My favourites of the year

I hope you all had a really great Christmas - I had a nice, quiet family Christmas with lots of lovely pressies.  The snow has meant that I haven't ventured too far from home; fortunately it has started to melt today, which is a good job as it is back to work tomorrow for me!

I can't do any crafting at the moment, my craft table (AKA dining table) is having to be used as a proper dining table over the Christmas holiday so I decided to look through my blog and pick out my favourite projects from the past 12 months.  I would like to thank everyone who has visited my blog and a big thank you to my lovely followers too.  So, here goes, as we say Bye Bye to 2010 ....

January

This tiny bear that I made is almost my favourite one so far, but not quite.  I won't be parting with this one for the forseeable future.

February

Pollycraft digi images are amongst my favourites and I just like the bright, fresh colours on this Easter card.  Oh no, I can't believe we'll be making Easter cards in just a few weeks!!!



March

This panda is definitely my favourite teddy bear that I have made.  She is about 6 inches tall and is even prettier in real life and she won't be leaving my collection, ever!

April

I love this Whiff of Joy rubber stamp with a plate full of warm cookies, plus it is purple and has some lovely glitter paper on too.



May

Same stamp as April's favourite card.  I did say that I loved that stamp!

June

June was a great month for me - my family went on our first cruise around the Mediterranean and loved every minute.  I was also asked to be a DT member for the One Stitch at a Time challenge blog and this was my first card.  I don't really make many male cards but I did like this one - the beer monster image is by Pollycraft.  I'm sure that we all know a Beer Monster, or two!

July

I fell in love with Magnolia's Tilda stamps earlier this year and this one is still one of the favourites in my collection.



August

I didn't get too much crafting done in August because this was the month that I had corrective laser surgery on my eyes - the best thing I ever did and I only wish that I'd have plucked up the courage to have it done sooner!  For August's favourite it was almost a Tilda Christmas card, but this one just beat it.  I really like this fairy digi, which is from Pollycraft, I like the natural colours an the slightly vintage style paper by My Mind's Eye.

September

Another Tilda card for September's favourite.  The scallop circle cards were a challenge prize from Die Cut Dreams and I must find them out to make some more round cards.

October

It is another of my hand made teddy bears for October's favourite.  It is made from a lovely soft mohair and, at 10" tall, is one of the larger bears that I have made. 

November

My cousin got married in November and this is the card that I made for her.  Lili of the. Valley are amongst my favourite stamps and I also love the circular date stamps by Cat's Life Press.

December

Shame on me - I've just noticed how little I've have posted in December.  I'm sure so many of you are in the same position though - spending weeks getting ready for Christmas.

Anyway, here's December's favourite - my DT card for the current Craft Your Days away challenge.  I've recently discovered Pink Gem stamps and this reindeer image is a real cutie!

So, that's my review of my blogging year.  I am going to have a look at some of your blogs now and try and catch up with what everyone has been up to.  I would like to wish you a Happy New Year and look forward to another year of crafty blogging!

Thanks for looking,

Amanda



I intended to make some cards this weekend ....

I intended to make some cards this weekend but, what was forecast as "light snow showers" turned out to be about 7 inches of snow when we work up on Saturday morning, with the lowest temperature I clocked was -11C.  The above picture is the view from my front window.  All plans for last minute Christmas shopping, as well as last minute card making, were thrown out of the window because we just had to spend the time sledging at the local park.  I had intended to visit the German Christmas Market in Birmingham City Centre this weekend but there was now way I would get there, or get back, because of the snow.

This picture is looking out towards the main road, which was almost deserted.  The road I live in is completely covered in snow and hardly anyone has driven up the street so the snow is still quite deep on the road.

Youngest son seemed to enjoy throwing himself out of the sledge, rather than staying inside it:

We were all cold, wet and tired but had a great time at the park:

This is the reason why our cars remained on the driveway at home...  the main road was completely grid locked - 4 buses stuck trying to go up hill, and three stuck trying to come down hill, with no one going anywhere.  In the middle of the 7 buses, and out of picture, was a gritting lorry desperately trying to clear the snow from the road so that things could get moving again.  It took my father seven hours to drive home from work yesterday afternoon - a journey of 20 miles!!!

And last night, a bit out of focus but I'm no expert photographer!

So, we have spent today digging my OH's car out of the snow, ready for the drive to work tomorrow morning and have been to a kiddies Christmas party this afternoon.

If I haven't made enough Christmas cards, then I'm afraid it will be bought ones.  I have been ill for the past two weeks and so I am really behind with my Christmas preparations.  I think my craft stuff will need to be cleared from the dining table now until after Christmas, which should give me a bit of spare time to visit around your blogs!

I want to say a big "Hello" to my new followers and a huge "thank you" to all of you who have visited my blog this year - I truly appreciate it.

I hope its not too cold where you are and thanks for visiting!

Amanda

OSAAT Challenge #43

Well, it is our last challenge of 2010 over at One Stitch at a Time and we do hope that you will be able to join us.  This challenge is going to run over the Christmas period and we will be setting off 2011 with a new challenge on 9th January so there's plenty of time to join in the fun.

Our current challenge is "SURPRISE, SURPRISE" so you can make anything at all that you think we'd like, surprise us!

We are being sponsored by One Stop Card Crafts who are offering a $10 voucher to one lucky winner.

For my card, I have used is Snow Globe, by Floppy Latte Designs, which is availabe here from the Stitchy and I Did it Creations store.  The polka dot paper is also by Floppy Latte from the store, and it prints out perfectly. 

I have coloured the image with pro markers and added some glitter for snow.  The tag, peeping out from behind the snowflake, is by Stitchy and is also available in the store.

So, I can't wait to see what you surprise us with for this challenge!

I am going to enter this card into the following challenges:

Sweet Sketch Wednesday - I used their sketch
Sparkles forum - Christmas
Crafty Ho - Red and Green
Creative Card Crew - Anything Goes
Cards for Men - Christmas card for a man

Thanks for looking,

Amanda

Craft Your Days Away #10 Challenge

Hi Everyone, here's my card for our new challenge at Craft Your Days Away - do try and join us for our last challenge of 2010.  A big thank you to everyone who has supported our challenge blog since we launched in August.

Our challenge this week is:

PUNCH IT OUT

So we want to see you sort out your paper punches for this card. 

I have used 3 on my card: a corner rounder, an X-cut heart and an X-cut fancy corner which I've made in to a border.

We are giving you plenty of time to get your cards done for this challenge because we know that you'll all be busy over the next few weeks.  Our next challenge, the first one for 2011, will launch on 8th January 2011.

For this challenge we are being sponsored by Craftbrulee who are offering one lucky winner a $10 voucher to spend in their online store.  Jennifer has the most wonderful online shop selling gorgeous flowers, lace, stamps and many more crafting supplies, the store is well worth a visit if you've never visited it before and from now until the 20th December shipping is free.

I must start writing my Christmas cards out now - I am starting to mildly panic, once again, that I have not made enough!  I guess I'll be frantically making and posting a few more Christmas cards on the blog before the big day.

How cute is this reindeer image?  I just love him!  The image and sentiment I have used are digis by Pink Gem.  The reindeer was really easy to colour in, with my pro markers, and I love the style of the Pink Gem stamps and digis.  The papers are all by DCWV and the snowflake is a Sizzlits die.

I can't wait to see how you "Punch it out" for the challenge at Craft Your Days Away!

I am going to enter this card into the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge - Last minute Christmas cards

Pink Gem - I have used their sketch and image/sentiment and slightly distressed the edges
Ooh La La - A Christmas Song (Rudolph the red nosed reindeer)
A Spoonful of Sugar - Christmas card
My time to craft - Reindeer Greetings
Timbroscrapmania - Christmas in green and pink

Thanks for looking and do pop back soon!

Amanda

Fab 'n' Funky GD Week 2

Firstly I must apologise for not having been around Blogland for the past week.  It has been a busy week for me - I celebrated my birthday and promptly caught a nasty cold and sore throat, right on time for my birthday!  Also, life in general seems to be getting more hectic by the day as Christmas draws closer, as I am sure everyone else's is too.

I was lucky enough to be asked to be a Guest Designer at Fab 'n' Funky challenge blog and this is my second week.  Their challenge this week is "Christmas is for the Children" so I couldn't resist using my LOTV stamp of the little singing children.  The talented design team have come up with some lovely children inspired creations over at the challenge blog. 

I found some Papermania papers from a couple of years ago which fitted in with vintage look that I was aiming for and the image has been coloured with  pro markers and glittered with Stickles and Cosmic Shimmer glitters.  The flowers are some I've had years and are a bit crumpled and creased, but again, fitted in with the "aged" look that I wanted.  I added Icicle Stickles to the flowers and found a little red bell in my sewing box which makes a nice Christmassy jingle when you pick up the card.

TOP TIP: I know I've said this before, but it is a useful one.  The ribbon and bow was originally white - I coloured it with my pro markers for a perfect colour match.  No need to buy loads of coloured ribbons, just use your pro markers!

I am going to enter this card into the following challenges: 

I love pro markers - A Christmas Carol

Secret Crafter Saturday challenge - Christmas

Wild Orchid - Old Fashioned Christmas/Victorian Christmas

I did it Creations - Vintage Christmas

Stamp something - Christmas colour combo (red and green)

Thanks for stopping by,

Amanda

It's Snowing and Fab 'n' Funky GD

It is snowing (again) outside and so my Tilda snowdome is very apt for today!  I am very honoured to have been asked to be a guest designer over at Fab 'n' Funky Challenge blog.  They are celebrating their birthday this week and so have a Happy Birthday challenge and an amazing blog hop with some wonderful prizes.

I hear you ask, why a snowdome for a Happy Birthday challenge?  Well, I think they must have changed the theme of their challenge from what I was originally asked to make, to coincide with their birthday celebrations.  So, my snowdome may not be for a happy birthday, but who cares?  I am just so pleased to be a GD at Fab 'n' Funky!!!

I used a Tilda stamp from the Magnolia Winter Stamp Club and she is coloured with pro markers and added Stickles.  The snowflakes are an x-cut punch, covered with a textured "snow" paint with jewel centres (although they don't show up too well on the picture).  The blank snowdome was only about £2 from The Range Home and Garden - but I think they are fairly readily available at most photo processing shops too.

Do take a look at the Fab 'n' Funky challenge - they are a great talented bunch of ladies over there! 

I am going to enter this into the following challenges:

Corrosive - Things that move (the snow moves when you shake it!)

The Crafty Pad - Snowflakes

Crazy Challenge - Anything goes

A Crafty Little Place - Anything goes

City Crafter - Blue Christmas

Hope the snow's not too bad where you are!

Amanda

 

My weekend wedding pictures

If you visit my blog regularly, you will know that I spent this weekend in Somerset at my cousin's wedding.  I thought that I'd share a few photos with you...  Here she is with her new husband.  If you saw my CYDA wedding card on Saturday, it was for this wedding.

Fortunately the snow kept away, apart from a few light flurries and the 100 mile drive went without problems (even though I was driving, LOL!).  The day was bitterly cold and frosty but it did not spoil a wonderful day for us.  My youngest son was so proud to be asked to be their Page Boy and looked so smart in his wedding outfit (although I think his teeth were chattering a little bit on this photo!).

Here's me at the reception - taken by my OH, which explains why it is out of focus!  However, this photo isn't about me, it is about my fuschia pink Butler and Wilson beaded and embroidered handbag!!!  I think that this probably is my most favourite handbag that I own (at the moment) and, yes, I am known as a bit of a Bag Lady!  I often buy outfits to match my bags and dress to match the bag I want to use, rather than the other way round.

Me and my cousin, we are both "only children" so she is a very special person to me:

Little one again - he just loves to have his photo taken ....

.... and blowing bubbles while waiting for his meal.

And I guess that this one of me was when I had enjoyed a glass or two of the wine, after having the most wonderful food ever!

I have just about managed to thaw out now but it is -5 here at the moment.  I really don't like this cold weather so early on in the winter although we are much better off than the north of England who have some really bad snow at the moment.

Pop back soon for some more card pictures!

Amanda

OSAAT Challenge #41

I've just arrived home from my short break in Somerset.  On the way there I realised that I hadn't scheduled this post, so its a little bit later than planned.

Anyway, we have another lovely challenge for you over at One Stitch at a Time.  This week we challenge you to make something on the theme:

Celebrate in Style and Bling it Up!

Bling is a nice and easy one for me, I could cover everything in glitter.  I decided to go against what I normally do and not use an image this time.  I have used one of my neglected Sizzix dies to make this card and the bling I have used on the wing and flower is Icicle stickles which really sparkles.  The paper is a digi paper by Floppy Latte available in the Stitchy store.  I was really pleased with the quality of the print.

Another paper in the digi set is this great green polka dot paper that I've made into a tag with another one of my Sizzix dies.  The cute little candy cane is Fred by Didges Doodles also from the Stitchy store.

This week we have two brilliant prizes up for grabs. 

$10 CAD ( Canadian Funds ) to be spent at the Digi's With Attitude! Shop

And for our 2nd lucky winner, they will receive
Stitchy Bear Digital Stamps December Celebrations Collaboration. 

You must check out the December Celebrations Collaboration over at the store - a whole selection of amazing digis, including the set of papers the I have used (there are 5 in the set) - which is completely FREE when you spend $10 in the store during December.

So I can't wait to see how you bling up your creations over at our challenge this week!

Amanda

Craft Your Days Away Challenge #9

I hope that its not too cold where you are today!  I am freezing cold and I am going to a wedding later today and I'm sure that I will be completely frozen, considering my outfit is more suitable for summer than a cold November day!  On the TV they have re-named it Snow-vember and I certainly can't remember seeing snow before December for a very long time.

We have a lovely new challenge for you over at Craft Your Days Away and before I announce it, I want to say how lovely the entries were for the Christmas Trees challenge.  Pop over to the challenge blog to see if you are one of our lucky winners.

The challenge for the next two weeks has been set by our DT member Sarah and it is:

TEXTURE

So you can interpret that any way you like really with embossing/fabrics/papers, etc.  I have used a linen card, lace, paper doily, flowers, glitter and some distressing to add a variety of textures to my card.

For this challenge we are being sponsored by Simon Says Stamp who are offering a $10 voucher to a lucky winner to spend in their store.

The image I have used is by LOTV and is coloured with pro markers, with added stickles glitter.  The circle sentiment is a rubber stamp by Cat's Life Press, which will be useful for so many occasions.  The paper is from DCWV and I had the heart shaped doilies from the Hobbycraft show at the NEC.  All other bits are from my stash.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

A Spoonful of Sugar - Anything Goes

For fun challenges- Anything Goes

Fab 'n' Funky - Anything Goes

Delicious Doodles - Celebration

 

So, pop on over to our newest challenge at Craft Your Days Away and join in with the fun!

Amanda

Shelley and Dazie's Blog Candies

I've been a really Bad Blogger this week, haven't I?  I seriously do not have enough hours in the day and my diary is getting more and more packed as Christmas looms ever close.  I must get some cards made this week .... I really must!!!  I have a wedding, several birthdays and the remainder of my Christmas cards to make over the next couple of weeks.

Anyway, I thought I'd let you know that two of my team mates over at Craft Your Days Away have blog candy up for grabs.  First of all there's Shelley at One Stop Card Crafts.  Her is her blog candy, some lovely Petaloo  flowers and it closes on 1st December 2010.

Dazie also has some lovely candy over at Dazie Delights.  She has a wonderful collection of goodies including some fab new LOTV stamps!  Dazie's candy closes on 10th December 2010.  Here's a pic of her blog candy:

That's it for now, I'm off to catch up with what's been going on in Blog Land over the last few days!

Amanda

Charity Crafter' Blog Candy

Please join Leigh (aka Charity Crafter) in her Blog Candy Giveaway.  She is giving away a large selection of goodies that have been donated as blog candy, in memory of one of her blogging buddies, Amanda Mary, who sadly passed away a few weeks ago.  See my sidebar for just one of the lovely items in the blog candy.

Leigh does a great deal of work for charity and raising awareness and is always in need of any unwanted crafty goodies to help her with her work. 

Please do pop by her blog and join in the blog candy fun which closes on 26th November 2010 - as it is for a worthwhile cause and in memory of  a fellow crafter/blogger.

Thank you so much,

Amanda

One Stitch at a Time challenge #39

There's a great new challenge over at One Stitch at a Time for this week.  It's a nice easy one for you this time ....


Use your favourite colours 

So anything goes for this challenge, as long as you've used your favourite colours! 

For this challenge we are being sponsored by Robyn who is offering one lucky person a $10 voucher to her new shop - Outlaw Women Scrapbook Emporium.  There's more info about her shop on the challenge blog.

I love purple and green as a colour combo for card making so that's what I chose for my colour scheme. 
The image I have used is the lovely Butterfly Love from Stitchy Bear Stamps available in the shop here.  It is a beautiful image and I really enjoyed making this card.  It has been coloured with pro markers (lime zest, orchid and a blender pen) and I've added just a tiny bit of glitter sparkle on the ends of the wings.   The swirls are a Sizzlits die and the butterfly punch is by Tonic.  The polka dot paper is from Dovecraft and the paper roses are from my ever-growing stash of craft goodies!

I am going to enter this card into thee following challenges:

Sweet Sketch Wednesday - I used their sketch
Little Red Wagon - Do it in 3's (3 Butterflies)
Sisterhood of Crafters - Birthday card
Something completely different - Wings

So, I can't wait to see what you make for our challenge and don't forget to have a look at the other DT blogs - they've come up with some great ideas for this challenge!

Thanks for stopping by,

Amanda

Craft Your Days Away Challenge #8

Hi Everyone, today we have another brilliant challenge over at Craft Your Days Away challenge blog. Before I tell you about that, I must say how fantastic the entries were to our "All White" Challenge, they really were superb!  Pop to the challenge blog to see if you are one of our winners.  So onto the challenge for the next two weeks, its another great one:


Christmas Trees 

Remember, we are a multi craft blog so it does not necessarily have to be a card. It could be a scrapbook page, a gift or anything else, as long as you've crafted it and there's a Christmas tree on it.

For this challenge we are being sponsored by Charmed Cards and Crafts. There's an amazing selection of goodies at the shop - they sell lovely Tilda stamps, Martha Stewart and  so much more; in fact they have over £16,000 of stock so I'm sure you'd find what you're looking for.  Also, they have a great Christmas Tree freebie, that some of our DT have used, available to download from here so now you have no excuses not to join in with the challenge!!! 

So, for my card, I have used one of my new Lili of the Valley stamps, which I've coloured with Pro Markers and added lots of Stickles glitter.  Christmas is always a great excuse for me to get the glitter out!  The paper is by DCWV and the flowers are a Marianne's die cut. 

TOP TIP: Don't buy lots of different ribbons because you never have the right shade anyway.  Invest in a reel of white satin ribbon - that's all you'll need.  My ribbon loops were made from white ribbon, coloured with Pear Green Pro Marker so that it is exactly the right shade to match my Christmas tree.

I am going to enter this card into the following challenges:

Sketch and Stash - I've used their sketch.  My newest items are the rubber stamp and the die cut flowers.  My neglected item is the papers.
Secret Crafter - Sparkle and Shine - like I said, I love my glitter!
A Crafty Little Place - Red, white and green
ABC Challenge - H is for Holidays
Delightful Challenges - Glitter it up
Lili of the Valley - Anything goes

So, I can't wait to see what you make for our challenge and don't forget to have a look at the other DT blogs - they've come up with some great ideas for this challenge! Thanks for stopping by,

Amanda

Fab 'n' Funky Christmas

Sorry I haven't been around for a few days, spare time seems few and far between at the moment.  I spent yesterday at the Hobbycrafts Exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham yesterday.  I had a purse full of pennies to spend when I got there as I've been putting a little bit aside for the show each month.  I only blew the budget by a relatively small amount (£50-ish) but I did get some lovely goodies to play with.  The only problem is, when I ask my other half "should I buy this one or should I buy that one?" he says "Buy them both" ... so I do!  Therefore I can blame him for my overspend!  

I managed to get this card finished yesterday after getting home from the show.  I used the colour scheme over at Fab 'n' Funky for the basis of the card (kraft, lime and pink).  The image and sentiment are from Pollycraft and the papers are DCWV.  I recycled a brown "take-away" paper bag for the kraft paper.  Don't worry, it had only had a salad baguette in there - so it doesn't smell of Chinese or Indian take away!!!  The image has been coloured with Pro Markers with a little glittering here and there.  The snowflake is a Sizzlits die and I've added a couple of bits of card candy.

  

I am going to enter this card into the following challenges:

Fab 'n' Funky - Colour scheme challenge
Sweet Sketch Wednesday - I used their sketch for the layout
I love pro markers - Snowflakes
Charisma Cards - With love @ Christmas
Totally Papercrafts - Tag it
Pollycraft - Its Chill Time
The Pixie Cottage - Recycle (brown paper bag)
Pattie's Creations - A Christmas card or creation

Thanks for looking - pop back again soon!

Amanda

Our Halloween Pictures

Happy Halloween!  I thought I'd share a few pictures with you.  The picture above is our pumpkins that we have done this year.  The one on the left was done by my oldest son and I helped my youngest carve the one on the left.  Here he is cutting out the mouth shape ....

We had some little ghost candles to put inside ....

And here's my youngest ready for the Halloween party he went to last night.  What a transformation!!!

I painted his face and sprayed his hair white....

He really liked his face paints but his arms and hands were too pink so we sprayed those white too ....

And he came first place at the fancy dress!!!  This is his bag of Halloween treats that he won ....

Happy Halloween everyone!

Amanda