CFC#76 - Kraft On... CASual Fridays Stamps For Sale!!

Well it's been an exciting week over at the CASual Fridays stamps blog and today 

sees the new CASual Fridays Stamps go officially on sale :0)

... but before you go and have a peek let me tell you about this weeks challenge...

...yep you guessed, we would love to see you use Kraft or Kraft coloured card somewhere in 

your project this week and to tempt you even more... the winner will recieve a gift card 

to use in the new CASual friday stamps store :0)

I have used a sentiment from 'WTF' and teamed it up with some bright coloured balloons,  the pattern on the pale blue panel has been made using the striped border pattern in that same stamp set.

If you've been over to the CASual Fridays blog you will see this is my last  challenge post as I've decided to step down as a Girl Friday :0( I'm just not having the time to craft and comment at the moment because  I'm needing to spend more time with James whilst  he gets used to a few changes around here. I'm not going for good...  I still intend to play along with challenges when time and mojo allows :0) I've enjoyed being part of the team and I'm grateful to Michele for giving me the chance to  work alongside some seriously talented designers these last 6 months :0) Also saying goodbye are Karolyn, Julie and Stephanie..  so dont forget to stop by and say farewell. Thanks for stopping by Jenny x

"Woot Woot".... it's a Sneak Peak

Hello, hello....

it's a very exciting week here at CASual Fridays...did you see Michele is 

launching her own stamp line called CAS-ual Fridays Stamps :0)

If you love all things CAS you'll adore these sets... todays sneak peak is a set called
Woot Woot!!

It's a brilliant set with some real fun celebration messages and sentiments 

in a mix of fonts with  background builder elements too... you can mix and match to your hearts content with these stamps :0)

This sentiment from the set just called for a couple of glasses of the bubbly stuff!!!

Perfect for a celebration :0)

 We have a great line up of guest stampers joining the Girl Fridays 

this week for the sneak peaks and it wouldn't be a 

celebration without chances to win the new stamp sets too :0)...

 so make sure you visit the new CAS-ual Fidays Stamps blog , oh and don't forget this weeks 

winner of CFC75 'Over the edge' challenge will win all 5 sets too.....

I told you it's an exciting week here at CAS-ual Fridays :0)

Here are the all important details

• The stamps are made in the USA from the finest Photopolymer, I can tell you that they ink and stamp like a dream :0)
• There are 5 new stamp sets being released on the 26th October and each day this week, starting yesterday, we are sneak peaking a different set.
• We are giving away one of the featured stamp sets from each day, all you have to do is visit the store blog and leave a comment... if you missed yesterdays peek don't worry, you still have time as commenting closes at 11.59pm EST this Weds :0)
• Winners will be announced this Thursday and the store goes live on Friday...make sure you bookmark the store address www.cas-ualfridaysstamps.com

CFC#75 - Today's the Day!!!

Well today is the big day!!!

You finally get to meet CASual Fridays little sister....I'm sure you're gonna love her :0)

BUT..... before you rush over to see her let me show you this weeks challenge badge...

.....yes we want to see part of your design  go over the edge of your card.

All the girl Fridays have used stamps this week from our 

super new SURPRISE sponsor

I hope you've got your sunglasses handy.....

Dont ya just love that large sentiment.... it was just asking for a fun, bright card !!!

Yes I went to town, in a CAS way, with the mirror and glitter card, it was fun to 

break into a little razzmatazz for todays big announcement :0)

Now you need to take those shades off and hop over to CASual Fridays

(I bet you sneaked over there already though) and check out what

 the party is all about :0)

Jenny x

CFC#74 - Put your Heart into it

Hello Everyone

It was lovely to see so many of you join in with our challenge last week

 and so many personal stories shared too ....

it was a wonderful pink gallery :0)

Well it's just a week to go now until the big announcement at CASual Fridays so lets 

get a step further and see this weeks challenge without further ado....

Our sponser this week is i {heart} papers who are kindly giving the winner a giftcard 

to use in their store, sooooo.... we would like to see hearts in your project this week please :0)

They can be large or small, one or many and it doesn't even have to be a heart shape...

perhaps just the word, it's up to you how creative you want to be :0)

It just happened that I needed to make a baby girl card this week and I've been wanting 

to get this sentiment in use for a while now so my little pink heart is hanging from a tree branch...

I should have taken a photo of the inside because the sentiment carries on......

"Congratulations to the old roots!"

I bet your giggling too, right ;0)

As always, hop over to see more inspiration from the rest of the Girl Fridays 

at the blog before you start creating.

Thanks for popping by

Jenny x

One for the Girls

It's Friday again and time for a new challenge at CASual Fridays :0)

I loved seeing your cards inspired by your own blog headers and judging by your own words and creations, you enjoyed making them too.... even the most simple designs inspired you to make some wonderful cards. 

Now October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month so our challenge this week is called 'One for the Girls' and it's a guest designer search week as well.

We want to see your cards celebrating the girls in our lives... family or friends and this weeks winner will receive a gift card from our regular sponsor Simon Says Stamp.

My card is pretty self explanatory really... going with the pink theme of the Breast Cancer campaign ribbon I used this large sentiment from My Favourite Things which continues onto the inside with "Really, you are!"

I hope you join us this week to help raise awareness of this terrible disease, whether it be a gentle reminder to check out any concerns you have or to celebrate those fortunate to come through treatment and fondly remember those who were not so lucky.

The Girl Fridays have more cards to share with you over at the blog and this week we are joined by the wonderfully creative Birgit as our guest designer. Pop back this evening for a special Happy Hour post for news of an extra prize giveaway too :0)

Thanks for stopping by today.
Jenny x

A Simple Christmas at St Luke's

Well a new month is upon us and Christmas is on the horizon although judging by our local supermarkets display of Christmas fayre you'd think it was in a few weeks time!!!

The new challenge over at St Luke's Charity Card Challenge is to make a clean and simple Christmas card... with plenty of white space, perhaps thinking modern and graphic which is the style I decided to go with....

I hand cut and inked the snowy hills for my stylised trees to sit on.... they are small triangles of card covered in yummy washi tape. 

The snowy sky is stamped with a great little stamp I have that has no name on it which is a shame because it's invaluable when it comes to Christmas scenes and really deserves some recognition!!!

This months prize is this wonderful stamp set generously donated by Claire Brennan from Waltzingmouse Stamps.... perfectly themed for this months challenge :0)

So it's time to break out that seasonal stash and show us your CAS Christmas cards, a great excuse to get started on them or add to them......... well that's one more for my collection this year anyhow :0)

Don't forget to check out the rest of the DT's cards here.... thanks for looking :0)

Jenny x

I Thought of You !!

Hi everyone,

I'm using Blogsy to write this as I'm currently in London for our nephews wedding tomorrow, trouble is I haven't used it in a while so lets hope it works.

It's my day to share a card over at the Make the Day Special blog and I wanted to share it on here too because I've been playing with some of the new Wplus9 stamps and dies that Emily has just taken delivery of.....

I have used the 'Heartfelt Mix' stamps and matching dies to make this whimsical card by using the three line stamp as strings for a bunch of heart balloons which have been cut using the dies and inked to give dimension. The sweet sentiments in the set can be paired up to use inside and outside the card, they really are quite heartfelt as the name suggests!! The message inside my card says 'and smiled'.

To see the new stamps and dies visit the shop here and whilst your there have a look round the rest of the store...... I gather there are Magnolia stamps in stock too now

Right well I hope all the links work and now I've got to figure out how to schedule it to appear Saturday morning!!

Thanks for stopping by

Jenny x

 

Can you Toot Your Own Horn??

Now I bet you're curious about this weeks challenge at CASual Fridays with a title like that!!
No... nothing to do with transport, instead we want you to be inspired by your own blog header and translate that into a design on your projects :0).... how fun is that??

We have a great prize this week from our sponsors  a.muse studios  worth over $35!!!

I looked at my blog header and decided to not go literal with the layout on my card but kept with the tree theme and injected some colour by adding falling leaves....

I cut a few Memory box branches and 'pruned' them so they didn't all look the same before positioning them on the card..... oh boy did that take a while fiddling with them!!
The oak leaves are cut from basic grey PP with the Lil'inker Acorn die and then stuck back to back so they could withstand being shaped and curled.... I love the dimension they give to the scene :0)
The hessian/burlap bkgd and jute on the card base are to represent my blog bkgd.

I'm so looking forward to seeing where your blog inspiration takes you... don't forget to go check out the rest of the Girl Fridays cards this week by clicking here

Thanks for stopping by :0)
Jenny x

Guest designing at CASology

Hello  :0)

I'm here today guest designing with CASology, I was so happy to have won the 10th challenge last week with my Lawn Fawn Owl card... I haven't had much time to play along with challenges for weeks so winning a guest designer spot was a bonus :0)

This weeks cue word is SHOE and as always I had to think aside from the obvious.....

I needed a card for a family wedding this Saturday so I came up with the idea of silver horse-shoes for the bride and groom!
I love the purity of white space on a wedding card and the PTI impression plate gives a faux quilted texture alongside the (not so neat) stitching *wink*
Thank you so much to Melissa and her fab DT for having me join them this week, I can't wait to hop over and see their cards.... in fact it'll be fun to see how everyone uses the cue word  :0)

Talking of shoes..... I thought I'd share a photo of our estate car stuffed to the roof just before we set off to the University of Bath with Hannah at the weekend...

Yep there's quite a few pairs of shoes and bags of clothes in there...... from memory of the rooms we saw last summer I really thought we would be bringing some of it back but she has moved in easily... and still has space for all the text books and folders she'll accumulate soon :0)

I'm going to really miss her around home but with James keeping me on my toes, it certainly isn't going to feel like an empty nest!!
James came with us to see Hannah's new room but the highlight of the trip for him was finding the laundry room....

He really did look like a child in a sweet shop.... it's a good job he couldn't see inside the one machine that was working or we'd never have got him out of there!!!

Thanks for stopping by :0)

Jenny x

Autumn Time at CASual Fridays

Happy Friday everyone....

The sun is rising later in the sky this time of year and there's a definite chill in the air some mornings so it's safe to say that Autumn has arrived here in the Northern hemisphere, it's only right then, that we have an Autumn challenge for you at CASual Fridays this week :0)

We would love to see your cards and projects inspired by Autumn  and all it's beautiful glory.

Our sponsor this week is Great Impressions Stamps who have donated a $25 gift card for this weeks winner, take a trip to there store here :0)

I've turned to my newest lawn Fawn sets again and a spot of paper piecing on these sweet little pumpkins....

Who still has some of the Sizzix paper pads called Little Sizzles?? Well I found mine the other day and was reminded how good the patterns were for this sort of technique... I love the homespun patchwork feel :0)

Don't forget to check out the rest of the Girl Fridays cards over at the blog...lots of golden autumn goodness to see.

Thanks for stopping by...

Jenny x

Stamps: So Thankful & Belinda's Borders - Lawn Fawn
Papers: Little Sizzles pads-Sizzix
Texture: Linen IP - PTI

A Winter Owl

Hello...do not adjust your screens ...yes I'm blogging... I have a card for a couple of challenges to share!!!

This is card for today's blog post over at Make the Day Special and seeing as I have stumbled on some free-time this evening I though I would enter it into a couple of challenges :0)

I haven't had time to play along with Mandi and Chrissie at Less is More for weeks and because I made this card earlier instead of yesterday, I was able to include this weeks challenge theme... an oval.

The cute owl is one of the latest Lawn Fawn sets called 'Winter Owl' released a few weeks ago, the sentiment is part of the same set but the branches are made from the tree in 'Critters Down Under'..... it works quite well as two branches when stamped and cut in half :0)
I've paper pieced all the images apart from the moon which is a circle punched out of the navy linen card, the starry sky is just a smattering of dots with a white gel pen.
I just love this little guy wrapped up with his scarf, without the sentiment he could be used on any type of card but the punny verse is brilliant....apologies if you have that song going round in your head now, I've been humming it all day too :0)

I also realised it would fit in quite well over at CASology with 'Sky' being the cue word this week.... two challenges in one go, well what do ya know.
This has to be a record for me on the Christmas card front... never made one this early before but then I don't exactly think I'm going to use it !!! It will go in the charity box me thinks :0)

Right that's me done... I'm going to do some blog hopping now while I can...this week I've been out shopping with Hannah to kit her out for Uni so it's cheap pound stores and household bargain shops all the way... she's getting to grips with this money saving student life style thing but I'm glad to say she's taking more than just a can opener and a bottle opener!!! ...Lol :0)

Just a reminder to say the Lawn Fawn stamps I used are available in the UK through Emily at Make the Day Special, just click on the links above or visit the store here to see all the American brands the shop stocks.

Hope you have a great weekend and thanks for looking :0)

Jenny x

You're The Bomb!!

Hi Folks, It's been a crazy busy week here which is why Friday has rushed around again so quickly and along with it a new challenge at CASual Fridays and this time we have a colour theme to spark your creativity :0)

We have a new sponsor this week... Neat and Tangled Stamps. 

Danielle Walls is the designer and owner of this new stamp company, see her cute hand-drawn stamps here,  our Facebook team where generously given a set to play with so don't forget to check out there daily inspiration this week :0)

I've gone extremely CAS with my card, even-so, it took me a while to make as the mojo seems to be ebbing away at the moment!!

The stamps are from There She Goes and I've popped up the word 'BOMB' so I could tuck the actual bomb slightly behind it. It's just a small card because the images aren't big and I just love these cute square,  textured cards :0)

**********

If you visit my blog regularly you'll have noticed the reduced number of blog posts this past month!!

Well it seems the school holidays and transition from school to University and all it entails are keeping me busy, leaving no time for blogging and crafting apart from DT stuff :0(

I'm hoping that by October things will be more settled although I'm not sure how all these changes will suit James...... he's going to miss not having his big sister around when she goes to Uni, he had a few weeks to get used to it in the holidays when Hannah went travelling and he coped quite well so fingers crossed for an eleven week term!!

Anyhow, in the meantime .... I'll enjoy seeing where this colour theme takes you....what will you choose to go with black and white??

Thanks for looking :0)

Jenny x

CFC#69 Embossing

Good Morning,

It's time again for a new challenge at CASual Fridays and this week is a Guest designer search too :0)

Embossing is this weeks theme and it can be heat, dry or both if you fancy!!!.... so dig out those heatguns, light boxes or folders and get embossing for a chance to win a gift card for our regular sponsor,  Simon Says Stamp.

I used this challenge as a chance to rummage through my under-used brass embossing stencils and found this cute design from Lasting Impressions....

Their stencils are great for embossing, fussy cutting and layering up using a variety of materials... I used Whitewash Co-ordinations for the bath and vellum for the bubbles alongside regular card..... the alphabet is a Sizzix decorative strip called 'Easy Peasey'.

This week we have Nerina guest designing with us so please go check out her card along with the rest of the Girl Fridays before you start creating :0)

Thanks for looking :0)
Jenny x

A Time for Couples

Good Morning everyone and welcome to the new challenge over at St Luke's Charity Card Challenge.

This month we are asking to see couples on your cards.... it doesn't have to be romantic as long as we can see a couple of characters .... human, animal or a mix of both :0)

I've used a Wplus9 stamp and die set called Lovebirds  for my couple of characters.... I just love that sentiment from the set.

This is the card I'm sharing over at Make the Day Special blog today and the stamps and dies are available in the store here.

It would be great if you could join us this month and spread the word about the challenge too... the more that play the merrier  :0)... and to tempt you even more I thought I'd show you this weeks prize which has been so generously donated by Lili of the Valley.
These two stamps are up for grabs...aren't they cute :0)

Please pop by the St Luke's blog to see the rest of the DT cards and details on how to send your handmade cards to the hospice so they can be sold to raise much needed funds :0)

Thanks for looking :0)

Jenny x

Back to School at CASual Fridays!!

Hello.... It's Friday and nearing the end of the school holidays here in the UK, James goes back next Thurs and that first morning is going to be hard work!!!

So with the new school term looming you'll understand that it's no coincidence that this weeks challenge at CASual Fridays has a school theme to it then :0)

This week we want to see your cards for those starting or going back to school.... teachers or pupils!!!

The sponsor this week is Pretty Paper Studio, check out there store here.

I have to say I have never made or received a 'Back to School' card.... kinda feels like your rubbing salt in the wound!! ... it was bad enough having to buy new uniform as soon as the school holidays started! .... you can tell I didn't like school much can't you *wink*

I decided to make a denim rucksack for my card as a new school bag was possibly the best bit of going back in September along with new pens and a pencil case :0)

Love the primary colour scheme... I thought this would be perfect for a little one starting school, they have much more enthusiasm for it :0)
I used various shape dies to make the bag and pencil and the sentiment is computer generated using 'Chalkdust' font.

Remember to check out the CASual Fridays blog where you will see Piali has joined us this week as our newest Girl Friday...I hope you pop by to make her feel welcome :0)

Thanks for looking  :0)

Jenny x

CFC#66 Splish Splash!!!

Hellooooo it's me again so it must be CASual Fridays time and I have to say that I enjoyed looking at all your square cards last week... so many great designs, you all make choosing ten favourites a difficult task :0)

... this weeks challenge has a watery theme for you.....

...... so if you find it under water then we want to see it on your card... how inventive can you be, I can't wait to see , eek I'm rhyming now :0)
This weeks sponsor is Stop and Scrap which is a great online store stuffed to the rafters with stash from well known crafting companies :0)

For some reason I had this cute fish stamp set from Inkadinkado still un-inked, gee that's a tongue twister waiting to happen!!!..... so I rectified that for my card to share with you this week...

Photographing this card to show the fish bowl was almost as difficult as deciding how to stick the thing down!! Glossy accents came to the rescue applied to the 'gold' fish which is between the acetate bowl and vellum water... great for hiding PVA glue behind it too *wink*
I dusted down the cricut to cut the bowl and have to say this was the first time I used acetate in it and I'm quite pleased with how it cut :0)

Remember to check out the rest of the Girl Fridays cards and the fab prize on offer this week over at CASual Fridays and then dive into those craft supplies and join us in the gallery for some watery fun :0)

On a more personal note I have to blow the ol' family trumpet this week because here in the UK it was A level results day yesterday and our clever girl has got her first choice place at Bath University with an A* and two A's!!!
*beaming proud mummy face* Yay.... whoop de whoop and a toot toot toot :0)
She so deserves that peace of mind now until Uni starts at the beginning of October when it's nose to the grindstone again!
Okay putting the trumpet away now :0)

Thanks for looking today.

Jenny x

F 'ant' tastic day!!

 

Hellooo hello.... how about a joke to start the morning.....

 

Q. Why did the ants run along the top of the cereal box?
A. Because it said to 'Tear along the dotted line' !!!

 

You have to admit that's quite funny, I know it definitely made you smile !!

 

You're probably wondering why that joke... well my card for today's post over at Make the Day Special features the marching ants from Happy Summer and they are those ants tearing along the dotted line!!

 

I used the Quinns and Claire's Alphabets to make the sentiment focal point and a bit of paper piecing to add a pop of colour....not sure if he's adding or removing the letter F though!!!

These have to be the cutest ants you'll meet and they haven't got wings like the pesky ones flying about on hot days!!

A short and sweet post today because Hannah and I are off to London today to watch 'We Will Rock You'.... I saw it when it first opened 10 years ago but had to squeeze another viewing in with Hannah before it closes next month at the Dominion Theatre :0)

Thanks for looking

Jenny x

 

Posted with Blogsy

CFC#65- Square Cards

Helloooo :0)

Friday has crept up on us again... is it me or are these weeks going faster in the Summer Holidays!!! and I can't believe the Olympics are finishing this weekend either... what an amazing spectacle they've been :0)

You're probably here wanting to know what this weeks challenge at CASual Fridays is, well here it is.....

 The only requirement this week is that your cards are SQUARE and CAS of course :0)
This weeks sponsor is Stampotique Originals and they were generous enough to provide the girl Fridays with  stamps to work with for our DT cards :0)

 I just knew I had to have this little fella when I saw him in the store and then I found the perfect sentiment to go with him.... love the sarcasm.... Just the sort of thing I'd say to hubby if he came home with a face like that :0)

Because he's a well rounded little chap I paper pieced him and shaped the layers for dimension... I love the quality of the Stampotique stamps, so crisp and precise :0)

Click here to see the rest of the Girl Fridays cards and details of this weeks prize then get your square blank canvases out and be creative..... remember it's hip to be square!!!

Thanks for looking :0)
Jenny x

Ice Cream anyone???

Morning....

....just popping by the neglected blog to share an ice cream or three with you :0) It's my attempt to try and pretend we are having a summer!!

This is the card I'm sharing over at Make the Day Special blog today and I've used Lawn Fawn stamps to make an ice cream, .... but Lawn Fawn don't have an ice cream stamp.... yep,  I made one up instead :0)....

I used the gnomes hat from 'Gnome Sweet Gnome' and the top of the pie from 'My Silly Valentine' to make my yummy treats and I really love how stamping with tone on tone ink colours have given them a softer feel :0) 

I'm not so happy with the sentiment, I cut the stamp in half so as to stamp it in the oval and it says 'Keep Cool' but now when I look at it it reads 'Keep Coal'....it looked perfectly fine when read on one line, how strange is that!!!

I haven't forgotten about showing you James's newly decorated bedroom we are still in the process of sorting his stuff out... we are having a toy cull because we are in danger of having more than the local branch of Toys'r'us!!! He will still quite happily play with pre-school toys and we think now is the time to loose some of them whilst redecorating and re-organising his room.

Everything is taking longer though because of the summer hols including crafting and commenting so apologies for not getting round to you all... I'll catch up eventually :0)

Thanks for looking and don't forget, if you live outside the States, you can buy Lawn Fawn stamps along with other American brands at Make the Day Special, too many to list so go check them out :0)

Jenny x