger background.  I turned the sketch on its side, added ribbon with gold stars, a white satin star, Cuttlebug cut corners and a Papermania chipboard greeting.

I then coloured Percy in lighter colours for a second attempt - bit too light perhaps?

Do you want the good news or the bad news, or the good news again?

Good News!  I won two tickets to the Exeter show this weekend at Westpoint.
Bad News! I can't go, I really thought I would be going but I can't.
So the Good News is: I have a letter that will let two people in free up for grabs - any one day, need to tell me quick so I can post it in an attempt to get it to you before the show closes!

Does Dan Brown's new novel dish the dirt on Walmart?

I only ask because on Saturday the selling of the book in Asda was very cloak and dagger!  I had to go to town for a hair appointment and I saw the book in the local book shop half price.  I could have got it there but I thought it will be a tiny bit cheaper in Asda and it will be nearer to the car. So in Asda I checked the book section expecting to see this newly released tome in pride of place, but no sign of it.  So I got groceries and paid then as I was passing the customer service desk on the way out there was a copy of the book standing in a strange display. "So you do have the book" I exclaimed, and the woman behind the desk said "Yes I have some under the desk, would you like one?", "How much are they?", "£5" (that is quarter price!!!!!), "Yes Please!". I was told they were more expensive when they came in too.

So I am now the happy owner of a real bargain, but why are the books hidden? 

Quirky Crafts Challenge 12 Vintage

Quirky Crafts Weekly Challenge 12 is Vintage. This is only the second vintage card I have ever made, though I have lots of lovely vintage stamps, well 3 if you count my Charlie Chaplin card, but that didn't look terribly vintage!

I fell in love with this stamp by Inkadinkado but I had never used it.  I think it worked very well.
Ink Memento, inked edges Colorbox chalk ink, image coloured with Twinkling H2Os, papers by Papermania and Craftwerks, Hero Arts blooms, Craft Box stickers, and some mock brads.  The clock mock brad is Magic Scrapz by Designer Flair, the paper lace was from Lakeland, and the ribbon from Ribbon Oasis.

If you want to enter your craft project into this challenge you could win a prize, enter by 8 p.m. next Sunday to be in with a chance to win. Pop on over and see the rest of the design team's projects.

Tomo's Attic blog candy

I just came across this blog candy on Tomoh's Attic blog. Ends 30th Sept and you get a choice of three candies.

Sneaky peek of Challenge 12

Later this evening Weekly Challenge 12 will be posted on the Quirky Crafts forum.  For your delectation here is a sneaky peek of my creation.  Can you guess the theme yet? Check back later to see the whole thing and this week's prize.

You still have a little time to enter last week's challenge and win the prize, see post further down for details.

New features in blogger?

While I was wandering round in the settings area I saw a message that said you are currently using the old post editor, would you like to switch to the new post editor? (You can still use the old post editor if you prefer).

I switched, and at the moment I don't know what is different apart from a new look, and maybe more buttons to do different things but when I get to post my new DT card for tomorrow's challenge on Quirky Crafts forum I hope to find out, mind you I have to make the card yet!

I noticed that if I put a link in the link box under the title it actually makes the title into a link now, and that didn't work before as far as I know.  Would anybody notice they have to click on the title, and previously clicking on the title would show you the post alone with any comments revealed underneath, if you put a link in the title to somewhere else this will no longer happen.

My question is why didn't blogger email me or put an announcement on that told me there was a new post editor? There is a big announcement in dashboard about some email link feature but I had no idea until I was checking for something else that there was a new improved editor.  Maybe it lets you put your photos in the places you actually want them to be!

Board Games challenge at Quirky Crafts

You can make any project to enter this challenge, based on any board game and there is a little prize for the winner. Only two days to go now, and nobody has entered so if you enter now you have a really good chance of winning.

Blog comment puzzle

Young Cassidy told me she couldn't post comments on my blog, and I haven't had any new comments for ages!  I have just been through the settings to see if anything has changed but it all looks the same, so what is going on?

Board games- Quirky Crafts challenge 11

Deanne set the challenge of board games which is a good one. I had lots of ideas but left it to the last minute once again. The Mahjong card took ages and went horribly wrong in all sorts of ways so I am not sure it is good enough to give to anyone (believe me it is worse than it looks).

The scrabble card was a last minute 10 minute card, well it took a bit longer to find the right scrabble letters, and I remembered I had some gaming papers that I was given by a magazine for having something published and looked them out, this one is perfect!

You could win a great little prize if you enter the challenge this week and are picked out. Any type of crafting qualifies.

Think of all those games, chess, draughts, monopoly, snakes and ladders, ludo - there must be loads that could inspire a project for this challenge!

Quirky Crafts Challenge 11

Unfortunately due to Fe being ill this week's challenge is delayed, but here are a couple of sneaky peeks.

Blog candy ending tomorrow

I found that Passion for Pro Markers is having a blog hop, and on each blog is some candy but this is ending tomorrow.

First is Glitter Me Silly.

Free Halloween digital download

If you hop over to the Pollycraft blog and look for the Friday freebie post (right under the blog candy post), there is a cute Halloween kitty which is free digital download. (Also right underneath that is the previous Friday Freebie of a cute girl sitting on a snowball).

One more day.....

to enter into the Quirky Crafts weekly challenge, see post below for the lovely prize you could win if your craft project is selected as the winner!

This new forum is really taking off now, new members, new look, new challenge format with prizes. Hop on over and see what you are missing!

Look out for a great new challenge tomorrow evening too.

Quirky Crafts Weekly Challenge 10

The Quirky Crafts Forum weekly challenges have started up again, and are better than ever.

I chose the challenge this week and it is "Rough and Smooth", something with texture and a smooth surface too. Any hand crafted item can be entered for the challenge on Quirky Crafts Forum and there will be a small but delicious prize (see photo) for the winner which includes a hand made notebook, some Christmas stamps from The Crafty Pad and other bits and bobs.

The winning entry also gets a photo shown on the forum sidebar for a week. Selected DT members will pick their favourite to win, no random picking, so you win on merit which I prefer.

We also have some new DT members so there will be lots of great examples to get you started.

About my card:

I used one of my favourite stamps by Debbie Moore which is available on The Crafty Pad blog and is called Snoozin Albert, isn't he just great? He comes with the sentiment "A man's work is never done".

I stamped Albert with Memento Ink and coloured him with Letraset Trias, though I am very disappointed that one is running out and I have hardly used them.I am not that good at colouring but I do try to improve, I just can't seem to do the white accent here and there like on the boots, it never looks right so I colour them over! I used a small piece of Mica on the river, trimmed to fit, to give a water effect and it has the great smoky colour that looks like river water over the top of the blues and greens with a bit of brown that I used.

I cut Albert out with a Nestabilties die from the Labels 3 set, one die has gone missing so I will have to search! I also cut out corrugated card mats for Albert and the sentiments. The sentiments are half labels and the edges are slightly under the bubbles.

The blue bubbles were embossed on metallic blue card using a Cuttlebug folder. I used some big WR Memory Keepers eyelets with the Big Bite and threaded through raffia. Edges and corrugated card were inked with a dark brown Whispers brush marker.

The happy birthday sentiment is a Debbi Moore Designs stamp (there are a few Debbie Moores about).

The card blank is a textured brown card that I creased and folded.

Blog candy arrived

My lovely blog candy arrived from Basic Grey Challenges blog, see post below for what I got. Thank you so much BGCB, I haven't managed to use it yet, it is laying all around and I keep stroking it!

I am thinking about giving some sweet candy away myself soon, so watch this blog for details. This time I will give crafters who comment one entry, and any existing followers who comment will get 2 entries into the draw. I have some very nice clear stamps, and other stuff, will have to sort it out soon..............

Quirky Crafts Challenges with prizes back soon

I can't believe the summer has gone so fast, and next Sunday - 6th Sept - the challenges start again at the Quirky Crafts forum. This time you can make any hand crafted item for any challenge and there will be a small prize for the winner each week.

There are new design team members too, and one outgoing DT member.

The forum is also undergoing a few changes for the better, pop over to see.

Changing the subject: for reasons that aren't clear I can no longer post any comments on a Typepad blog, is blogger blocking this as a rival I wonder? So sorry Tim and Tassy, would comment but it won't let me!

On the subject of Tim, I just bought a second hand but signed copy of The Altered Journey for £10, it took a couple of weeks to arrive but it was worth every penny and the name it is dedicated too is close to mine ha ha! I have The Journey Continues DVD too and I will be doing a review of them but I highly recommend them both.