Fusion Card Challenge - Lemon Hydrangea...

 Hey,

Welcome to another fantastic Fusion Card Challenge.

This time we have 'Old MacDonald' for you! As always both the sketch and the inspiration image are awesome.

Which will you try?

I loved both, so I fused them! The lemons were my inspiration and we all know I love a sketch.

I cut a scrap panel to match the sketch and blended Squeezed Lemonade distress oxide ink in the cutaway.

I then stamped 2 different lemons from the Sassy Crafting 'Feeling Fruity' set over the top of the blended area, using Mustard Seed distress oxide. 

To finish it off and add a bit of impact, I added a large sentiment from Concord & 9th from their 'Big on You' set.

Super fun and I am a teeny bit impressed with my creative use of the sketch ;)

Make sure you check out all the rest of the inspiration by the DT over at the Fusion challenge blog, and play along with your own creation! When playing along you may use the sketch OR the photo to inspire your makes. OR, if you are feeling adventurous, you can fuse them together (see what I did there!).

Can't wait to see your makes. 

Challenge ends on August 3rd.

Cx

You're Pawsome..

Hey,

Hope you are all well?

One of the things about being home permanently is that can do more crafting.. it is starting to look a bit like Hallmark in my house though!

It also means that I have been putting the NBUS and shiny stuff aside for the most part and digging through my stash using older things.

My bestie Lemon, loves dogs and tolerates my cats LOL. So I thought this great 'Best Friends' set by Studio Katia would be perfect to send her a thank you for some stuff.

I love the heap of dogs and cats and it's a lot of fun to colour, for this version I watercoloured using distress inks.

As it's obviously quite busy, I kept it simple with a die-cut thanks with an additional sentiment from the set.

She loved it and I got to play with something that had been a bit neglected.

Smile..it looks great on you...

Happy Labor Day!!

Live from Tampa!

We are having a bit of rain this afternoon, whilst we wait for The Wife to arrive..

So I thought I'd share a card with you.

I saw this new Waffle Flower stamp 'Picture Perfect' and I had to have it. I love the fun combo of the Parrot, Snail and Monkey - so weird, so very me.

The sentiment is part of the stamp, but I am planning to make a version where I mask of the sentiment and use something different. For a first use of it, I wanted to use it as it came.

I stamped it onto watercolour paper, so I could colour it with Distress Inks.

Fun cheery card that feels a bit like my vacation...I'm going to have first dibs on saying I am the Monkey and Hubby and The Wife can fight it out for the other 2 creatures ;)

Cx

Happy Belated Cinco de Mayo Lemons...

Hey,

It was Cinco de Mayo yesterday and that just happens to be Lemon's birthday.

I am SO happy with her card. I actually bought this set (Cinco de Mayo by Life.Love.Paper) from Studio Calico last year to make her card, but promptly forgot about it..

So this year I made a note to self..

I am very happy with how it came out, the pinata, glass, cactus and sentiment are all from the Studio Calico set and I added some stars to fill in the gaps.

I'm not so sad this year that we can't celebrate Lemon's birthday with her, because we are going on a family holiday to Tampa in September. So we get 6 whole days with her (Hubby and I will be there for 4 days before her).

I normally write a bit about how special Lemon is to me / us, but I figure I am now just repeating myself, so go to last year's post and read all about this amazing lady that is my chosen sister, friend, wife and person.

Cx

12 months later...

Hey,

So today I celebrate 12 months of working out.

AND I mean WORKING OUT...

Not me half heartedly on the treadmill texting.

Nope, I mean me, getting to the gym at least 3 times a week and sometimes even 4 times. I mean me getting up at 5.45am, so I can be at the gym for 6.30am. I mean me pushing through all the pain and fear.

Above is my 11month transformation photo.. The pic on the left was taken on May 1st 2017 and the one on the right was taken on April 1st 2018..

This year has been possible because of 5 people in my life.

1 - Me
2 - My Hubby (Sam)
3 - Lemons
4 - Lisette
5 - Wendel

Without these 5 people to encourage me, push me, guide me and teach me none of it would be possible.

Each of these people have played a different role. Get ready for a super long smushy post...

#5 - Wendel
I would imagine that every single person who knows me, is OVER hearing Wendel's name..but how can you not spend every waking minute talking about a person that literally changed your life? I talked about how Wendel changed my body and mind last year, but now 9 months on from that I realise that we are actually in this together. For Wendel it's not just about me as a client of his, it's about me as a person.

Once I totally overslept and missed a 6am session with him, I have never been so mortified by anything in my life and you know what Wendel said 'you never do this, you are not that kind of person' - how the hell does he know this about me..oh I know because he LISTENS, he CARES, he is INTERESTED. It's not just about 'another fatty pants client that needs whipping into shape' for him.

I am truly grateful to him and my NYSC family, they make me laugh out loud all the time and make going to the gym an enjoyable experience.

Remember Wendel.. 'Strong, we got this'... :)

#4 - Lisette
I never expected to make friends in NYC that would be like my friends in London, you know the ones that have known you forever. But Lisette and the craftgang are my family. Lisette has been on her own personal fitness journey and when I started she encouraged me, told me I could do it, made me believe that I wasn't alone.

Once I started losing weight Lisette came over and ruthlessly cleaned my closet. She taught me that I can't keep things I don't need or don't fit into..Hope is great, but honesty is better.

When I couldn't cope with shopping in new places, due to my change in size, she took me shopping and encouraged me to try new brands and smaller sizes and made me stay out of the plus size section.

The final hurdle has been parting with things I think look ok. Every single time Lisette sees me now, she assesses me - sounds mean right? Nope, it's helpful, because I don't want to look like a bag of crap after all this hard work and she has the strength of character to argue with me about why something should not still be in my closet.

Thanks Lisette for never shirking away from a difficult conversation or a Macy's shopping trip.

#3 - Lemons
Being based in London and approx 3,000 miles away, doesn't mean you can't kick someone in the arse.

Every single time in my life that I have moaned about shit, Lemon steps in and helps me sort it out.. When I told her that I was going to get fit, she nodded sagely.

When I told her I was loving it, but it was hard, she nodded sagely. When I told her that I was a bit confused by the changes to my body, she told me to look closer at my mind..She reminded me that body and spirit are connected and if I put my mind to it, my body will follow. When I told her that I was struggling with post-workout recovery, she pointed me in the right direction.

She bought me a proper sports bra, encouraged me to try new things, marveled at me being able to lift more than her and basically has been my cheerleader for 12 long moaning, whinging, self congratulating months!

I love you Lems, you are my wife, sister, mentor and thing.

#2 - Hubby
This man. Honest to God. I don't understand how I got so lucky.

He has loved me through so much shit and never ever fails to understand what I need, even when I don't know.

He has said two things to me during this 12 month period 'you need to go to the gym today, you are weird when you don't go' and 'you need new clothes, your clothes are hanging off of you'

He hasn't moaned about me changing our diet, being at the gym all the time or constantly talking about working out. He has just smiled, encouraged and laughed at and with me about this crazy new version of me.

I couldn't possibly love anyone else the way that I love my crazy, fun, supportive and kind Hubby, thank you baby for having my back - no matter what size it is.

#1 - ME!
Honestly I'm not going to write war and peace about me, because that would be weird.

I have learnt so much this past year, not least how to maintain this workout thing. The thing that is always at the front of my mind is that I have GOT THIS. ME, no-one else, just ME.

I have wrestled with the new dress size thing, but man is it nice to be able to shop wherever I want and not have to consider 'do they have a plus-size section'.

I wanted to work out properly for a while, but had all kinds of excuses for not doing it seriously. Last year when I started it was hard, but I love it..no idea why, I just do, it makes me happy to walk 3 miles on the treadmill and yes I have gone insane.

For me this has never ever been about weight-loss (and I honestly mean that), it's about feeling great in my mind as well as my body, it is about being fit and strong and realising that if I focus I can do anything I want to.

But that doesn't mean I can't be overjoyed by the fact that in 5 years time I turn 50 and I will be in the best fucking shape of my life. That is the commitment I am making to my mind and body.

Why? Because I want to, because I can make it so.

ME + a supporting cast of many..

Thank you to the 'top 5' but also a HUGE thanks to everyone who has listened to me talk endlessly about myself and my journey for a year. I can't promise you that will stop (I mean you have met me right?), but I can promise you that I'm grateful you took the time to listen.

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

Happy Cinco de Mayo Lemons...

Hey,

So it is that time of the year when we drink Margaritas and celebrate Mexico or something!

It is also that time of year when we wish the Wife aka Lemon a very Happy Birthday!

The photo today was taken of 'the family' on our recent trip home to London, before we went on a night out. We all look so happy!

I'm not going to write another post about how awesome Lemon is or how much I miss her, instead I will point you here and here to read more about this fabulous creature.

Instead I am simply going to say - I love you Melons, Happy Birthday.

Cx

p.s I couldn't show you her card because I forgot to take a photo of it!!

Coffee Time..

Hey,

Happy Easter..

Hubby and I have been in MM for the last couple of days and today we are heading to Lemon's to go raving tonight..it finishes at 6am tomorrow...ouch..

Anyway, whilst I was on sick leave I realised that I seem to have a lot of coffee focused stamps..

So I decided to break them all out and have a play.

I made four cards in the end, but I could have made so many more!

The main card uses a sentiment stamp by Whipper Snapper, a Bo Bunny ring stamp and the coffee cup and the hearts on the sleeve of the cup are by Simon Says Stamp and came with the Feb cardkit. It is my fave card of the bunch.

Here are the rest of the cards -

Simon Says Stamp sentiment, Concord & 9th cup stamp, coloured with Distress Inks

Whipper Snapper Coffee Monster, Simon Says Stamp sentiment, coloured with Distress Inks

Background stamp by Penny Black, Cup by Simon Says Stamp, Sentiment by Lawn Fawn, Coloured with Distress Inks

I used eight different stamp sets to create these cards - crazy right, especially as six of them are all about the coffee!!

I love mixing and matching my stamps its so much fun, I really need to set a theme for myself more often..

Cx

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!!

Welcome to 2017...

This is the first New Year since we have lived in NYC that Lemon has not joined us.

Due to my operation in 3 weeks time, we opted for a more low key Christmas and New Year and we will be going on holiday with Lemon in April.

So I thought it would be nice to make her a special card.

I got these great stamps by Tim Holtz in a BF sale -

Awesome right?!

I figured that they would make an awesome NYE scene.. I chose the London one, as both Lemon and I are from London.

I blended the background first, using distress inks and created a darker grey panel for the bottom of the card to anchor the stamp a bit.

I used a bit of artistic license and went with a 'day' sky, not a 'night' sky which would have been more appropriate for fireworks, but it was what I wanted..

I stamped the London Cityscape..it worked out so well, I was super dooper pleased.

The fireworks were a bit of luck, I remembered that one of my Simon Says Stamp cardkits came with a firework stencil that I had never used, so cue approx 45 mins of hunting to find the teeny tiny little beast and voila! fireworks!! I used distress inks first through the stencil, then I used Spectrum Noir sparkle markers to add some shimmer.

I added the strip for the sentiment at the last minute, I was planning on stamping in the grey distress section, but I tried it and didn't like it, so needed a fix..happier now..

Of course there had to be bling..I mean what kind of New Year card would it be without bling?!

Happy with the final card (I kinda wanted to keep it lol)

Back to work in 2 days..that went quickly, but it's been nice, now let's hope it's not cray cray straightaway..

Cx

Happy Christmas Eve...

Hey,

Happy Christmas Eve to you all.

Christmas Eve is my fave day of the whole Christmas season, it is the day that Hubby and I hang out, doing the food shopping, having a drink and a laugh as we prep for Christmas Day.

Tonight we are off to a lovely Italian restaurant to do the traditional Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes..cannot wait, I'm all about fish.

My card is a simple quick one, for Lemon..

I used a BF Unity Stamp Co purchase 'I tolerate you'. I really love the Bear and the Bunny all snuggled up together.

I stamped it along with one of the sentiments from the set and coloured it with distress inks.

I die-cut it using a MFT stitched scalloped frame die, you get the central rectangle and then the scalloped bit separately. I adore these dies, they are so pretty.

I smooshed the scalloped bit in some Mermaid Lagoon distress ink and dried it, I love the random effect this gives the frame.

The frame was adhered to the card blank and then I popped up the stamped piece and added Nuvo drops..

Simple.

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone.

Cx

Hey Girl...

Hey,

Or should that be Hey Girl! hahaha

I had great fun on the Studio Calico site, during their sale in the run up to Black Friday, lots of bargains to be had.

One of the bargains was the great Hey Girl die that you see on my card today.

I had made a background that I didn't really love and thought I might love it more if I used it through an aperture.

As I was trying that out, it turned into a shaker, complete with the green die-cut stitched scalloped circle by MFT and the Hey Girl die-cut.

I'm pretty pleased at how it came out, especially as it was an unexpected make...

Here's a close-up so you can see the shaker and the background better.

I was thinking of saving this for my 2017 Lemon sends, but another need arose..

I basically send Lemon a random card twice a month, no reason, just because I make stuff and it reminds me of her :( I miss Lemon.

Cx

CASology...Space..

Hi,

Today I am playing along with CASology again..I am SO loving the cue cards right now.

For me the word 'Space' always means Aliens!

So Alien's it is for my card.

Like Judy on the DT, I went with the wonderful Alien Invasion set by Gerda Steiner. I love this set, I overuse it and now I have the dies, it will get even more use.

First I die-cut the wonky stitched rectangle (Lil Inkers) because I wanted to stamp the sentiment before I coloured my little Alien.

I used a Blue Breeze Kaleidacolor ink pad to stamp the sentiment, so you get the variation of colour you see. This helped me to choose the colours for the little Alien.

I coloured him using distress inks.

I popped the wonky panel up and the alien, so you get a bit of dimension.

To finish him off I added a few stars and Nuvo drops.

This card is totally going to my bestie Lemon.

I'm also linking up with Gerda Steiner's current Share your Design challenge.

Cx

Make 5...Umichka Challenge...Part Four...

Hey,

Happy Friday!

So I am gently hungover today following my work Summer BBQ.. and tonight I am off to the HAC Summer Ball with Lemons. Cue another hangover tomorrow.

I am currently playing along with a 5 part challenge over at Anna / Umichka's blog.

You have to use the same stamp set for each of your cards and keep the cards CAS. You can see my first card here, card two here and card three here.

Card three is totally my fave so far :)

To refresh your memories, this is the stamp set I am working with -

It's from the October 2015 SSS stamp kit.

I decided to use the big heart for card four. I was inspired by the embossed spotty panel that was sitting on my desk..

I die-cut a white panel and blended some Picked Raspberry distress ink onto the panel, before stamping the heart in Versamark and adding sparkly embossing powder.

I am pleased at how well the heat embossing looks against the pink ink.

As it's a heart I decided it should be an anniversary card..

I'm so pleased at how these cards are coming out, using one set over and over again is a  I am keeping them all together to give-away when the challenge is done.

Have a great weekend everyone, heading back to NYC tomorrow, so I am excited to be seeing Hubs, furbabies and my desk..

Cx

Happy Cinco de Lemon....

Hey,

So it's Cinco de Mayo here - that magical day in the US where we go and get very drunk to celebrate something vaguely related to Mexico?! But I am not 100% sure - seriously, after 3 years I still don't understand!

But I very much like the drinking margarita's part..so not too many questions are being asked.

It also happens to be the birthday of my bestie Lemon...

The card today is her birthday card. The Unity Stamp Co. Addison Girl stamp reminded me of Lemon and seemed a natural fit for her.

She's not really a pink girl, so I used some creative license here :)

I've been using a lot of sequins recently and I saw no reason to stop here...I am liking the little sprinkle of sequins here and there.

The sentiment stamp would be perfect for Retro Rubber, because I have had it since 2011/2012 and its a firm fave.

I miss Lemon every single day, she is essentially part of me and being this far away from her is annoying!

Happy Birthday Lemons, I love you, you crazy wife you.

Cx

Best Fishes..

Hey,

So I'm heading home today, after an epic night out with Lemon :)

I will be sleeping on the plane.

I've been sharing things that I made using the colouring I did during the 30 day colouring challenge over at The Daily Marker...so much fun.

I love this card, it was super simple. The stamp is a digital stamp and I can't remember where it is from. I coloured it with Promarkers and added the sentiment using a mixture of Simon Says Stamp and Hero Arts sentiment stamps.

The card blank is by Recollections at Michael's and I love the green edge.

See you in NYC tomorrow.

Cx

Until next time...

Hey,

Today is a sad day, as Lemon goes home after spending 10 days with us.

As usual we have had a lot of fun, including a hilarious New Year's Eve spent in Atlantic City...we stayed up all night and got the 6.30am bus home!!

Here is a photo of us on Saturday at brunch - we went to our fave boozy brunch place and it was a lot of fun.

We miss Lemon ALOT and feel very privileged that she comes and spends a large chunk of her holiday time with us.

I made the card today for her - it went in the post over the weened, so it would be there for her when she got home.

The stamp is by Unity Stamp Co and I used my new Spectrum Noir sparkle markers (similar to wink of stella) for the sparkly parts of the image - not sure if I am loving them, but they were a free gift, so nothing lost by trying them :)

Cx

Welcome to 2016...

Happy New Year!!!

Welcome to 2016 everyone!

Hope you had fun times last night.

I am sure that Lemon, Hubby and I did as we always do in AC..

My photo today is from NYE last year when The Wife aka Lemon came to visit.

It was freezing cold last year, so as lovely as we looked we were only out briefly.

See you soon for fun crafting times.

Big kisses and many thanks for all of my supporters, friends and family for making my 2015 a stellar one.

Cx

Happy New Year's Eve...

Hey!

Long time no see :)

Vegas was epic and we really enjoyed our first and most definitely not our last Christmas there.

Lemon is here and we are off to Atlantic City today to celebrate New Year there.

Whilst I have Lemon here, desk time is limited. But I have been making thank you cards for all of our lovely presents.

Today's card is for a great friend and colleague, she is a little bit weird, but so am I, so we make a perfect team.

I loved this stamp by Unity Stamp Co and even though I was done with all my Christmas makes, I had to have this stamp, especially because I feel the sentiment has legs.

I used my new (Thank You Cheiron) Spectrum Noir Aquamarkers to colour the image.

I hope you all have a very Happy New Year, whatever you are doing, be safe and have fun.

Cx

Christmas CASE...

Hey,

Hope you are having a great weekend.

I am at Jenn Shurkus' loft art retreat..yay!

I wanted to CASE this card -

The minute I saw this card, I knew I had to finally relent and buy the SSS circle frame die..it is awesome.

Lemon gave me a SSS voucher for my birthday, so I used part of it to buy the die and the Poppy Stamps tree.

This card is so simple, but feels really detailed and fun. I like the other little touches on the original version (I don't know who it is by!!) I might try that when I make the next version..

Cx

WOYWW #310...Getting all excited now!

Hey,

Happy WOYWW - missed you last week, but in the interest of honesty I must confess to being so hungover after the Cinco de Mayo festivities that I forgot about my post!! Outrageous!!

Anyway, I am here (sober) and super excited that my Ma arrives tomorrow for 10 days and I am going to be off with her!! YAY!!

We are starting the vacay right by heading to Vamos! Our fave margarita bar on Friday and then off to AC on Sunday for 2 days and then to DC later in the week for another 2 days - fun times!

So why is there a photo of my desk? It's that fab time of the week where we get to join the lovely Julia over at her blog Stamping Ground and have a global desk nosy..

My desk is a hot mess this week..I had a fun weekend crafting and then I just started dumping stuff on my desk!!

I don't know why the frame is there..I don't know why my foil is standing and I never ever leave my washed up items on my desk like that...

Random!

I just got the Deco foil to use with my (eek) new Laminator..I am going to do this at some point in the next week or so. The free die came with the foil..no idea why, no explanation..nice touch..

Here is a little card for you deskers..

Isn't it fun! I recently bought some on sale Stampin' Up treat cups..they make awesome (but cumbersome) shakers! The beautiful star paper is from my SSS May Card kit. 

The card is for Lemon who made it into the TA 300 Club - you have to look it up, too much to explain for now..but it's a big deal!

Have a great day.

Cx