Round and Round at CASual Fridays

Good Morning.... are you here to see this weeks new CASual Fridays challenge?...you are, oh good because your timing is perfect, here it is.....

.... well it's a really fun challenge for you to think about this week at CASual Fridays called Round and Round and as the title suggests we want you to use just two circles somewhere in your design...no more, no less and yes a circular card can count as one of those circles!!!

Our fabulous sponsor this week is The Twinery and the lucky winner will win a sample pack to play with.... us Girl Fridays have each used some coloured twine on our projects that was kindly donated from them :0)

So this one had me scratching my head for a while because you know how I like to come up with something a little quirky and then ... ping.... this idea came to me...

I simply layered two circles of bazzill cardstock that had been inked around the edges and cut them in half to make two wedges of watermelon, the little seeds are made with Enamel Accents and the chunk was taken out with a scalloped circle punch!!

I love how The Twinery has such a wide range of colours, so that you always find one to match your colour scheme :0)

This is such a fun challenge and I'm really looking forward to seeing your creative ways to use two circles on your cards. Please pop over and see how the other Girl Fridays have used them too , not forgetting the Facebook team every morning through to next Thursday :0)

Thanks for looking

Jenny x

Smile Crocodile!!

Hello.... remember me???

Its been another manic week getting Hannah set for her trip overseas next week so the craftroom has been a bit neglected until this morning when I made a card for the Paper Piecing challenge at Less is More this week!
I just love paper piecing so I couldn't miss the chance to play along , it gives just the right amount of impact on a coloured card base :0)

.... see what I mean?

It had to be simple and quick so I pulled out my newest Lawn Fawn set called 'Critters Down Under' because I knew this snappy little guy would work well for the colours at Annabelle's Stamps challenge too....... they have to be one of my fave colour combos...just yummy :0)

Next week I'm hoping to start on redecorating James's bedroom because he can move into Hannah's whilst she's away, so crafting will again be taking a back seat!!
Not sure of colours yet but as his favourite guy on TV is Mr Tumble, yep him on the right, and his house is decorated pretty much like his bag , I think we will have to come to a compromise!!..Lol

..... I'm back again over the next few days with new challenge posts for CASual Fridays and St Luke's and a special post on Sunday sharing something brand new... it's an exciting launch, you simply must come back and see :0)

Must get on, I have a mammoth pile of ironing to conquer!!! in this heat...... not fun :0(

Thanks for stopping by
Jenny x

A 'Spec'-tacular Splash!!

Goooooood Morning Everyone :0)....... I've been having fun with my Lawn Fawn stamps for my regular post at Make the day Special blog and playing along with a couple of challenges too.....

The moustache from Dads Day was just begging to be used with a pair of specs from Clear to See and how did I make the nose I hear you ask....... after a rummage through my stamps I found one of the pears from Silly Valentine to be the right shape and size!!! 

I part inked and stamped it then used a mask to get the moustache and specs in place :0)

The stitched ribbon bkgd is made using a stamp from Belinda's borders... love how turning the stamp gives this pattern!

I think he looks pretty happy, he's going to be entered into the colour splash challenge at the Lawnscaping Blog and because the splash is blue I will put him into this weeks Play Date Cafe gallery too, it's the closest I had to that bright blue!!

I also wanted to share a photo of this little chap in our garden today..... 

we have quite a few Greater Spotted Woodpeckers on the feeders in our garden and at this time of year they bring the youngsters in too, the juveniles have a red top to their heads. They are so noisy and pretty lazy too letting the parents do all the work but I'm not sure what he thought he was doing clinging to the picnic bench...no food there!!! I was lucky he sat there long enough to get the camera set up :0)

I hope you have a great weekend whatever you may be doing, thanks for stopping by.

Jenny x

A Pink Pout at CASual Fridays!!

Who's got that Friday feeling??? Meeee.... another week draws to a close and it's challenge time at CASual Fridays :0)
I loved seeing your acetate and vellum creations last week...you sure had some creative ways to use this tricky piece of stash!!.......This week is a little easier as we want to see you use mostly pink on your projects because it's National Pink day tomorrow!!! 

and our prize sponsor this week is Ribbon Carousel who have generously donated a $20 store voucher for the winner :0)

I really enjoyed making this card but it is so totally not me as you will never find a hot pink lipstick in this house at all!! 

I went to the local DIY store and picked up some paint colour charts to die cut the lippies from... thought it would be fun to think you could ramp up the colour during the week ready for party night at the weekend..... a totally girlie card :0)

Same as always, don't forget to hop over to the blog to check out the rest of the Girl Fridays cards, not forgetting the Facebook team through the week as well and then go dig out your pink stash... we'd love you to play along with us :0)

Just wanted to say thank you for all your sweet birthday wishes yesterday, it made a super day even better :0)
Thanks for stopping by today.
Jenny x
Supplies: Lipstick is a Quickutz die, 
              Computer generated font 'Tall Paul'
              Sizzix alphabet 'Take it Easy'
              Gems and card from stash

Shiny Congrats

Okay so it's been a while again.... these last two weeks have been against me, time wise, for creating..... that coupled with intense hayfever symptoms!! it seems the only tablets that can dampen my suffering completely knock me out and by the end of the day I'm flawed!!....  this has been the worst year for quite a while :0(

I didn't get chance to play along at Less is More last week and I really didn't want to miss another so I'm entering this card for the 'Something Shiny'challenge this week.....

I have to confess to it being a card I had already made but never used for the bling challenge I created it for...... should be okay for a shiny challenge then :0)... it's the only way I'm going to play along this week!

The font is a Lawn Fawn set and stamping it out central on the panel was going to be tricky so I stamped it out first on a large piece of card and then trimmed it to fit the base :0). The bottom half is a clear embossed Penny Black stamp with white enamel accents on the flowers.
Not sure I'm happy with the sparkle lines from the shiny bling... looks like I trapped a spider under it but Hannah assures me it's okay and that I have a vivid imagination... Lol.

 Hannah finishes her A levels on Friday so this weekend we have some celebrating to do :0) She has worked so hard and now she can enjoy her summer before the rush of sorting out uni places begins in August. Next week looks just as busy with shopping trips and gathering stuff for her two week trip to Poland, organised through the local Rotary club and her Sixth Form... she's so looking forward to be going with a group of friends and helping Polish students brush up their spoken English skills, it will be quite an experience for her :0)

I'm in the process of getting together some blog candy because its the longest day and my birthday tomorrow but that will have to wait until next week too because time has escaped me this week.... ironic really when I'm pretty sure the days are getting shorter round here!!

Thanks for taking time to visit :0)
Jenny x

CASual Fridays#57- Clear as Day

Wow another week flown by..... I'm still here just taking a bit of a break from the ol' blog, not planned, just happened that way due to a few factors and this weekend we have family here so I will be back properly after the weekend :0)

So you want to know what the new challenge is at CASual Fridays!!.... well this week we challenge you to get your Vellum or Acetate into use on your projects and if you take on this task you could win yourself six Paper Smooches stamp sets designed and donated by our very own talented Girl Friday, Karolyn Loncon :0)

Well I shudder at the word 'acetate' so instead, I dusted down the box of vellum I have stashed away and after looking through some of the rather loud colours I have accumulated, came up with the idea of making a homemade ice lolly or popsicle depending which side of the pond you live!!!

Vellum is just the perfect medium for a lolly don't cha think??
I found some Scotch Vellum Tape which is great stuff and the only adhesive I have found not to show through vellum so it was easy to layer a couple of pieces together for the lolly.

Please pop by the blog to see the details of the fab prize and the oodles of inspiration on view for you from the rest of the Girl Fridays... see you in the players gallery :0)

Jenny x


Paper : Echo Park- Paradise Beach
Dies : Quickutz Alphabet - Moxie,  Circle Nestabilities

Where did the week go???

Yep, the title pretty much sums it up! I'm also looking for the summer weather we should be having as well!!........ Answers on a postcard please :0)

I haven't got into the craftroom this week and this usually results in some pretty dire attempts to get back into the groove...and it did, despite trying to use the current inspiration at the Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge !
I finally came up with something I was happy with for my Make the Day Special blog post .....

I went with the pattern from the bottom left of the photo which inspired the leaf pattern but the maize colour was giving me a headache on how to include it until I spotted the spotty paper!! I've not really tried stamping on patterned paper unless its for paper piecing but I love how these leaves have appeared dotty because the white spots make the brown ink look darker.

I didn't want to risk the blue ink on yellow... fearing some green yuck colour would result, so I punched the flowers from Lawn Fawn paper and 'glossy acccented' the centres after popping them on the branches :0)
.....mmm, pretty happy with it, cant believe how long it took though *tut tut*

Anyway, we are off out today to make use of a dry day..... I can sort of remember what they are *said in a thoughtful voice*

Oh and just to let you UK stampers know that the new release Lawn Fawn stamps should be in at Make the Day Special after the weekend and hopefully some new Paper Smooches too, keep checking here for when they arrive or better still 'Like' the shop on Facebook for all the updates.

Thanks for looking, catch up with you all later :0)

Jenny x

CFC#56: Sweet Spot!!

I can't believe it's nearly the weekend again.... our long bank holiday weekend has thrown me completely off track, not to mention the kiddos being at home which is why I haven't been around this week!!

Anyhow I'm here today because it's time for a new challenge at CASual Fridays and this week we are wanting to see polka dots and spots on your projects :0)

We are sponsored this week by Denami Design and us Girl Fridays were lucky enough to each be given stamps to work with for our inspiration cards and what a sweet inspiration they were!!!

This adorable little Cupcake Chickie and sentiment gave me the idea of making cake wrappers and toppers especially as we had some cake baking planned!!

I found a free cake wrapper template on the internet and cut out two using decorative edged scissors for the top edge and then just had a happy stamping session with some spot stamps in pink, yellow and white.

I stamped the Chickie in Memento London Fog for the topper so it didn't have such a harsh outline and I really love the effect.... the banner topper has a few pearls for added 'spot' decoration :0)

I'm pleased to report the cakes were delicious and took considerably less time to eat than to make the wrappers!!!....... not surprising really :0)

Don't forget to stop by the CASual Fridays blog and check out the other Girl Fridays inspiration projects, look forward to seeing your dotty creations.

Thanks for stopping by :0)

Jenny x

Keep Calm and read this long post!!!

Having seen the Patriotic colours challenge at Less is More earlier, an idea popped into my head and when that happens I just can't rest until it comes to life on my craft table!!! This in turned sparked a second idea.... so I have two cards to share with you, in a very picture heavy post, on this soggy Diamond Jubilee weekend....

The one thing we do well in this country is put up with the rain at special events and as usual, it's happened  that way so I thought a very British brolly would be just the job this weekend.
The Union Jack is from a pack of cupcake decorations and I stuck it to a sheet of card before die-cutting with the memory box umbrella. I cut several  to make the different coloured parts and to give it some thickness too.

The 'Keep Calm and Carry on' typeface was made on my iPad of all places!! I found a great app a while ago called Keep Calm (funnily enough). It lets you personalise your own poster and save them to your photo file, then its a case of taking them off your iPad and using them in Word like any other image..... gotta love the iPad :0)

So what was your second idea I hear you ask!...... well if its not pouring with rain it's scorching hot at these special summer events so wouldn't Union Jack flip flops be the perfect attire....

This is a new PTI die that arrived this week and it had it's first outing without the stamp set!
I left the flip flop straps plain so this could be a guys or gals card and basically I pinched two more flags and cut them the same way I did the brolly. You can also make out the debossed stripes on both cards, from the new Stripes Impression Plate from PTI.... I think this will become a firm favourite next to the Linen IP... I was going for the look of wood panelling :0)

I'm also entering one of these cards into the 'Right Royal Challenge' at a Passion for Papertrey and although the blue is slightly darker than the challenge graphic, I'm entering one of them into Dynamic Duos as well....it's still technically blue  :0)

In my post yesterday I showed you the photo of me dressed as the Queen of Hearts at our Silver Jubilee street party in 1977 so I thought I would dig out a couple more pictures to share in this post too...

It was definitely a party for the kids!!.... when I look at old photos like this I wonder where and what these children are doing now???

In case you're interested, I'm the little blondie on the right without a hat on and my little bruv is just off the picture to the left in his highchair.

That's me.... I still don't like wearing hats to this day!!!

Well done if you made it this far... I apologise for all the photos but Diamond Jubilees don't come around very often!!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend and if you're in the UK, I hope you enjoy the festivities and have fun dodging the raindrops... don't forget that brolly *wink* 

I think I'll be watching it on the TV :0)

Jenny x

The White and Blue, but no Red!!!

Welcome to the Jubilee weekend ...... guess who this is???

Yep it's me..... dressed as the Queen of hearts for the Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1977 aged almost 4.

That's my bit of patriotism for this post because I've not got organised and made a Jubilee themed card for my Make the Day Special post this weekend!! I'm not too great at putting two and two together like that and life has been pretty hectic this week too, as the kids wind down for the half term break, wind down is probably not the best choice of words as James is rather looking forward to a week off school...it's me that has been winding down!!!

So as my blog title suggests my card is blue and white...it's just missing the red, so it's almost patriotic....

I tried stepping out of my 'love of colouring black lined images' comfort zone to try my hand at  inking with these Donna Downey Unity stamps. I just cannot get the emboss resist technique to work in an inky scene and you can see my first failed attempt on the butterflies... I punched them out of the spent card..... I quite like the pattern on their wings :0)

I decided to just try a small area through an aperture like my blog pal Therese did on these gorgeous card here and here . I used a few shades of Distress ink to make the scene and some stickles to highlight the seed-heads. I really love the part embossed section on the panel ... unfortunately  I stuck it on wonky though!!

I'm sure I'll be back with a patriotic creation at some point this holiday weekend, I've just seen the challenge at Less is More so make that a definite then!.

I was dressed as the Queen of Hearts in the photo above for the fancy dress competition at our street party for the Silver Jubilee... look at the line up, I just love the homemade outfits.... there was not a great choice of dressing up outfits then!!

My amazingly clever Mum made my whole costume, I think, from an old sheet and pillowcase.... the jam tarts were definitely homemade :0)
It was a rather clever move to go with a royal character because I remember that I won a dolly for first prize, oh how times have changed :0)

Thanks for stopping by today on my nostalgia trip :0)
Have a great Jubilee weekend...... I hope the weather doesn't dampen the celebrations too much!

Jenny x

CFC#55: Put Bling on it!!

This is my second post today... for my St Luke's Charity Card Challenge post click here or scroll down and see one of the new release digis from Melania Deasy

So it's time for a new Challenge at CASual Fridays...you wowed us last week with your creative use of papers on your masculine cards and this week we are at the opposite end of the scale when we challenge you to 'Put Bling On It'

This weeks sponsor is the hugely generous Simon Says Stamp, not forgetting this week is our guest designer search for July too :0)

For my card I've used a cute digi image from another new set being released by Melania Deasy today.... they are just perfect to add some magical bling too and I just know you're going to love the rest of the 'Little Rosie' images in the set too, see them here (after 8am EST, 1pm in the UK) and check out her launch giveaway :0)

Don't forget to visit the CASual Fridays blog to see the sparkling inspiration from the rest of the Girl Fridays alongside our guest designer this month- Piali.
We also have a new monthly designer joining our Facebook team for June.... it's a surprise all round so lets go find out together!!

Hope you have fun playing along this week with your sparkly cards :0)
Thanks for stopping by

Jenny x


Supplies: Little Rosie Digi from Melania Deasy, 
              sentiment is computer generated,
              embossing folder by Paper mania, 
              coloured with Promarkers and 
              Hero Arts Prisma glitter added.

Our Furry Friends!!

Hi everyone...

Time to turn that page on your calendar... it's June!!!
That means a new challenge over at St Luke's Charity Card Challenge and you're really going to enjoy this months theme because we want to see 'Our Furry Little Friends' on your cards...  dogs, cats, teddies.... if it's cute, cuddly and furry it's okay with us :0)

My card features the sweetest little dog digi from a new set that are being released today by Melania Deasy...

I can hear you all going 'ahhhhh'.....  I know, isn't he adorable, that's was my reaction too!!
I had a hard job just choosing which dog to use!! With a hairstyle like that he obviously likes to be pampered so I had to put him in the shower, which is part of the digi set too. The sentiment is computer generated and made up by me.... you can tell because it's a pun *wink*
Melania is releasing 'Woofall' on her blog here at 8am EST 1st June (1pm if you're in the UK),but because of  the timing of blog posts I'm giving you a preview with this card..... you will just fall in love with them and best news is you could be in with a chance of winning some digis too! ...be sure to use them for our challenge if you do :0)


Now back to the St Luke's Charity Card Challenge......

The monthly prize at St Luke's is this fabulously versatile set of text stamps from Waltzing Mouse Stamps...
this set is part of my stamp collection too and they are brilliant :0)

I'm looking forward to seeing your cute Furry friends this month and remember to keep sending your cards in so they can be sold to raise much needed funds for St Luke's Hospice....address and details are on the blog here.

Back in a few hours with another new Digi from Melanias new release!!

Thanks for stopping by :0)
Jenny x