Happy Anniversamoon Hubby!!

Today is our 5th wedding anniversary and yesterday we celebrated 10 years together.

So today we are returning to our Honeymoon destination in Mexico for a special Anniversamoon!

Where did 10 years go?

Here's a little breakdown..
- 3 operations
- 13 weddings
- 2 funerals
- 2 christenings
- 18 birthday parties (and that's just ours!)
- 32 holidays
- 5 TV's
- 1 Car
- Too many dinner and drinkies outings to list
- Several nights out raving with the Wife (Lemon)
- 1 Nephew
- 1 Niece
- 4 laptops / 3 desktops / 3 tablets
- 5 game consoles / 3 handheld game consoles
- 2 moves
- 1 new kitchen
- 1 semi-new bathroom
- 1 window installation
- 1 repaint of the flat
- 3 boilers
- 12 craft fairs (hubby stays up with me when I get stressed out)
- 2 engagement rings :(
- 1 30th Birthday
- 1 40th Birthday
- 1 STEN
- 3 Hip-Hop gigs
- 1 Olympic BBall final
- Numerous living room / hallway dance parties
- 10 Christmasses
- 2 Hubby related craft challenge wins (x1 anniversary and x1 valentine's day cards)
- 5 cats

There are obviously a million other things that I simply can't list. It has been a ridiculously fun 10 years - there have been laughter and tears, but both make us an invincible force against the world!

Sam..you are my Lobster and thats a FACT not a FAKT :)

Cx

10 years...

Hi,

Today Hubby and I have been together 10 years!!

Tomorrow we have been married 5 years and are heading to Mexico on our 'Anniversamoon'..I will save the gushing for tomorrow's post.

Today I wanted to show you the card I made Hubby for our 10th anniversary :)

Obviously being a card maker means that Hubby gets 2 cards..lets see if I get a card at all..ha ha

I looked at all kinds of ideas for a 10th anniversary card, but nothing was really inspiring me. Just as I was about to get all conventional, my letter/number stamps by Papermania fell off of a shelf and hit me on the head = inspiration.

I used the number stamps to stamp '10' all over the backing paper. I had already chosen the purple card blank, so used colours that toned with this.

I then stamped the Heidi Swapp 'I like totally love you' onto vellum (ooh fancy), added some embossing powder and heat embossed it. You can't see it that well in the photo, but the sentiment is slightly shiny against the vellum.

I am very pleased with this card - it's very Hubby - he likes my CAS cards and whilst this isn't truly CAS it's clean enough for him to like it.

Tomorrow you get the smushy post, but here's a little bit of smush for you.

I love being a crafter, it relaxes me and relieves the stress of my job. Hubby has been my no.1 fan all the way through, he has been patient and kind and generous about all this craft crazy and my ever expanding stash.... He has stayed up late into the night keeping me company when I am prepping for a craft fair, he has offered critiques of my cards and encouraged me to enter competitions / challenges and the like.

It's just one of the many ways that he supports who and what I am and I love him for that.

Cx

Pink Petticoat Laurels...

Hey,

As you know I have been making a 'selection box' of cards for our personal Christmas cards.

I have been using as much of my Christmas stash as I can. My stash got a little boost this week, as both my MIL and SIL bought me things from the UK for my stash that are Christmas related - so nice of them.

I love Pink Petticoat, especially the Christmas items. I used the Christmas Laurels for the cards I am showing today.

As per Liz's wonderful examples, I didn't colour them in perfectly and I used a few pinks and blues that are a bit non-traditional. I added lots of lovely bling to them.

They have turned out so pretty, I don't want to give them up :)

Here are a few more examples and a close-up of the bling.

I am really enjoying making lots of different cards. I've also decided to take them to Mexico and start writing them out.

Cx

Runway Inspired...

Hi,

Hope you all had a great weekend.

We have had an action packed one with my MIL and SIL here.

Hubby and I also went to a very fancy 25th Anniversary celebration - we felt very NYC fabulous :) It also meant that we got to catch up with JT's parents.

Today I am entering the Runway Inspired challenge.

You get an image from the runway and you have to turn it into a project.

This week's DT was so inspiring - I had to enter. Gayatri Murali's card really made me swoon and I told her I wanted to be on her Christmas card list. Guess what...she replied and I am now :) Isn't blogland a warm and friendly place!

I am very pleased with my card, I used black and red papers in various finishes to mimic the stripes and dug out my Sizzix Reindeer die for the finishing touch. I die cut the Reindeer in glossy photo paper for a bit of added shine.

I am adding this card to my personal Christmas stash and I might even make a few more.

Cx

Ugly Sweater...

Hey,

Do you ever get that feeling that your conversations are being recorded? No..just me then?

Well several weeks ago JT and I had a Skype playdate and she showed me some cool papers that she wanted to make into Christmas sweaters / jumpers for cards. Only problem was she didn't have a die and didn't want to handcut them.

So I looked around for her to no avail.

Then after my birthday SimonSaysStamp released their 2014 Christmas range and these beauties were part of it -

So I bought x2 sets - one for me (thanks to my in-laws bday gift) and one for JT (currently somewhere over the Atlantic). It's like SSS overheard us and granted our wish.

As you can see from the main card, I have been having fun with this set. I got my colouring inspiration from Audrey @ Pink Originals - the tags she made with the set are awesome and fun.

Here are a couple more (I made 12 in total) -

Ugly Sweater + Star Brads

Ugly Sweater + Wreath stamp

These cards were fun to make and really make me smile and I hope the recipients feel the same way.

Hope you have all had a good week, one of my high points came when I discovered Gayatri Murali's blog and now she's sending me one of her gorgeous cards!

Have a great weekend! Hubby and I are most excited as his Mum and Sister arrived tonight for 5 days, so it's going to be an action packed one!

Cx

Moving Along With The Times..To Someone Special..

Hey!

Its time for a new challenge with Team B over at Moving Along With The Times.

This week our hostess Shell is asking us to make a card 'To Someone Special'.

I really struggled with this theme for some reason?! Then a lightbulb went off and I made the beauty you see here for my Aunt.

My Aunt Connie aka AC, is totally crazy, cool and adorable. I often send her my challenge makes, as they can be a bit unusual and she seems to love them.

So this little card is just for her, for Christmas. I used an ancient Woodware wreath peel-off and then decorated it using bling, pearls and Stickles glitter glues in gold, red and turquoise.

The sentiment was from another set of peel-offs and the leaves are from the wreath sheet.

I had forgotten how much I love the wreath peel-offs. Isn't it great to rediscover parts of your stash!

Come and play along with us over at MAWTT and check out the fabulous creations by the other Team B ladies.

Cx

WOYWW #281...Counting the days...

Hey,

I missed you WOYWWer's last week and I was too tired in the evening to visit you all.

I am looking forward to some desk nosying this week.

Get yourself over to Julia's blog Stamping Ground if you want to find out what I am talking about and join in!

So I have 7 more working days until Hubby and I head to Mexico!! Yay!! On Friday my MIL and SIL - awesome! Fun times ahead.

The angle of my desk is most weird, but I wanted you to see everything! It's been Christmas a go go at my desk recently, which has been lots of fun since I decided to make a 'selection' box of cards to use as our personal cards. I am using lots of my Christmas stash and its fun. I've been playing with alcohol inks, so you can see offcuts from that.

Generally my desk is pretty tidy - I always seem to accumulate piles of 'stuff'. Honestly I have no idea how it happens..am I alone here? Does this happen on your desk?

Here is a little card for you and JT (she's in Kansas, so no peeking) -

JT and I have this crab/moose/lobster thing - can't explain it. So when I made a oops with the bottom square (watercolour through a stencil) I covered it with a crab, added Dude in blingy letters and BOOM a card for JT...ha ha.

I'll see you all later - after work.

Cx

Squirrel tag...

Hey,

I skipped a post yesterday..not like me..but I had to work on Sunday and it kind of confused me!

No matter, here I am with a little challenge entry ;)

It's the second time I am joining up with Tag You're It! The inspiration piece is gorgeous -

The main card today is my second attempt at it! I managed to salvage the DCWV Squirrel - its from a Woodland box of chipboard with Bears, Beavers, Owls, trees, frames and other goodies - I love them all and use them sparingly - I got the box on sale :)

The tag, background paper and Leopard print tab are all from the same paper pack by Recollections. I really love the backing paper, I like the way it has a distressed feel to the edges. I die cut the tag using a Sizzix Tim Holtz die.

I smudged some white ink onto the backing paper, so my sentiment would pop out better and I am pleased with the result. The sentiment stamp is by Technique Tuesday. I added a brown pearl, because I love even lo-key bling!

In the end the whole card came together really quickly, which is often the way with a second attempt!

Cx

New Technique...

Hey,

As we all know I am a technique / tool junkie..its an addiction and I need help :)

Recently I was on YouTube watching videos (enabling me to purchase more!!) and I came across this video -

It blew my mind..

I have been spending my birthday money on lots of new goodies - alcohol inks were on the list, so I thought I'd have a go.

I am really happy with the 2 cards I made, the inks look awesome on the acetate and it made me brave enough to play with them on other paper as well - more on that later in the week.

The headline card today was made by cutting a 3x3 square section of my acetate creation and attaching to the card with mini staples. I die cut fabric circles and added a blingy fabric flower, that I removed from a paperclip (image below shows what they normally look like) -

I am pretty pleased with the die cutting of the fabric - this a new one for me - finally putting the Big Shot to the test!

Here is my second card - very simple - in part because I LOVE the patterns that I ended up with.

They are a little bit weird / unusual, but I think they are fun.

Cx

CASE..Early card rework...

Hey,

Happy Saturday, hope you are having a great weekend. Hubby and I are just chilling out.

So I was looking for something on my blog the other day and I came across this -

Not too bad for an early card / challenge entry. This is the sketch it was based on

I really liked the sketch, so I thought why not rework it...

As you can see from the main photo I switched things up a bit and turned the sketch on it's side. I kept the papers simple (the fancy moustache paper is by PinkPetticoat) and added a die-cut moustache instead of 3 little elements. I am enjoying this new topsy turvy sentiment stamping thing! Shame I smudged it...

I quite like the new version and despite the smudge it is going to someone for their birthday.

Cx

Clealy Besotted..Christmas..

Hey,

So whilst perusing a few blogs the other night I stumbled across Clearly Besotted Stamps challenge blog.

As luck would have it, my first set of CB stamps had just arrived (thanks Lemon) and I decided I would play along with their current challenge - Christmas. Here is Stephanie's (the owner) card -

Gorgeous..

The whole challenge was very inspiring as I have been wrestling with Christmas card ideas this year. Thanks to the challenge I decide that I would use a variety of my Christmas stash and not just stick with one design for all of my cards.

It makes it more fun for me!

So..my card for the challenge is fun and random and is the first for my personal Christmas cards. I only have one set of CH stamps - Apple of my eye! So I decided to use one of the apple and leaf stamps over a Pink Petticoat Christmas sentiment. The sentiments are lovely and so easy to use.

I added some bling, but kept it simple - I LOVE it...now who can I bear to give it to :)

Cx

New Challenge Blog..Retro Rubber..

Hey!

No WOYWW for me this week - instead an announcement...

From the 4th of November there is a new challenge blog coming your way - Retro Rubber and I will be part of their first DT - how awesome is that!!

Retro Rubber is run by 2 very cool ladies - Jane and Katie. There are also some very talented ladies on the DT and I am super thrilled to be working (playing..) with them..

The rules for Retro Rubber are pretty simple -

• Use older stamps. We suggest stamps older than 1 year. 
• Follow the challenge given for the week. 
• Post your creation to your blog or online gallery. 
• Link back to the blog using the InLinkz by the due date. 
• Enter as many times as you like. 

Challenge Due Dates will be the 2nd Friday after the challenge is posted.

The idea of the challenge really appealed to me, I have so many neglected 'older' stamps that deserve an outing.

In honor of the new challenge and me being part of the team - my main card uses stamps that are 14 months old - they are by American Crafts and were one of the first things that I bought craft wise after we relocated to NYC!

Hope you will play along with us on the 4th of  November.

Cx

Playing with new dies..

Hey,

Ever since I saw Marion Vagg's work earlier in the year (she is my fave craft crush 2014), I have wanted the MFT Die-namics chevron dies that she used on some of her cards, I tried to recreate the same feel using Silhouette cut files, but it isn't as easy as using the dies.

So I used some of my SSS vouchers that I got for my birthday to purchase them -

I was most excited about playing with my new dies. So I cut a bunch of strips whilst Skyping Lemon on Sunday.

The card you see here is for a friend and I kept it simple to showcase the chevrons. I decided to use a Technique Tuesday Hello die in the same colours for the sentiment.

These dies have so many possibilities...I can't wait to play with them more.

Cx

Simon Says...Watercolour..

Hey,

Hope you all had a great weekend. I had fun out and about in NYC with various friends. It was great to see my friend Steph and hang out with her.

I have some exciting news to share, but can't do it until Wednesday..

Talking of Wednesday, this weeks SSS Wednesday challenge is 'Watercolours'

I decided to use a Silhouette cut file and settled on the fun 'Happy Bird-Day' - its actually the front of a card file, that I modified.

I used a Prang watercolour palette (red and purple) and a flat 1/2inch brush. I went over the background with a wink of stella brush for a bit of shimmer. I added a bit of bling for some extra sparkle.

It was only after I photographed my card that I realised it was quite similar to a card by Jo on the DT - great minds think alike! The funny part is, I actually cut the file in black, but couldn't get it to pop against the watercolour background.

I am really pleased with my card - I''m happy that I left the raw edges of the background and didn't tidy it up.

Cx

Moving Along With The Times....Doggone It!

Hey,

It's time for Team B over at Moving Along With The Times, this week.

Susan has chosen a theme of 'Doggone It' - dogs or any other animal.

I decided to use a Croc, heart and birdie stamp that I have - no idea where it came from!! I coloured the stamp using Promarkers.

As the stamp was digital I added a border and the sentiment before printing it out.

I chose a green card blank and green spotty papers to compliment the croc.

Great card for a great couple.

For more inspiration from Team B and to join in the fun this week, pop over to MAWTT.

Cx

WOYWW #279..Post Number 200...

OMG!!

I can't believe it - I have posted 200 times in 2014!! This was a goal set for me, by me, for no real reason other than trying to see if I could do it.

I try and do 5 posts a week - generally during the week - because I am making the stuff for the posts over the weekend :)

Anyway, super pleased with myself - now on to WOYWW..time for the hop over to our wonderful hostess Julia's blog Stamping Ground to nose at desks, say hi to friends and have a bit of fun.

My desk this week is at peace...a stack of things from Michaels - card blanks,  Heidi Swapp mini stencils, x2 mat stacks - one corrugated, one canvas, both in bright colours..I feel an idea forming :) I treated myself to a self-inking stamp for the back of my cards - its on my desk and I am also using it as a watermark on my photos. There is also a glass of effervescent orange..I feel a lurgy coming...trying to head it off.

Here's a little card for you WOYWWer's made with one of the new Heidi Swapp stencils -

How cute is the stencil?! I like the smudgey chalkboard feel to it - I used Black Soot distress ink and a mini dauber. It needed an embellishment, so I added 2 hearts with a mini staple.

See you in the comment, nosying zone laters.

Cx

Transport it!..

Hey,

I do love Simon Says Stamp - the majority of my birthday goodies have been procured via SSS.

I also love their challenge blogs. This week I am entering the Wednesday Challenge - which has a theme of Transport It!

I decided to make use of scraps / offcuts that were on my desk..

The gingham paper was left over from another project, the hexagon stencil piece was made using modelling paste and glitter glue and is an offcut from a bigger piece. The blue paper was under my keyboard!! The bike was stamped onto a piece of a flyer and die-cut.

Here's a list of the things I used -
paper - recollections
die/stamp - hero arts
stencil - tim holtz
modelling paste - pebeo
glitter - papermania
sentiment die - wplus9

Totally overjoyed at my recycling / scrap using efforts of late. I love this card, the modelling paste / stencil piece, makes it a bit less twee..

Cx

Cutting Edge Challenge..

Hi,

Hope you had a good weekend.

We had a pretty quiet one here in NYC. I broke out my sewing machine and altered a few items in my pile and finished a skirt I have been working on.

We also managed to Skype Hubby's Sister and our Niece and Nephew on Sunday AM, which is always fun. My SIL will be here towards the end of the month, so we are quite excited.

I recently found The Cutting Edge Challenge - related to all things die-cut (electronic and manual). This week's inspiration piece made me really want to enter -

I considered using a camera, but decided against it - didn't want to just replicate the inspiration.

I used a newish EK Success brickwork punch for the left hand border and attached it to an orange card base, so the pattern would pop. I die cut a telephone using my Silhouette Portrait and stamped the sentiment by WPlus9.

I love this card, so simple. I'm thinking I could replace the phone with animals, fruit, other objects?

Have a great Monday.

Cx

Tag You're It...

Hey,

So whilst I was working on a challenge entry, I stumbled across another challenge blog - Tag You're It...

Seeing as I have just purchased a tag die, I thought it would be fun to enter and the inspiration piece is so gorgeous.

I used paper scraps for both tags, the star was stenciled using my new SSS mosaic stars stencil. I used a mixture of sparkle and white embossing powder. I kept the sentiment simple by using peel-offs and added bling for a fun touch. The ribbon was a gift from JT. The star paper is by Pink Petticoat and I thought it worked really well here.

Happy with this little impromptu tag card.

Cx

4 More to go...

Hey,

So yesterday was a great day for me - stupid busy at work, but I got a surprise induction into the 100% club - which recognises employees that give 100% all of the time. It made me feel all fluffy!!

The post title refers to the fact that I am only 4 posts away from this years goal of 200 posts!!! How on earth did that happen, it makes me so happy.

Today's card is one I made for the card swap that I do here in the US with a group of fellow crafters organised by SuperStampGirl - whom I met via WOYWW.

I re-purposed a previous idea, as I really enjoyed making it and thought that it would be great to do it again with a different colour palette.

Here I used a Recollections patterned card base, corrugated card for the heart, Bo Bunny graphic stamps, sequins, bling, Woodware heart punches and a Hero Arts sentiment stamp.

Cx

WOYWW #278..Thank you Julia...

Hi,

Hope you are all well..

I'm saying thank you to Julia because without her and WOYWW I wouldn't all these wonderful people via blogland - they have sent me cards, gifts and emails to help me celebrate my birthday. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy!

If you want to feel warm and fuzzy too then pop over to Julia's blog Stamping Ground and join in the desk nosying, friend making fun!

My desk is a bit messy for me..lots of stamps out (lots more coming too - oh how I love birthdays!!) - you know its nearly Christmas when the glitter paint is out...the wooden bling or whatever you want to call them are causing me issues - I want to use them, but they don't seem to like my ideas...

Here's a couple of photos from my birthday outing - first to a rooftop bar where I got a Planet Claire to drink!

My drink co-ordinates with me!

Hubby and Me - Rooftop Selfie

Yum - me at Red Lobster with my dinner..

Finally, no card this week - too cray cray at work, but here is a sneak preview of something I am working on. The glitter (make it larger) was added using a wink of stella brush pen.

See you later WOYWWers

Cx