Birthday Candy

***This post will remain at the top of my blog until Sunday 14th February (my birthday!) - please scroll down for recent posts***

Well as I turn 24 on Sunday 14th February, I thought I would offer some yummy birthday candy to my lovely followers.

I have one DoCrafts January-February 2010 goody bag for one lucky follower to win...

I have actually asked for one of these goody bags for my birthday as I thought it was fab so hopefully I'll get it lol! :o)

Here's just some of what's in the goody bag:

Exclusive Daisy & Dandelion Stamp

Papermania Capsule Collection *sunshine* - Boutique Ribbon

Papermania Capsule Collection *sunshine* - Embellishment Set

Papermania Capsule Collection *sunshine* - Mini & Polka Dot Buttons

Papermania Capsule Collection *sunshine* - Mini Bows

Papermania Capsule Collection *sunshine* - Petals

How fab is all that?! All you have to do to be in with a chance is...

1) Become a follower if you aren't already - share the love!

2) Please spread the word about this candy on your lovely blog

3) Post a comment to let me know you have done so

That's it - simples!

Entries close at midnight on Sunday 14th February and I will pick a winner on Monday 15th Febuary and post the winner during the day so please remember to check back to see if you've won :o) I post worldwide so please feel free to enter, wherever you are from!

Good Luck!

Much love,

Pink + Lime Green = fab colour combo...

Well I managed two out of my three cards this weekend! Not bad going considering I thought...I was going to combine the last two challenges but I couldn't find an Anya stamp with wings on it - d'oh! I will try and do that card this week for a lady at work's 50th birthday :o) So over on the Let's Get Stamping group over on Craftbubble this week it was Karen's turn to host the sketch and her twist was 'wings' and here was her sketch...

And here was my interpretation of the sketch...

I came across the two different types of paper in the DCWV 'Kids' matt stack and it went perfectly with the Rachelle Anne Miller stamped image I had picked...

Very plain sentiment but wanted to use the word 'wishes' as the image was quite magical...

Here you can see where I have glittered and flocked - I reckon I will get obsessed with flocking!!! I wanted to keep the colours complimentary of each other so stuck to pink, green and brown...

Beautiful K&Co Citronella paper flowers...

I added a little pink glitter glue on the red gem to make it less red...

Crafty Recipe...

Paper - DCWV 'Kids' Matt Stack

Glitter & Flocking - Papermania

Flowers - K&Co Citronella

Image - Rachelle Anne Miller (Magic Fairy) coloured with Promarkers

Sentiment - Anita's Peel-offs

Glitter Glue - Glitz It

Ribbon - Stash

I have enjoyed getting back into the swing of things in terms of my card making this past week. I had forgotten how therapeutic it is :o) Anyway, here is to a quick week at work so that the weekend can arrive (and my birthday lol!)

Have a great week!

Much love,

All Creatures Great and Small...

Wow...it's Week 37 over on Passion for Promarkers! I remember entering the challenge in their first week - it only seems like yesterday! Bet the DT has lots of fun each week with their creations! I haven't managed to have a go at their challenge since before I went on holiday but managed to find time this weekend to make a card with their theme - all things great and small - and created a card with one of my new favourite stamps...

The adorable Rachelle Anne Miller stamp using lots of different types of embellishing...

A cute little wooden ladybird to blend in with the 'undergrowth'...

First time for everything - I used glittered flock here for the centre of the flower! Also used my favourite - Azure Smooch Accent Ink for the raindrops...

Some fine glitter on the ladybird spots and Sakura Gelly Roll pen (black) for a faux-stitching effect...

As the backing paper was from DCWV doodling stack, I decided to 'doodle' on various parts of the card, including the Prima flower...

Crafty Recipe...

Main Backing Paper - DCWV 'Doodlin' Around' stack (8 x 8)

Red Square - My Mind's Eye doodled on with Letraset fine black pen

Yellow Square - DCWV 'Citrus' matt stack

Doodling - Sakura Gelly Roll Pen (black)

Image - Rachelle Anne Miller (Lily - My Little Friends) coloured with Promarkers

Embellishing - Azure & Pool Smooch Accent Inks, Papermania Fine Glitter and Glittered Flock

Flower - Prima 'tropical' tin embellished with buttons & Sakura pen

Wooden Ladybirds from stash

That's quite enough of the word 'doodling' it's making me all giggly! I know I set myself three cards this weekend but I reckon I might only be able to do two - I'll see how I go after dinner!

Much love,

Choo choo choo....

I made this card for my friend at work for her godson and the theme was....Thomas the Tank Engine! I know I said earlier in the week that I actually struggle with kid's cards but I had a lot of fun with this one! I came across this image in a mini colouring book and coloured it in with my promarkers and then the rest started to come together...

Close up of the numero uno and the starry border with black glitter dots...

Here's Thomas, complete with steam puffing out of him! I used black brads to make it a bit more 3D...

Sentiment from a transfer pack...

Starry paper from none other than my favourite paper company - DCWV...

Crafty Recipe...

Plain Cardstock - The Paper Mill

Patterned Paper - DCWV, It's All About Boys

Image - Mini Colouring Book (from Sainsbury's!) coloured with Promarkers

Brads and Glitter - Papermania

Glitter Paper - The Flower Factory

Stars - punched out of red cardstock

Steam - cotton wool!

Hope you like it :o)

I've set myself the challenge of doing three challenges this weekend, namely my favourites - Let's Get Stamping group over on CB, Promarker challenge and Anya Challenge. Fingers crossed I manage to do them all....bring it on!

Happy Friday everyone - huge YAY for it being the weekend.

Much love,

Pink Gem Candy

It's Janet's birthday on 27th Feb and to celebrate she is offering this FAB candy - as you know I love Pink Gem so would be a happy girly to win these! Hop over to her blog for a chance to win (thanks Cherry for the heads up :o))

Much love,

The Dragon and the Girl with the Duck...

I've never been one to shy away from bargain corners and sales so when I heard that Pink Gem Designs had 35% off six of their stamps, I couldn't resist! The dragon and Mimi with the Duck were calling me and at £2.93 and £2.57 respectively, how could I turn them down?! They arrived yesterday so here are a few pics of them...

Pink Gem Designs have such a fab stamp range which is v.affordable and even more so when they have these types of offers! They will always hold a special place in my crafty heart as my first prize for a card was a stamp from them :o)

Hmm...now to decide which one to use first!

Much love,

Robot Ramblings...

I think my crafting mojo is finally starting return (that and I have a bit more time on my hands!) so I have managed to make two cards so far this week.

I sometimes find it difficult to make cards that I consider to be 'out of my comfort zone'; cards like male themed cards and kid's cards but I came across one of the packs of stamps I had picked up in the states and just had to use him! I found some matching paper and brads and it all started to come together...I wonder how other people piece together their cards? I guess it is different for every card but first came the stamp, then the paper, then the brads and the rest kinda fell into place after that! Anyway, apologies about the dodgy photos (they were taken in a rush before work this morning!) - here is the finished 'robot' card...

The funky robot and rocket brads...think they set the card off nicely...

The little fella that started it all...

You can see his gem buttons here as well as where I have 'dabbed' on smooch accent ink around the rocket as well as the sentiment to give it a 'rusty' look and drawn green lines to 'accent' (pardon the pun) the edges of the frame - can't get enough of that ink, just so versatile...

Very blurry pic (apologies if it makes your eyes go funny!) of the happy birthday embellishment...I never used to struggle with this part but I do find it difficult to match my sentiments now, think I got away with it here...

Another blurry pic of another one of little robot brads...

Crafty Recipe...

Stamp - Recollections 'Robots' stamped with Memento ink and coloured with Promarkers

Plain Card - The Paper Mill

Patterned Cardstock - DCWV It's All About Boys Matt Stack

Brads - Around the block 'Boys'

Gems and Sentiment - Anita's and Papermania

Ink - Smooch Accent Ink in Green Apple and Pumpkin

So there you have it!

I guess it's good to 'create' out of your comfort zone every once in a while, keeps your ideas fresh instead of repetitive cards!

It's my birthday soon and I've asked for some promarkers (and a wallet) to add to my collection. I love using them and especially love the new colours. I am obsessed with stamps and inks now...I blame my fellow crafters! :o)

Hope everyone is well! I hope to start entering some challenges again now I'm starting to have a bit more free time again! Here's hoping anyway.... ;o)

Much love,

10(ish) minute make...

Good morning all! Hope you had a lovely weekend :o)

My sister gave me the challenge of making a quick engagement card for her friend who had just got engaged. I was short of time anyway and up for a challenge so I managed to make this in just over ten minutes...

I wanted to keep it really clean and simple so I kept it very minimal on the embellishments. This is my first time using vellum and I loved it! I came across this paper by Papermania and thought it would look great on this card...

I 'cheated' a little as the embellishment was pre-made (apart from the white swirls of glitter which I added myself as well as the pearl centre for the flower)...

To add a little personalisation, I stamped 'Shell & Dave' with silver ink and randomly embellished with silver glitter glue...

Crafty Recipe

Papermania Glitter Vellum

Heart Embellishment from Artymiss (although if I had time I would have had a go at making myself as it looks fairly straightforward)

Papermania Fine Glitter
Glitz It Silver Glitter Glue
Silver Ink & Papermania and Studio G Stamps

What do you reckon you can make in 10 minutes?

Much love,

Why I can't stop buying craft stuff....

Hello! Naughty me - haven't posted for a while...again. I made a funky card at the weekend and will try to post it on here later - got to try out one of my many new stamps *yay*

I finally got round to buying some new promarkers yesterday and bought the seasonal packs from Joanna Sheen as they seemed to be the best price per pen. I do think it's quite expensive to buy them as per pen you can pay anything from £1.40-£1.95!

Some of you might have already seen this but I received an email from The Craft Barn to say that Artymiss are no longer trading. I decided to click on through and perused their sale section to find a few bargains! I have picked up some Rachelle Anne Miller stamps (which I have fallen in love with recently!) for about £2.87 each! Postage is very reasonable on this site so I was quite impressed! You can see the range of Rachelle Anne Miller stamps if you click here

Anyway, I'd best get back to work. Hope you are all well!

Much love,

I'm still here...!

Hello all!

Firstly, many apologies for not updating my blog in so so long, I am terribly ashamed but truth be told, I just have not had time in the past month to update it. Naughty me! Thank you to those that contacted me checking I was OK...promise that I am :o)

Right, so I shall update you on the past month......I went to Florida for two weeks on 21st Nov and had such an amazing time! I picked up soooo many goodies which I am desperately trying to find homes for :o) I picked up some more cricut cartridges (including Sesame Street and Disney's cars!) which were on offer at $39.99 (!!!) over the thanksgiving weekend. I saw a Cricut Create on offer in Michaels on Black Friday for....wait for it.....$69.99 - that's about £45! I was very very tempted to fit another in my suitcase but resisted and stocked up on cartridges instead :o)

So I came back on 8th December with Tonsillitus (had to go to doc's in FL - boo!) and was bed-ridden for a few days but was over that within a week. Managed to get back to work and clear my inbox and get back on top of things last week just in time for the Christmas break - kinda can't believe I've been back 3 weeks already! So that's what's been happening in Han world for the past month or so! Busy busy bee. Oh before I forget, I majorly stocked up on my DCWV packs and clear stamp packs in America - cannot WAIT to try them out!!!

I have actually made a few cards including a birthday card for my sister and christmas cards for my family but have not had a chance to upload the pics yet. I'm off work until next Monday so I am hoping to upload them to my blog as well as find time to test out some of my fab new products!! Have I bought anything since I've been back? Oh yes! Gosh, I'm terrible and can't resist a good bargain...I've managed to buy stamps from The Greeting Farm (my excuse - they had free shipping on xmas day), The Glitter Pot (my excuse - they had Forever Friends stamps half price and still do...) and All that Scraps (my excuse - they had Rachelle Anne Miller and C.C. Designs stamps on offer!) I blame my pals at Craftbubble for my addiction to stamps. At least I tend to pick things up cheap e.g. couple of packs of stazon ink pads approx £2, colorbox ink wheel approx £4.50 etc! I managed to pick up a few bargains in my local Hobbycraft too today...must.stop.spending!! Eeek

I really hope everyone had a FANTASTIC Christmas and got some lovely presents (please let me know if you got some craft goodies!) I got some cricut cartridges from my mum and sister, Mr Hannah's mum got me this brilliant pack from Create and Craft as well as a We R Memory Keeper's Mat set (she gave me this last year too and I have worn it out!) Mr Hannah was overly generous and bought my an ipod touch - couldn't believe it, I got all emotional when he surprised me with it!

Right, think that is enough to keep everyone going until I start posting properly again! Hope everyone is well :o)

P.s. My friend had her baby (whilst I was on holiday - 2 and a half weeks premature!) and it was a baby boy which they have named Joseph :o)

Much love,

Boy or Girl...

My lovely friend Zoe goes on maternity leave today (can't quite believe it's come around already) and I was going to make her a nice 'good luck' card but after sifting through my baby embellishments I thought I'd make her a card which I thought would be a bit more 'unique'. As she doesn't know the sex of her new baby, I decided to have some fun and make a boy and girl themed card. This is what I came up with...

I found some epoxy stickers in my stash and thought it would be nice to have the different phrases to match the baby-gro's...

The gorgeous baby-gro's are too cute! I wanted to keep it simple though and not too cluttered...

Some cute felt dummie's with the word 'or' seeing as they don't know whether they are having a boy or a girl...


Recipe...

Paper and Pearls - Papermania
Baby Embellishments and Epoxy Stickers - Paperchase
Cardstock - The Paper Mill
Letters from DCWV Spring Stack

Really hope she likes it! I've got her some lovely baby stuff - hope she likes them too. It's got me terribly broody though - I think I'll keep that from Mr Hannah lol!

Anyway, this is the last from me properly for about two weeks now. I will try and update you in Florida when I can - have a great few weeks! Can't believe it'll nearly be Christmas when I get back. Eeek!

Much love,

Tractor fun...

A friend at work asked me to make a birthday card for her nephew who turns 4 this week. I don't make children's cards very often so it was a chance for me to be extra creative! The brief included a digger or tractor, Joshua's name and the fact the he was going to be 4 years old. This is what I came up with....

I printed the digger on red card and coloured in a few bits with a black promarker. I then used red glitter glue all over and added two googly eyes..

I wanted it to look like the digger was actually saying '4 today'...hope it came across that way...


I kept the lettering simple, almost child-like and also made sure the colours matched colours in the backing paper...

The whole card is quite simple but I didn't want to overcrowd it too much with lots of different sections...


Recipe...

Paper - Kids pack from Dovecraft
Cardstock - Paper Mill
Googly eyes - Hobbycraft
Number and Lettering - DCWV Spring Stack
Blue & Red Glitz It Glitter Glue


I gave it to her yesterday and she seemed to love it which was good! I must admit I did struggle initially but once I picked out the right paper and sorted out the main image I felt much happier. Really hope her nephew likes it too!


I enjoyed making this card in the end as I haven't had the chance to be very creative in the past few weeks :o)


Much love,

My goodness..

...I haven't blogged properly for so long! I feel very bad but to be honest, I just have not had the time which makes me sad! I am all packed for my holiday (check me out!) - I am so excited now as it's only a few days away. I am hoping to pick up some crafty bargains out there :) I have been so so busy over the past month and unfortunately, not much of my time has been spent being crafty.

Hope everyone is well - not much is new with me. Hoping to get my 'exit' date this week at work which will give me something to focus on. Just waiting for that dream job to pop up ;o)

I am trying to finish off a card for a friend at work (4 year old nephew - think diggers, trucks etc) and I am really struggling....so any help or advice would be gratefully received! Thanks loyal followers :)

Until next time....

Much love,

Catch up & Candy...

Hello everyone, just thought I'd drop in to say hello! It's been such a busy two week's at work, especially now I have been confirmed as part of a department which is being made redundant next year. It's all very sad and we're all under an immense pressure at work so it's making life quite difficult! Never mind, I'm a firm believer in everything happens for a reason so I'm confident that something better is out there for me! Perhaps at a Craft Magazine (dream job a'calling!)

Anyway, as some of you know, I am off to sunny Florida in just over two weeks time and I have been busy preparing some surprises for my crafty follower's during the time I am away....

I have not been able to do much crafting recently and have been very good and not bought any new additions to my stash! I am trying to save my money for American goodies which I am hoping to find on my travels :o)

I did stumble across some candy on Susie's blog so go check it out if you can as it ends today at 10pm.

Please keep leaving comments and popping by as I do read your comments!

Much love,