400 Follower Candy

Fancy an extra pressie under the tree, well dont we all? Then pop over to Donna's blog and take part in her 400 follower blog candy give away. You only have a few days to take part, so don't mess about and pop on over here and see what you could win.

The Best of Both Worlds

Candy For The US/Canadian Friends

Candy For The UK Friends

Our lovely friend Enfys who lives 3 months in the UK and then three months in US is showing her generosity again by offering two different sets of blog candy. She has identified that there are things in the UK that US people cannot get for love nor money and vice versa, so she has two sets of candy to give away. If you live outside the US or UK then you are going to be allowed to choose your preference - how lucky is that? Nothing complicated to do, leave a message and if you have a blog post a link - what could be simpler? Go one have a go - you have to be in it to win it! So go one treat yourself to the chance to win visit Enfys's blog here

100 Carts already!

Well another week passes by and we are into the second week of the 100 give away, three more separate weeks to go.

Help Cricut to celebrate their 100th Cricut cartridge—Winter Woodland! That’s right, they have reached 100 cartridges. They’re giving away 100 cartridges over five weeks (20 per week).

Here’s how it will work.

Each week they will be posting a thread. When you respond to the thread you will be entered to win. You can enter once by replying and you can enter a second time by posting on your blog about the celebration and linking back to the cartridge product page.

Here is the link to include in your blog. Once you’ve posted on your blog with the link back you can post again to the thread.

http://www.cricut.com/shopping/ProductDetails.aspx?id=361&s=1&sc=2

Cricut Hits 100

No that is not how old the Cricut is but it is how many carts are produced to work with the Cricut. The Winter Wonderland cart is the 100th and can be found at http://www.cricut.com/shopping/ProductDetails.aspx?id=361&s=1&sc=2

Now you have two opportunities to enter the prize draw one is to sign up to the message board at http://www.cricut.com/messageboard/tm.aspx?m=5248058&mpage=1, the other is to post a link like me telling of the 100 carts that are going to be given away over the next four weeks with a link back to the product and then visit back to the message board and tell everybody you have left a link.

Go on treat yourself and post away, fingers crossed for everybody.

Stephanie's Generosity - Yet More Blog Candy

Stephanie is being really really generous again, she never seems to stop! More lovely blog candy and all you need to do is leave a comment and put a link on your blog if possible but not essential. Pop over and see some of her wonderful designs as well as the glorious blog candy.

Less than a Week To Go

Less than a week to go to stand the chance of winning this brand new cart. There are four different ways in which you can take part to win this cart and Julia will post internationally. Don't miss your chance, you need to be in it to win it. Hurry over now to jujubeesscrapbookcorner. Must make it over before August 21st to stand your chance.

Blog Candy to Win, Last Few Days

This amazing blog candy is up for grabs, just a few days left to take part. Opportunity finishes on August 9th. For your chance to win the punches go over to Paper Crafts by Rach and leave a comment. Sit back and wait to see if you win. Dont forget if you have a blog to post the candy on your blog, in a post or in the sidebar whichever suits you better. Go on you have to be in it to win it!

Christmas Night

I created this scene by taking two of the corner drawings from Lilly-Boo's Boutique and joining them together. I put them into a photo-editing program and flipped one of the images and then placed one behind the other. Once I had them overlapping in a suitable position I grouped the images and then resized them to fit in a 8" x 8" black card from Craftworkcards.

I coloured the images in which were from the Christmassy Corner Collection over at Lilly-Boo's Boutique with Promarkers imaganing the light source to be fairly central.

I then found on my Cricut Christmas cart the moon and the santa sleigh. I cut the moon from some scrap yellow card and then the sleigh is cut in Bazzil Black Tie and outlined with a shadow cut in white.

Rose Invitation

Just a quick post of an invitation I have done for a friend's daughter's 13th Birthday. Her name is Rose. Inside was the details of the day with a tear off portion for the reply. The Roses are from the Indie Cricut Cart and just have the base and one layer of petals, highlighted with glitter and the centres are silver card candy stuck with silicone glue.

Design Team Calls

If you are interested in becoming a Design Team member then there are two chances to do this. There is a call on Polkadoodles for a design team member.

Now also Sam is looking for new design team members on Lilly-Boos Boutique. Her drawings are so scrummy to manipulate and colour, what an opportunity.

Lily-Boo DT call.
We are looking to add to our existing DT.
If you are interested, please send us 3 photos of your favourite work.
Tell us why you would like to be on the design team.
Tell us the address of your blog and any forums that you visit regularly.
In return you will be sent Lily-Boo images to work with and will be expected to produce 3 cards or projects each month, to be shown on the website, and on your blog.
The Design Team term will run for 6 months until February 2010.
Applications to be sent by email to Sam and Louat lucy.daubney@btinternet.comif you could pop'DT CALL'in the subject box that would be a huge help to my spam box!!
closing date 02/08/2009
Good luck!

Well I cant remember who said it, so I cannot give the credit - "you have to be in it to win it". I am having a go so you never know I might be lucky or I might not but one thing for certain if you don't try you dont stand a chance!

Callum's Birthday

Well this was a little bit of an adventure of techniques etc. My son's best friend is having a birthday on Saturday, he is the youngest boy in his year and a totally cheeky little chappy that you can't help but like! This image from Lilly-Boo's Boutique. reminds me so much of him and he pedals around on his bike to the park and to visit friends within his village.
Lilly-Boo's images are great to work with and great value. £1.99 gets you a set of six images that are totally resizeable and could be computer coloured as well as coloured by hand, the choice is yours. Do pop in and have a look at her images there are a couple of freebies so you can try your hand.
The recipe for this card was to colour the image using Promarkers and then cut out the image (still need to work on this cutting out thing!). I then cuttlebugged the 'for a day' and inked it over with a blue inkpad to tone with the backing paper which is from a nursery pad for boys. I also inked a matt white piece of card with the same blue ink pad and also a yellow inkpad and then embossed it with the Happy Birthday cuttlebug folder and pieced the mats together on a white card base. The cut out boy and bike I put on with dimension pads. I did consider in my minds eye using silicone and trying to distort the shape of the front tyre but I thought that might look better in my minds eye and not work out in reality, so being short of time I did not take the risk I played safe.
I would love to hear your thoughts and comments, thanks for dropping in.

Owl Love

This is a hand coloured image from the Owl collection on Lilly-Boo's Boutique. The images come in sets of 6 costing £1.99 for a set. There are 22 collections covering varying different themes. The images can be coloured in by hand - I used Promarkers - or can be coloured and sized in a graphics program.
I am using this card as entry for the 6th Polkadoodle challenge which required a hand coloured image and 'ribbon' made from paper. I did follow the sketch provided by Polkadoodles for inspiration and placed a dry embossed rectangle of self coloured card in the bottom left corner.

Lots of Layering

I had a card to make for my husband's cousin who will be 66 on Tuesday. I thought of using a giant 66 but decided not to. I decided I would make a card using his name. So using Sure Cuts A Lot I created the welded name. I converted this to an .svg, I then created the name with an oblong welded to it and saved as an .svg. I firstly imported the .svg file with the oblong welded to the name and instead of cutting in normal mode I cut it in shadowed blackout. I then converted the image back to normal mode and imported the name .svg. I lined the 2 .svg files up so that I got the sizes right and then deleted the oblong/name welded file. I firstly cut the name.svg in shadow and then cut it again in normal mode. I then pieced all the layers together producing the card at the top of the post. I saved the 66 foir the inside. I cut a small welded 66 and placed that on the inside matted layer.

Cricut Message Board, UK Crafters Thread of the Week Challenge

Each week a challenge is set on our thread and we all offer our version. This week the challenge was from a sketch, the sketch could be twisted or turned but must be recognisable. You can see the sketch at the top of this post.
I have chosen to use pearlised card which does tend to reflect back when you are photographing the card but I hope you can still see sufficient detail. I stamped the sentiment with Stazon ink on matching pink card.
Thank you for keep popping by, I hope you enjoy what you see.

Reached 10,000 Visitors

You have to be in it to win it - or so the saying goes. Pop over to visit Debbi, apart from being quite inspirational she is celebrating 10,000 visitors and is offering some amazing candy but even more could be added as if she reaches 100 followers she will add more candy.
Nothing complicated to do; all you have to do to stand a chance of winning the candy is:-
"Link this candy on your blog - either in a post or on your sidebar, I'm not fussy
Become a follower, if you're not already
leave me a comment on this post, telling me what ONE crafty thing you would buy if money was no object and why.
You may enter only once."
Go on have a go - you never know you could be the lucky one!

UK Crafters MB Swap

A few weeks ago on the Cricut Message Board in the UK Crafters thread a few of us decided to get together and have a card swap. It was decided that we could have it as a handbag or a briefcase or a ruck sack, any bag at all really.
As I decided that men cards' are always difficult I would go for a more unisex look and created a briefcase.

I thought long and hard about the sentiment and decided it was not to be a birthday card so went for 'Thanks', also I had never done any form of a pop-up card so decided to combine the two things together, as can be seen above.
I am so excited to see what the other members send me.

Yet More Blog Candy!

Dont miss this opportunity to win the most amazing quantity of candy, the only variety that will not cause you to put on weight!. What do you have to do? Pop over here, leave a comment and start following the blog - simple enough so take a moment or two to do it.

Polkadoodle Challenge & Brother's Birthday

My brother is a keen gardener and loves fresh flowers. He is a teacher and lives alone in a flat attached to his school but whenever you visit his flat there are always fresh flowers, so I decided to do a floral card for him.
I have been playing with the macro setting on my camera and we have some amazing poppies at the moment, despite the rain so I based my card around one of these poppy pictures. Then I saw this weeks polkadoodle challenge and decided the two projects could be one.
I have used an acetate outer sleeve and placed three flowers on here cut from matching card that have been run through the cuttlebug in the devine swirl embossing folder and then inked. The oval component is the photograph printed on photo paper, then I cut a cardboard section and attached the oval compenent half on the card half above. I had already printed the sentiment on the card prior to printing. I also distortes the image in photoshop and made a background pattern and printed this on vellum and punched the flower out which was attached to the card. The finsihed result is as can be seen in the photograph.
Thank you for popping by and looking at what I have been doing.

Enfys Blog Candy

Look at this amazing candy, it is being given away by our very own globe trotting Enfys on her blog. Not only does she give away amazing candy but she also crafts some amazing cards. Take a moment from your busy schedule and search through her amazing blog. Click here and it will take you straight to the chance to win the candy. All you need to do is leave a comment and post a link from your blog to the competition

Monochromatic Joy Fold Father's Day Card

A monochromatic joy fold card for father's day. A few diamonte added for a bit of sparkle.

Happy Father's Day was created in inkscape and then saved as an .svg file and then imported into Sure Cuts A Lot for cutting.

Father's Day Stubby Diamond Card

On the Cricut message board UK thread, we recently set each other a challenge to create a stubby diamond card. I decided to make mine into a card that could be used for Father's Day. My husband used to enjoy a game of poker when he was young and I believe this is a Royal Flush which is the best hand to have - mind you what do I know about poker - absolutely nothing.

I am afraid there was no use of the Cricut on this; the stubby diamond is created by folding an A4 sheet the playing cards where out of the crackers at Christmas and I computer generated the words 'Dealt the winning hand' and then cut out with a circular punch. The green base representing a card table is that 'foamy stuff' forgotten the name and then I scanned the Royal Flush once I had stuck the cards together and before I stuck them on the card and created a background paper. Then I matted this with red metallic card.

I have had to be sneaky to post this as he often looks in on the blog to see what I have been doing and I want this to be a surprise, but he is on a course this week so too tired to look in and by the time the course is finished Father's Day will have been and gone. Sneaky eh!

This is how to fold the card to achieve a stubby diamond.


I hope you have enjoyed this card and it has sparked some inspiration within yourself. Thanks for popping in and please do keep popping by.

Celebrating First Birthday

Look at this wonderful candy. If you would like a chance to win this candy then pop over to http://katzdesignz.blogspot.com/2009/06/im-in-mood-to-celebrate-candy.html. Leave her a comment and follow her blog, then you will have a chance to win this candy. How simple could that be? Dont miss out make sure you are in it to win it - or at least stand a chance to win it!

Hey guys are you up for winning some blog candy? Well I am so I popped over to http://katzdesignz.blogspot.com/2009/06/im-in-mood-to-celebrate-candy.html. Why dont you do yourself a favour and pop over as well? Here is a preview of what you could win.

Dont forget to leave her a note and follow the blog.

Tri-Shut Card

Men what a problem they are! My brother's birthday and no imagination at all and the time has now run out and I must leap into action. I searched the blogs and saw this idea of a tri-shut card. I searched further and found nice clear instructions on http://craftiblog.wordpress.com/2009/05/12/2009-05-12-5-12-x-11-tri-shutter-card-template/, so I started from here and adapted it a little. This is how the card looks when folded and closed.


Now this is how it looks as you start to open it out.



This is when it is fully opened.



I am totally happy with the mechanics of the card and have created an svg file to cut the base card and also one to cut the separate mats. I have to say I am hoping my brother is more ecstatic over it then I am. I feel the decorating has not got that 'vavoom'! But what can you do for men. I have put a blank mat on the back to actually write our greetings on.

I am left a little flat after burning the midnight oil to get it done as it needs to be in the post today, I would love to hear any constructive comments you all have to make.

Thanks for popping in and looking and listening.

Ocean Waterfall

My latest creation is using the oval ocean images from Lilly-Boo's Boutique. I have used four of the six images and created a waterfall card.

Sorry the lighting is not too good on these pictures but they are quite pastel cards.

More Candy

Can we ever get bored of the chance to win candy? Well it is the only sort of candy that I know of that will not put on weight! Take a look over at http://charmedstamps.blogspot.com/2009/04/little-delectable-blog-candy.html

and participate. if you don't try you can't win!

Polkadoodle Challenge

Polkadoodle is a brand new site and this is my entry for their first challenge. I have never tried a sketch challenge before but after guidance from my friends on the Cricut Message Board Forum, this is my attempt.

This was the sketch:-

I have also used a freebie download from Lilly-Boo's Boutique, again a relatively new site of hand drawn downlaods.

Thanks for taking the time to hop into my blog, especially you half term Mom's where time is a premium. I look forward to reading your comments - if you have a spare moment to make any.

Now if you have another spare moment or two them hop over to Polkadoodle and onto Lilly-Boo's Boutique.

Birth of A New Blog

Today is the birth of a brand new blog. I am not sure how long the labour has been but in recognition of the birth they are giving some lovely candy away. Just look at the picture above.

If you want your chance to win this then pop over to Polka Doodle and leave your comment.

Good luck to those who try.

Birthday Blog Candy

Fellow crafters, take a quick trip over to Passion For Crafts before the opportunity to win this Birthday Candy Runs out. She ships worldwide and the opportunity closes on Saturday 23rd at 10pm (GMT). Go on you never know you could be the lucky winner.

Triangular Challenge

This was my final decision for the trianglar challenge.

I created a bespoke background paper that consisted of interlocking triangles and matted it onto a triangular card base. The background was printed onto a gold shimmery paperstock.

The wrapping on the flowers was cut out as a triangle and the flowers were arranged in a triangular shape.

I had considered also welding the greeting into an overall triangular shape and placing at one of the apex's to the triangle but did not have sufficient time for that, might try that in the future.

I think this could make a masculine card as well if you substituted the flowers with perhaps a drill or a tap or anything masculine.

A Challenge of My Own

Today I was battling with two challenges! One was the challenge set by the UK group on the Cricut Message Board which was to be a card created round triangles. The other was a little more pressing, and that was what sort of card should I make for my husbands aunt who will be 102 on Friday. I needed to make this card and get it in the post, as she lives in Ireland.

Eventually I decided after watching inumerable You Tube videos, for inspiration, that I would have a go at making a pop up card similar to the one shown by the SU stamper Dawn.

I am not sure what she would think to my version and I think there could be room for improvement in the basic design. I was quite pleased with the design but rather disappointed how it wobbles around when you are trying to stand it up and you have to be quite firm to make it stay, still and up. At least I did let her know we had not forgotten how old she was!

Tell you more about my other challenge tomorrow!

I never did get round to making a congratulations card for my friend who has got a new job after a stiff interview. Ah well tomorrows another day.

Lilly-Boo's Butterflies

This is a card I made from an image from Lilly-Boo's Boutique. Lilly-Boo's Boutique is a new blog where beautiful hand drawn images can be found. The artisit's desire is to share her drawing experiences with as wide an audience as possible and she loves to see what people have made with her drawings. She welcomes input and suggestions as to what to draw and lets her mind run wild and what amazing designs she comes up with, suitable for male and female designs.

I have used an unusual approach to this design and I printed the image with a laser printer and then foiled the image with laser foil. I have not chosen to colour the image in but left it as a line drawing. I have cut the base card from the Cricut Wild Card cart and chosen matching silk mirror board to the foiling on the image.

Flower Pot Card

As I said when I first started this blog, it was going to be a journey through crafting and reaching the boundaries never before travelled. With this in mind I have had an attempt at my first flower pot card. I have signed up for a swap with the theme of flower pot cards, so I thought I had better practice one.

I am really quite pleased with the design as a first attempt and I have created an svg file for use with Sure Cuts A Lot for the flower pot itself and the insert. The flowers were made from a punch I have and cutting two layers in different colours and gluing them together. The centres of the flowers are micro beads glued in the centre. I attached the flowers to the insert with dimensionals. I also have a small flower pot punch so used that as decoration on the front.

The trials to get the file to this stage did teach me that I prefer using double sided card which have different colours on each side, as when you fold the top edge over it makes a nice bit of detail to what would be the rim of the pot.

I think though I must invest in some cuttlebug embossing folders to add texture and another dimension.

Now to think what I shall attempt next!

Fantastic Invitation and The Chance of Blog ........

This morning, whilst having my quiet cup of tea, before the kids and DH get up I discovered a brand new blog. They are having a fantastic relaunch to celebrate their first birthday. I hear you all impatiently saying which blog is it - well without further chat it is Dottie's World. She has a fantastic invitation

As well as this impressive invitation there is blog to give away by the ton or should I now be putting tonne? If anybody is lucky enough to win the candy they will truly be busy, their crafting area will be overflowing with wondeful products. They say a picture paints a thousand words so scan over all this wonderful candy.

Get your creative mojo working and follow this Dollie's blog, you could be the lucky winner!

Thanks

Well I would like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has left kind comments on this new blog. I am sorry I have nothing new to add but I do appreciate the kind comments it does give me a lovely warm glowey feeling. Mushy I know but true.

Can anybody tell me if I need to alter a setting so that the comments appear underneath the posting rather than in a link that you have to click on to read them.

Journey to the Centre of Crafting

Today begins documenting my journey through crafting using a Cricut Expression and the resulting items. I have crafted for many years and many sorts of crafting from nail art, through bobbin lace, through crochet, through knitting and eventually met card making some 5 years or so ago. My children also enjoy many of these crafts. So let us start the journey together, I can take constructive criticsm on the chin as I believe this is the only way to improving. I tend to have a neat and tidy, pretty, precise type style and I am not really into rustic rough and tumble designs - but let us see that may change.

When possible I will post designs, files etc for purchase at a nominal price through PayPal but first I have to learn how to do that!