My Cuttlebug is poorly!!

Hi all, just a brief one from me.  I was in the middle of making my latest card and was putting something through the Bug when the damn thing made an almighty noise and the side literally shot off.  Thinking about it now it was quite funny but it didnt half make me jump and I guess I must have been trying to put too much through although it wasnt many layers and I've done it before so perhaps it was on its last legs. 

Anyway, the reason why I'm here is I can't live without some sort of diecutting machine but have been thinking about changing to say maybe the Grand Calibur or a Big Shot.  It is obviously a considered purchase or do I just get a second hand Bug off e-bay at a fraction of the price.  What do you have folks?  At this moment I'm veering towards a new machine just so I can have the larger dies.

Take care.

Ann-Marie

xxx

A Wee Change!

Hi ya folks!  I know its been a while.  Haven't done much crafting of late I think my mojo has packed up and gone on holiday - I hope its somewhere warm as its blinking freezing here!

Well those that know me will know that I am very much a creature of habit and this is quite often reflected in my craft as I tend to stick with the same stamps and colour themes.  Well I was bought a Wee stamp for Crimbo so thought I would have a change from my normal stamps and ink it up.  I was also given for Crimbo a small sewing machine nothing fancy but more than adequate for crafting with so hey I pushed the boat out and did some stitching on my card as well.

I have coloured her with copics, the papers are First Edition Summer Breeze and are just devine with added glitter accents and the flowers are from WOC.  A quick side view of the card:

Well I'm gonna poodle off now and stamp up some images to colour.  Wish me luck I did this the other day and they all ended up in the bin in disgust!  Before I go I want to enter into a few challenges:-

Bunny Zoes monthly challenge  -  photo inspiration

Pretty Little Ribbon Shop  -  anything goes

Papertake Weekly  -  anything goes (with optional extra of 'love' theme)

Craft Your Days Away  -  get stitchy with it

Stampalot challenge  -  in the garden

Right catch ya later folks, have a good one wherever you are and stay safe and warm in this chilly weather.

Take care.

Ann-Marie

xxx

Sugar Nellie book card

Hi just a quick one from me today.  Just wanted to show a book card which my mum asked me to make for her friend's 50th birthday.  I followed the fab sketch over at The Sugar Bowl and used Daisy coloured with copics. 

A quick view of the card when opened. 

I would like to enter this into The Sugar Bowl challenge.

Right thats it from me, told you it was a quick one.  Got to go and pick up my son from footy practice so better dash.

Catch you later everyone.  Take care.

Ann-Marie

xxx

 

My first Christmas creation for this year!!

WARNING:-  AN EXTREMELY PHOTO HEAVY POST!!!!! (so grab a cuppa and a choccy bar)

Hi folks, I am so ticked off I have been trying to upload my piccies on this post all day and at last it has decided to play ball.  Anyway, what I wanted to show you is my first Christmas project of this year which is an exploding box.  I haven't made one of these for a long time.  I went with a pink/purple/grey colour theme and lots of Tildas.  All have been coloured with a mixture of copics and prismacolor pencils and tons of stickles. 

First up a couple of the outside.

Next up an overall picture of what its like when open.

Now for a couple of closer views.

Okay, if you are still with me you deserved that choccy bar.  I really enjoyed doing this one but I think it is reserved for someone really special as it took me a few days to complete. 

I would like to enter this into a few challenges:-

Papertake Weekly  -  First Christmas

Charisma Cardz  -  Cutesy

Crafty Ribbons Challenge  -  Anything but a card

CES Challenge  -  Roses and ribbons

Magnolia Stamp Lovers  -  Christmas challenge

Totally Tilda  -  Christmas but no red, green or blue

Bunny Zoes Monthly challenge  -  Anything Christmas with Pearls

Right thats it from me for today.  I think I am going to go and dig out the Christmas films so I can watch whilst I am crafting and really get in the Crimbly spirit as I am once again so so behind.

Take care, happy crafting.

Ann-Marie

xxx

Look at what my hubby made me!!!!

Hi all, just a quick one from me on this most glorious Sunday morning, it really is beautiful outside today and the kiddies are out making the most of it.  Anyway just wanted to pop on here and show you what my fabtastic hubby decided to make me.  I think he got fed up of all my pens lying around everywhere and me bleating on about how useful it would be to have somewhere to store them all.  I showed him a few piccies from some I'd seen around, all very lovely but quite pricey.  Anyway he took a few measurements and off he went to his garage and voila a day later and I have this and I just love it.  Its exactly what I was after.  Its only made out of 12 mm MDF and my hubby says its not perfect as it was all hand cut and not machine cut but its perfect to me.  I will be decorating it and make it look all pretty but I just couldn't wait to get my pens in.

Please excuse the tiles hanging off the wall behind but we cleared out the small room downstairs that used to be our old kitchen before we moved it and it has yet to be decorated.  It will be my own craft room YIPPEE no more crafting on the kitchen table!!! I feel a trip to Ikea coming on but I think that will be something for the new year. 

Anyway, folks I hope you are enjoying your Sunday.  Take care.

Ann-Marie xxx

P.S. I would love to know how to tweak my photos and perhaps make them bigger.  Any tips would be most appreciated. 

A purple and aqua Sugar Nellie

Good morning folks, its a glorious sunny day out today on the south coast and all is peachy in my neck of the woods (well for today at least!).  Its my son's 10th birthday on Saturday so probably from Wednesday onwards it will be operation Luke trying get party things finalised and everything.

I have another book card to show you today and this is one I was asked to make for a 21st Birthday.  This particular image was requested and the recipient likes purple and butterflies so this is what I came up with.

I really did enjoy doing this one, once you've done one book card and know what you're doing they really are very quick to make, in fact it probably took me longer to colour the image and decide on papers than it did to actually make the card!

A different view of the card to show you the depth and everything.

Another couple of piccies to show you the inside and stuff.

The image used is a Sugar Nellie and is proving to be very versatile and she is so easy to colour.  Butterflies, swirl and tag are all Magnolia doohickey dies.  All flowers are of course from Wild Orchid Crafts.  Ribbon and lace are all from my local haberdashery shop.  The papers are actually a download from Nitwits.  This is the first time I have used downloaded papers and printed them off myself and I'm really quite impressed with them.  I do like the idea of having unlimited sheets of my favourite papers at the touch of a button and not having to worry whether I have enough to see me through the project.  Not sure I'm ready to give up my beloved collection of paper pads yet (well I have to have something to stroke!!!) but I think I will be using more downloads from now on especially for Christmas.

Well I think thats everything.  There are a couple of challenges I would like to enter this card into:-

ABC challenge  -  anything goes

Allsorts  -  5 flowers on your creation

Craft your days away  -  Tag it

The Pretty Little Ribbon Shop  -  anything goes

Right I'm off now.  I've already changed all the beds this morning but other household chores are calling.  Do you think I could squeeze some crafty time in and then run around like a headless chicken before the school run just so it makes it look like I've done something, he he!!!

Take care whereever you are, catch ya soon.

Ann-Marie

xxx

A trio of sweet Sugar Nellies

A big happy hello to all from my neck of the woods.  Now would you believe I actually started to write this post at 11 a.m. this rather miserable Tuesday morning and a good 12 hours later I am actually getting to finish it off!  Yes it has been that sort of a day, a good day but just a busy one.  We took the kiddies out for pizza and then decided to go and see Mr. Popper's Penguins which we all thoroughly enjoyed and then a stint in the small kiddies arcade, a very fun day was had by all.  I was also extremely excited as I saw a poster advertising the next Twilight instalment 'Breaking Dawn' out on Nov 18th and I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!! 

Anyway I digress, I wanted to get on here to show you all a card I was commissioned to do.  Didnt really have any guidelines so I decided I would do a card in a style which I saw last year sometime and has always stuck in my head.  Now I don't know whether this type of card has a name and for the life of me I cannot remember where I saw it so I can't pass on the credit, so sorry, but it was fun to do and I liked the idea that I could have more than one image as a focal point.  I do warn you I have a more piccies than normal, sorry, but I hope you like.

First up a piccie of the front of the card where you can see it all tied up.  I used the fab sketch from over on The Sugar Bowl with the added theme of blue.  I used my 'Daisy' stamp on the front, she was one of the first stamps I ever bought and one I always go back to, just love her!  She is coloured with prismas and blended with sansodor.  The papers are from GCD and I'm beginning to panic as the stack is going down and I have no more!!!

Next up shows the front of the card opened up where I have used another sugar nellie stamp and again those gorgeous papers.



This is a piccie of the inside of the card, using the same papers and a sugar nellie again. 

Next couple of piccies are just a couple of close ups of the images.

I used an 8 x 8 card base for this one so its a lot larger than I normally do and as I said before I love the fact that I could use more pretty images.

Right folks I would like to enter my card into a few fab challenges:

Papertake Weekly  -  to use die cuts

The Sugar Bowl  -  great sketch and an optional blue theme

Allsorts challenge  -  frame it

Everybody Art Challenge  -  Brown/blue

Thank you if you have made it to the end of my rather waffly and picture heavy post I do very much appreciate you popping by.

Take care wherever you are.

Ann-Marie 

xxx