13 years later...

Hey,

So today is the anniversary of my first date with Hubby and tomorrow is our 8th Wedding Anniversary!

I can't actually believe that we have been together for 13 years!

2017 has seriously tested us, complications from my surgery and losing our beloved baby Archibald, it's not been an easy year.

But this is when you know you have the right person, because no matter what we have experienced this year, we have still managed to find the happy side of life.

When I think of Sam I think of the word crazy! Because together we have so much crazy fun, infact we have so much fun that if you go out with us and survive our friends call it 'Being Granthamed'.

I genuinely love our life together, we always manage to weather storms in our life together with humor and booze, that's a great way to live life.

The photo today was taken just after we were declared married and we are walking back up the aisle, the couple we are laughing with are my Aunt and Uncle - which pretty much sums up our wedding day. Laughter.

Happy Anniversary baby, you are my Lobster (but I'd still trip you if Zombies were chasing us).

Cx

Trick or Treat: Smell My Feet...

Hey,

So we are in Tampa right now and today we are off to watch the Panthers v Buccs - can't wait!!

I made a TON of Halloween cards before I felt, but I foolishly did not photograph them all!

I thought I would share a couple that I did remember to take a photo of..

Main card today uses a Unity Stamp Co stamp - love the little girl in the dino costume, I would so wear a Dino costume if I did Halloween dressing up! The sentiment is by AMuse Studio.

The next card uses a stamp Cheiron gave me last year -

I love it, I use the ruder b*tch please version ALL the time.

I created a resist with the stamp, using white heat embossing and then I blended Cracked Pistachio and Wilted Violet Distress Oxide inks over the heat embossing (thank you Jenn Shurkus for this technique).

I AM so happy with the end result. I love these manilla tag, blending is a dream on them and I think this makes the perfect entry to the current MAWTT challenge - Tags or Charms.

Cx

Christmas Card 2017: Unity Stamps I tolerate you...

Hey,

So as this posts I am probably getting up to get ready to head to the airport for our trip to Tampa.

Showing you more of my Christmas Card makes. This stamp is also by Unity Stamp Co, strangely it is called 'I tolerate you'...

I loved the image and it's obviously very easy to colour, so you can produce a fair few cards quite quickly.

I added a sentiment and some glittery dots to finish the cards off.

I love easy makes like this, still very pretty, but really not a lot of work, which means I can spend more time making cards like yesterdays ones!!

Cx

Christmas Card 2017: Unity Stamp Co Christmas Bicycle..

Hey,

Happy Friday.

I am very excited today, as Hubby and I are off to Tampa tomorrow morning to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary and 13 years together!! I need some sunshine!

I am also excited as I have officially finished all my Christmas cards - whoop whoop, under 3 months for 130 cards..not bad going.

I actually find it way easier to create cards in little batches and this year with the MISTI on my team it's been a dream.

The cards today are one of my faves, I fell in love with the stamp by Unity Stamp Co last year, but it was too late to use it for my 2016 makes.

The stamp is quite a lot of work to colour, but SO worth it.

I still have a few more cards that I made for Christmas that I am going to continue to share with you.

Have a great weekend, everything will be scheduled until I get back on Thursday..

Cx

Birthday Scenes...

Hey,

Last weekend I was basically housekeeping my desk, filing and labeling and organising.

During this process I had some ideas for my new AMuse Studio 'Go Hog Wild' stamp set..

I made the 'Go Hog Wild' card first and liked it so much that I pulled out another stamp set that I thought would work with this 'scene' treatment - 'Bunny Hugs' by Unity Stamp Co.

The Bunny card uses all the weird toadstools and flowers from the set and I fussy cut the Bunny. I added an already cut and coloured bird by Lil Inkers.

The final card uses stamps from 4 sets by 4 different companies!! The grass I created using a stem from a Simon Says Stamp set, the Chicken is by Avery Elle, the flowers are by Lawn Fawn and finally the Cow and sentiment from AMuse. Phew!

It was really fun to pull out all these things and play, my desk was an epic mess..

I really like these weird little scenes, I need to do this more, it's especially handy for using all those tiny little stamps you get in sets.

Cx

Less is More..Monsters..

Hey,

So whilst I was nosying through some blogs last weekend I came across a new to me challenge - Less is More.

Imagine my delight when I saw their cue card this week -

A MONSTER theme!!! Now we all know how much I love Monster stamps..

I decided to use my newest monsters by Reverse Confetti (Monsterous) and continue my masking theme.

The challenge is all about being CAS, but white space doesn't have to be white - right?

I die-cut a black panel of card and masked off my circle (using white ink). I stamped the sentiment into the masked off circle and coloured / die-cut my Monster and added him just above the sentiment.

This was a bit of an experiment, using black as the clean space and I really like the end result, as the brightly coloured Monster really pops here.

I will totally be playing along with this challenge again!

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #74.. Sketch time..

Hey,

Welcome to another fantastic Retro Rubber challenge.

This theme is one of my faves..I do love a sketch!

I was stuck for a while, I tried a few things and then decided on a Yeti in Palm Fronds. Yes it is official I have gone mad!! Yeti's live in the cold!!

Anyway, I blended the background on Tim Holtz woodgrain watercolour paper, I love this paper, this is my fave look, when you lay a baby wipe down and pat it a bit, you kind of get snow?

Then I die-cut the finished panel to size and then added the handcut triangles.

I popped my stamped, cut, coloured Yeti under one of the 'Fronds' and then stamped the sentiment, I love this stamp set, it is by Lawn Fawn and I've had it since 2014. It was my first Yeti stamp and I use it a lot.

I love the end result, he's a bit weird and that's ok.

Check out what my awesome teammates have made over at Retro Rubber and show us your interpretation of the sketch.

Don't forget to use a stamp older than a year on your project and tell us all about it, that is a big part of the Retro Rubber fun. Also please feel free to combine our challenge with others, but keep it to a maximum of 10 challenges including ours.

Challenge ends on October 24th.

Cx

Rockstar birthday...

Hey,

Happy Monday.

I had great fun being back at my desk last week and I bashed out a couple of birthday cards for late October people.

This one is for a friend's Son and I am super pleased at how versatile the Brutus Monroe Rockstar Pets stamp set is proving to be.. I have already used it to make a thank you card.

As this one is for a teen boy, I thought it should be a bit funky. The happy die is by Little B and I bought the set off of Cheiron in her clear out. I like to add staples to 'man' cards, I feel like it gives them a bit of an edge?!

I like the contrast of the imagery against the kraft card blank.. I love these card blanks..I ration them.

Cx

Happy 50th Birthday...

Hey,

Happy Sunday to you.

My good friends Karen and Brant turn 50 this month, I actually hooked them up, they met at my 30th birthday party..14 years ago.

I made them both fun cards, but I am only showing you Karen's as I forgot to take a photo of the one for Brant!

I love the sentiments in my new A-Muse Studio Fierce stamp set. So I hatched a plan...

First I die-cut the numbers using sparkly silver card that is ancient and came from Poundland! I love these number dies, gifted to me by Cheiron in her great 2017 craft room clear out. They are getting some serious use.

I masked off part of the badass sentiment and went looking in my stash for 'and' ugh (I found one by Neat & Tangled).

I chose a purple card base, as the whole thing is very neutral I thought a flash of colour would be nice.

I think I'll be making more of these..especially as I know where to find 'and'...

Today Hubby and I are cooking and baking - him cook. me bake. And then we'll be doing a whole load of sitting whilst watching NFL..I LOVE Football season.

Cx

Sketch Saturday #486 Celebrate with DSB...

Hey,

Happy Saturday to you and welcome to the latest sketch for the Sketch Saturday challenge.

Our sponsor this week is DSB and they are offering £10 gift certificate for their store.

Here's the sketch...

When I saw this sketch I thought New Year Pup would work really well.

I die-cut the shape for the front of the card using a fun rounded window xCut die that I rarely use, so I was glad it got an outing. I coloured the Pup using Promarkers. I chose a glittery star to add a bit of shimmer to my card and the sentiment banner is a punch by Stampin Up.

I can't wait to see what you do with the sketch, but first check out what the rest of the DT have made over at Sketch Saturday.

Challenge ends 27 October at 7pm GMT / 2pm EST

Cx

CASology..Sorry I'm Late..

Hey,

Happy Friday!

I haven't played along with a challenge in a while.. travelling and birthday stuff kinda got in the way.

This week's CASology cue, had me reaching for a fave stamp set..

The Avery Elle 'I'm Sorry' set is obviously perfect for this challenge.

This week I have been doing a lot of masking and thought I would continue the trend here. I masked off a small circle area on my white card and used Broken China distress ink and then spritzed it to get the splattery pattern you can see.

I stamped and coloured Mr Snail and popped him up for a bit of dimension, I added a drop of gold stickles to his bobble for some sparkle.

It turns out that I forgot someone's birthday, so I think I know where this is going!

Have a great weekend, you'll find me in the gym, brunching with Hubby, at my desk and on the sofa watching NFL.

Cx

Christmas Card 2017: Inkadinkado Flamingos..

Hey,

So whilst I was in London I managed an evening of stamping and colouring.

I stamped a lot of Christmas card stuff and this week I have been turning them into cards.

I bought this fun set by Inkadinkado last year in the post-Christmas sale at Michaels and I mainly bought it for the flip-flops, chair and the Flamingo.

I stamped the Flamingo onto watercolour paper and coloured them using Zigs and a paintbrush.

I die-cut them out using a MFT stitched rectangle die and added a sentiment to the bottom of the panel. I decided to get fancy and heat emboss the Simon Says Stamp Flamingo background stamp directly onto the card blank!! Don't worry I only make in fours..this would be a lot of effort for 100+ cards!

I like the end result, totally random, but a lot of fun.

I also made a slightly different more Christmassy version -

Cx

PaperArtsy Thank You..

Hey,

So my parents gave me a bit of money for my birthday.

I used it wisely -

I got a bit of PaperArtsy envy when I saw Cara's haul from the stamp show she went to...so I invested my bday money in some new PaperArtsy stamps, along with some goodies from Avery Elle and Reverse Confetti.

I decided to use some of my new stamps to make a Thank You card for my parents.

I combined two of the Zini's, I had seen a similar idea and liked it, it's also a great way to get more out of your stamps.

Here is a in progress shot -

I masked the 'Dog' Zini off and stamped the flower. Ages ago I did an online card class about Masking and it has been one of the most useful classes I have ever done.

I coloured the stamps using Distress Inks and a paintbrush, I added a Simon Says Stamp sentiment and decided not to add anything else and let the image be the hero.

I made 4 of these, some without a sentiment, so that I can use them for other things.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #73 Boo! There is still time to play..

Hey,

There is still time for you to play along with the current Retro Rubber challenge.

It's a Halloween theme...Halloween is very popular here in the US 

Check out the DT inspiration over at Retro Rubber and show us your Halloween makes.

Don't forget to use a stamp older than a year on your project and tell us all about it, that is a big part of the Retro Rubber fun. Also please feel free to combine our challenge with others, but keep it to a maximum of 10 challenges including ours.

Challenge ends on October 20th.

Cx

Let's get spooky...

Hey,

Happy Monday to you!

So it is really nice to be home and I managed to get to my desk a fair bit yesterday in amongst all the NFL watching..

I came home to this awesome stamp and die set by Reverse Confetti - they were part of my birthday gift from my parents.. obviously I chose the Monster set!

I don't actually get why Halloween is so big here in the US, but it gives me an excuse to a) own unnecessary Halloween stamps and b) send happy mail to my people.

I made a background using the Pumpkin lantern stamp and coloured it with Promarkers. I watercoloured the Monsters and die-cut them out and added some stickles here and there.

Simple and fun to make, so good to be back at my desk.

The tag die is by Simon Says Stamp and is out on my mini magnetic wall so that I can use it. I have been pulling out dies that don't get used and adding them to this little wall of mine, so that they get more use!

Here's a pic of the 'wall'

Basically just x3 magnetic panels affixed to my expedit, so that my most used dies can be out on display and easy to hand.

Cx

Farewell London..Hello NYC...

Hey,

So after 2 weeks in London, Hubby and I are finally on our way home.

We have new visas, are slightly tired, but have had a hoot working in the London offices of our firms and hanging out with our friends and family.

One of the reasons I was back in London was for my Companies annual offsite meeting. The main photo today shows me dressed as a Pineapple...very long story, but to keep it short,  I was in the yellow team (vibrant, outgoing personalities) and as a team we had to create a symbol that represented our colour.

We chose a Pineapple and we only had balloons to create it and we needed a base for the balloons..this is where I came in.

I LOVE Pineapples, so imagine my delight and I thought I really did look like a Pineapple.

Here is another fun photo from the party afterwards, of me, my NYC buddy and colleague Nicole and George from the London office.

Cx

Prima Princess: Zara

Hey,

I thought I would show you another one of the great Prima Princesses that I have been colouring recently.

They are so much fun to colour and I previously showed you Alexis.

This is Zara and I LOVE her hair, obviously I still have some work to do on my skin tones, but I think I nailed the flowers here.

I am really enjoying working with a traditional paintbrush v a aquabrush (has a water reservoir). Using a variety of brush widths I am mastering detail and shading much better.

More of these beauties to come.

Cx

Rockstar thanks...

Hey,

Hubby and I have a great friend called Hazel and she made our wedding invites.

She is a prolific bobble hat knitter and when I saw no.70, I fell in love!

Isn't he gorgeous?! So Hazel sent him to my parents house and I picked him up on Sunday and I have been wearing him ever since.

I had to make an impromptu thank you card for the hat and as I happened to bring my new Rockstar Pets stamp set by Brutus Monroe with me, I thought it would make a fun card for Hazel.

I stamped the Bulldog from the set onto a watercolour postcard and coloured him using Distress Inks.

Love the card made in with limited supplies in my makeshift craft 'space' and the hat is just too gorgeous for words.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #73.. Boo!

Hey,

Welcome to another fantastic Retro Rubber challenge.

This is a popular theme here in the US - Halloween..

I celebrate my Wedding Anniversary on 31st of October, so Halloween means something completely different, but it does mean that Hubby knows when he sees Pumpkins..time to start thinking about our Anniversary LOL.

I chose to use a fave stamp set by Simon Says Stamp - Trick or Treat.. I've had it for just over a year, I bought it with my birthday money last year, because I wanted to make a card for my Nephew and Niece.

I thought using a red background would suit the Cat-ula stamp and heat embossed the sentiment onto the red background. I decided to use a wobbler sticker for my Cat-ula, but he didn't pop that well, so I added a background behind it. If you look closely you will realise that it's mini bats - by Your Next Stamp (Batty Background Splatter).

I love how the gold edge of the card blank makes the whole thing pop, a great addition to my slowly growing Halloween card pile.

Check out what my awesome teammates have made over at Retro Rubber and show us your interpretation of the sketch.

Don't forget to use a stamp older than a year on your project and tell us all about it, that is a big part of the Retro Rubber fun. Also please feel free to combine our challenge with others, but keep it to a maximum of 10 challenges including ours.

Challenge ends on October 20th.

Cx

Christmas Card 2017: Simon Says Stamp Merry & Bright...

Hey,

Happy Monday.

I have had a fun weekend here in London, I got to hang out with JT and her Hubby. Hubby and I also went to lunch yesterday with his family.. always awesome to see our Nephew and Niece and of course the rest of the family ;)

After our fun lunch, I went and hung out with my parents, Ma and I even managed to sneak in a film (officer and a gentlemen).

I realised when I got back from Mexico, that I was running a bit behind with my Christmas card makes and so I dedicated a few evenings to 'churning' out some Christmas cards.

I've actually already posted a few of these 'churn' makes.

Today's cards were made using my December 2016 Simon Says Stamp cardkit, that arrived after all my Christmas cards were made last year.

I love the super cute Reindeer and I thought the fancy Gina Marie die worked really well here.

The banner and the sentiment came with the stamp set.

Really simple and this was the first make in my 'churn' sessions and they re-energised my Christmas card making and I love making cards in small multiples.

Cx

Sketch Saturday #484 Dino Christmas..

Hey,

Happy Saturday to you and welcome to the latest sketch for the Sketch Saturday challenge.

Our sponsor this week is Drawn with Character and they are offering a prize of 3 digi stamps from their store.

Here's the sketch...

I love Monsters, Aliens and Dinosaurs, so when I saw the cute Happy Birthday Dino, I thought he would be perfect to play with!

I decided he wouldn't be a birthday card, as I am in the midst of Christmas card making! I used traditional Christmas colours for my card and used two snowflakes for the other circles. Finished my card off with a simple sentiment (using a die I forgot I had..), but decided at the last minute to add a bit of bling to the snowflakes..glad I did.

I can't wait to see what you do with the sketch, but first check out what the rest of the DT have made over at Sketch Saturday.

Challenge ends 13th October 7pm GMT / 2pm EST

Happy Anniversary times 3....

Hey,

Happy Friday to you.

I have had a great first week in London. Today I am out on our annual company offsite, so I am looking forward to that.

Before I left I realised that I needed x3 anniversary cards, but seriously I was way too hungover after my birthday to be able to be mad creative. And I have to ask you to forgive me for the slightly dodgy photo, as I had to take it on my phone in London...the original one I took on Friday was ridiculously blurry!

So I plumped for the easy option.

I used Lawn Fawn spotty card blanks, a Simon Says Stamp die and stamps and adhered the die-cut piece to the card blank - instant anniversary cards x3.

Cheating is sometimes my best work!

Cx

Christmas Card 2017: Wplus9 Holiday Hugs...

Hey,

So yesterday went well and Hubby and I have new visas (well, we will have when we get our passports back).

I loved this Holiday Hugs set by Wplus9 from last year, but I didn't buy it then because I had spent enough!! I managed to get it second-hand - including the die!

I kept it all super simple and coloured the bears and the girl using Spectrum Noir sparkle pens. The sentiment is from the stamp set.

4-bar cards are my new fave format for Christmas cards!!!

Cx

Retro Rubber #72...Transportation...There is still time..

Hey,

There is still time for you to join in with the latest Retro Rubber challenge.

Show us what your fave mode of transportation is and pop over to Retro Rubber and be inspired by my teammates.

Don't forget to use a stamp older than a year on your project and tell us all about it, that is a big part of the Retro Rubber fun. Also please feel free to combine our challenge with others, but keep it to a maximum of 10 challenges including ours.

Challenge ends on Oct. 6th.

Cx

Make it quick..

Hey,

Happy Monday..live from London.

So my birthday bash was an absolute hoot, it was crazy, fun and then totally crazy! Love my random posse of people, all together in one place being crazy.

I was also totally spoilt and got the most awesome gifts..starting with a Kcup coffee machine from Hubby - after 4 years of me begging, he got onboard! Best gift ever!!

Today's cards were made when I was feeling slightly delicate on Friday, I realised that I had some October birthdays and anniversaries that I didn't have cards for!

I broke out a fave stamp set by CAS-ual Friday's (Whole Shebang) and decided to make the male and female cards I needed using it - 2 for 1..kind of.

I think these stamps speak for themselves and really don't need embellishing. I stamped the HB2U in ink colours that co-ordinated with my card blanks.

Super simple makes for a delicate brain.

Cx

Birthday Monster Thank You...

Hey,

I always like the thank you cards I send for my birthday to be a themed set - this year I decided I would use as many of my Monster sets as I could.

I stamped the monsters (from Jane's Doodles, Paper Smooches, Sweet Stamp Shop) onto tags and coloured them as part of the 30 day colouring challenge.

I cut the cardblanks using A7 cardstock from Paper Source and used a strip embossing folder on the front panel, then added a strip of paper and washi tape.

The sentiment is by MFT and is a second-hand purchase from Cheiron.

Majority of this batch went out just before I left NYC and I was so lucky and got so many gifts that I think I will need to make some more when I get home!

Excited today, as we are seeing the wife, she is coming and getting us from my parents and driving us to our 2 week home in Notting Hill.

Fun times ahead for the next two weeks, alongside a crap load of work!!

Cx