Midway reminder for A Gem of a Challenge....

We are half way through our current challenge over at A Gem of a Challenge,our theme this time is...

ANIMALS OR TEDDIES.......

Please checkout the challenge blog as the remainder of the team have posted more gorgeous cards for you all to see today.....

I have another card for you all......

I've used Cupcake Teddy image from Pink Gem Designs.....Coloured with promarkers and flexmarkers....I've glittered the cupcake icing.......The papers are Quite Contrary from MME.....The card and gems are from my stash... 

The lace is from my stash and I've threaded some narrow pink satin ribbon from Crafty Ribbons through it.....The sentiment is from a LOTV set stamped onto kraft card....

A little peek at the inside decorated to compliment the inside....

We would love you to join in with us....So pop over here and see all the DT cards and join in

Have a lovely weekend...

Mandy x

Look what's new.....

Today has been a fabulous day my Daughter got her GCSE results and considering that the marking has been stricter this year she got one A ,seven B's and 3 C's so feeling really proud of her,she will now go on to study for 4 A levels in September....

Crafty Ribbons have had a new launch today......I love it......

Ali had great fun designing this ribbon, it is a true pen and ink design. Both ribbons are printed onto pure white grosgrain and are EXCLUSIVE to Crafty Ribbons.  The red on each design has been raised during the print process so it even feels as if it is coloured in.  Just two simple fun designs that have been co-ordinated with mini AND micro heart buttons, 3mm white grosgrain, black satin and a new fab narrow taffeta ribbon in red.  All three are perfect for tag ribbons or enhancing your cards and projects.  But not only that look at this....................

CARD MADE BY ALI FROM CRAFTY RIBBONS

For the first time EVER Crafty Ribbons have papers to match!!! So no longer will you have to hunt around for co-ordinating papers, they have done all the hard work for you.  There are seven designs to the Digi Paper Collection.

You download the collection once and print off as many copies as you want. Simples.  You just add them to your basket like normal and download them from your account,how easy is that.....

 As an extra bonus they have FREE postage (on all orders over £15, excluding postage,( just enter  august  into the voucher section) until the end of the month..

Also don't forget we have a fabulous challenge running over at Crafty Ribbons Challenge and we also have a DT call running so why not pop over and check it out.....

Mandy x 

Gems of Inspiration....

Just a quick post as a busy week for me this week,Slimming World yesterday,been to Mum & Dad's already this morning,then I am going to the Repatriations this afternoon 3 very young soldiers coming home today,so a sad time for their families,a friend coming to see me tomorrow haven't seen her for 3 years so looking forward to that and then Thursday Katy my daughter gets her GCSE results,so fingers crossed she gets the grades she needs to get into 6th form if she does lots of running around Thursday getting books,equipment and paying for her to use the 6th form bus and on top of that we will find time to celebrate...

Here's my card which is the first one over on the new Gems of Inspiration blog.....

I've used one of the new images from Pink Gem Designs called Jada isn't she adorable...I've coloured with promarkers and flexmarkers........The papers are from Echo Park but I can't remember which pad....

The glitter gems are from my stash...The sentiment is from a Woodware set...The ribbon is from Crafty Ribbons......The flowers are from Mulberry Crafts.....

A little peek at the inside decorated to compliment the inside....

Right got to dash,but will be around to catch up with everyone this evening....

Mandy x

A Gem of a Challenge 53....

Finally got here,my camera battery has been on charge so I'm a bit late,my own fault it went dead the last time I took a picture and I thought must charge the battery and I promptly forgot...lol... 

Today is new challenge time over at A Gem of a Challenge we have a few changes the DT has been split into two so half have posted gorgeous cards today for you all to see and the rest of the team will be posting more gorgeousness next week to inspire you...

Also we have a new blog called Gems of Inspiration where we will be posting lots of cards and ideas for you all,but at the moment there is a brilliant followers candy up for grabs so why not become a follower and enter.....

For my card I've used one of the fabulous card blanks from Whichcraft called Vintage Step card...

I've run all the elements through my embossing folder called falling snow by cuttlebug and then used antique linen distress ink around the edges...The image is from Pink Gem Designs called Rudy with Baubles coloured with promarkers and flexmarkers......

The snowflakes have been punched out with a Martha Stewart punch and then glittered the ribbon and gems are from my stash and the sentiment is from Pink Gem Designs.........

Hope you all have a lovely weekend....

Mandy x

Feeling Fruity.....

Oh my goodness did we have a storm yesterday afternoon,really heavy rain,thunder,lightning it was dark so due to all this please forgive my colouring on my card as I had to have the daylight lamp on....Today is time for a new challenge over at Crafty Ribbons Challenge and my lovely team mate Lorraine is hosting and  she has the theme of....

FEELING FRUITY.......

any images,papers or embellishments that has fruits on them

We are also saying bye to Trish who is leaving us,really sorry to see her go,but that does mean we are having a DT call if any of you are interested,checkout all the details here....

And here's my card....

I've used the gorgeous image called Peaches from Mo Manning coloured with promarkers and flexmarkers....The butterflies have been glittered.......The papers again are from my scrap box,still a long way to go to use them all up....The edge of the peach card has been punched with a Martha Stewart punch..

The ribbon and lace are from Crafty Ribbons....The flowers are from Mulberry Crafts and Wild Orchid Crafts...The glitter gems from my stash....

A Little peek at the inside decorated to compliment the front....

Please take the time to check out all the beautiful cards the rest of the DT have made and the DT call over at Crafty Ribbons Challenge...

Mandy x

Some News....

Back with a second post for today....
I'm back with some news of a new Inspiration blog that we have over at Pink Gem Designs called "Gems of Inspiration"... 
You may already be a follower of our A Gem of a Challenge Blog. If not be sure to check it out at http://pinkgemchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/. There's a new challenge every fortnight with prizes and we would love for you to be a follower and join in with us.....
We would love you to become a follower of our new blog as well,so Janet from Pink Gem Designs has very kindly given this gorgeous candy for one lucky person to win....

 

4 fabulous stamp sets

 If you would like to win these gorgeous stamp sets..then all you need to do is become a follower of the Inspiration blog,take the  badge add it to your sidebar with a link back to the blog add your name to inlinkz  and keep your fingers crossed....

If you don't have a blog that's fine just become a follower  (you can do it by e-mail as well just fill in the box in the sidebar),and then leave your name with Inlinkz skipping the URL bit...

The winner of the candy will be drawn by Random Org on Monday 20th August and announced on the Inspiration blog on Tuesday 21st August.....

Please join in with us for this new venture....

Mandy x

Crafting For Gold Event - Closing Ceremony

Today is the last day of our Crafting For Gold Event over at Crafty Ribbons Inspiration blog and we are holding a closing ceremony...So if you haven't had chance to join in or you've missed some days then pop over add your name to all the days and you never know you just might win one of the fabulous give away's.....

The Company we are highlighting and who have given us a fantastic £25 voucher is none other than our own Crafty Ribbons ....

And here's my card.....

I've used one of the stamps I got free with a magazine,coloured with promarkers and flexmarkers the wings have been glittered.....Again all the papers are from my scrap box,I'm so pleased that I'm sticking to using them all up......

The flowers are from Mulberry crafts and the ribbon and lace are both from Crafty Ribbons...The sentiment is from the same free set.....The pearl gems are from my stash also.... 

A little peek at the inside decorated to compliment the front....

Please join in with us for our last day....

Mandy x

School Boy Philip

I've finally managed to grab sometime to put a little reminder on here about our challenge over at A Gem of a Challenge Vicky is hosting this time and she has a fabulous sketch for everyone to follow,such a good starting point for a card so why not pop over check it out and join in with us......

I have made a card using it and the ever cute school boy Philip from Pink Gem Designs which you can buy on his own or as part of a set called Philip & Phoebe School Days ....

I have coloured with Promarkers and flexmarker's,I've added glossy accents to his glasses and apple...The papers are from my scrap box so no names.....The ribbon is from Crafty Ribbons ......

The sentiment is from the same set...The gems from my stash...

A little peek at the inside decorated to compliment the front....

We would love for you to join in with us so pop over to A Gem of a Challenge....

Mandy x 

Crafting For Gold Event - day 14

Only two more days after today for you all to join in with us over at Crafty Ribbons Inspiration Blog we are coming to the end of our fabulous Crafting for Gold Event....If you haven't joined in why not you can still enter each day all you need to do is add your name to each day's post via inlinkz and you never know you just could be the winner of one of the fabulous give away's,what are you waiting for why not pop over and join in.....The Company joining us today is Whimsy Stamps.... 

And here's my card...

I've used one of the fabulous images from Kenny K called Ryder Cole available from Whimsy Stamps as a rubber stamp...I've coloured with promarkers and flexmarkers....The paper is from a MME pad called Dilly Dally...

The sentiment is one from the film strip sentiment set again from Whimsy Stamps....I've matted and layered and then added some faux stitching around the edge....The ribbon and button are both from Crafty Ribbons the gems and chain are from my stash....

A Little peek at the inside decorated to compliment the inside....

Mandy x

Crafting For Gold Event - Day 13

Today see's day 13 of the Crafting for Gold Event over at Crafty Ribbons Inspiration blog and we have another fabulous Company today with another gorgeous give away...The company today is Sir Stampalot....

I've used Tilda with a small gift for my card coloured with promarkers and flexmarkers...The papers are from a Tilda pad....The sentiment is a cat's life press stamp...The lace and ribbon is from Crafty Ribbons....

The flowers are all from Mulberry Crafts...The glittery pearl gems are also from my stash...

A little peek at the inside decorated to compliment the inside....

Why not pop over and checkout the rest of the fabulous cards and join in with us....

Mandy x

Crafting For Gold Event - Day 12

Just dropping by to let you know about day 12  of our Crafting For Gold Event over at Crafty Ribbons Inspiration blog.......

For those of you who have only just found us or haven't had a chance to enter for the prizes for all the previous days you can still enter,just check out all the posts and leave your name with Inlinkz on each post,if you don't have a blog don't worry you can still enter just skip the URL bit....ONLY ONE entry per person please to make it fair for everyone,duplicate entries will be deleted....Except for the Crafting for Gold Event post from 26th July when you can enter twice if you have followed the rules...

All of the inlinkz links will remain open until Monday 13th August when the winners will be drawn for all days and announced on the blog,so it means even if you miss one day you will still have time to enter...So please come by each day and join in with us,and leave the Design Team a comment as I know they would love to hear from you...

and today see's a Company that so many of you love joining us....

Lili of the Valley is a UK Company which has a simply gorgeous range of unique un-mounted rubber stamps.

There are hundreds of adorable images to choose from including the sweetest girls and boys, fabulous wedding and baby designs and of course an amazing array of Christmas cuties! Added to this are Lili of the Valley's amazing sentiment stamps and sentiment stamp sheets! http://www.liliofthevalley.co.uk/is also packed with hints, tips, tutorials and we also run the popular InspirationsBlog witih new cards and ideas posted daily by our Design Team, so you’ll never be stuck for ideas on what to make with these really cute images

There is a fabulous £20 voucher up for grabs so

please pop over and join in with us and see the fabulous work from the Design Team....

Mandy x

Crafting For Gold Event - Day 11

Today see's day eleven of our Crafting For Gold Event over at the Crafty Ribbons Inspiration Blog.....We are in to our second week,and we still have lots more fabulous companies and prizes to come....

If you haven't been over yet WHY NOT You don't need to do anything only add your name to each Inlinkz on each post and you could win some fabulous goodies.....

We would love you to become a follower but it's not necessary.... 

The Design Team have made cards/projects for your inspiration and all of the Companies have very generously given a prize for one of you lucky people to win each day...

The Company we are highlighting today is the fabulous Whichcraft 

And here's my card.....

I've used one of the new Vintage Step Card from Whichcraft....the paper is from my stash.....I've used Jodie in dungaree's from Pink Gem Designs coloured with promarkers and flexmarkers.....

The flowers are from Mulberry Crafts,the ribbon from Crafty Ribbons and the gems are from my stash...

The technique we are highlighting today is decoupage and as you can see in the picture above I have decoupaged Jodie's hair and legs....

Please pop over and join in with us and take a look at the rest of the teams fabulous inspiration....

Mandy x

Crafting For Gold Event - Day 10

Well that weekend went fast Monday morning again and time for another day of our Crafting for Gold event over at Crafty Ribbons Inspiration Blog...The Company we are highlighting today is Crafty Individuals....

Here's my card....

I love the image from Crafty Individuals I used TH Distress Markers straight onto the stamp reactivated them then I stamped it.....The product we are highlighting today is buttons but guess who forgot and didn't use any sorry to the team but yet again another senior citizen moment..lol...

The papers are yet again from my scrap box so no names,I'm determined to use them all up before I buy new,wonder how long that will last....The flowers are from Mulberry Crafts the pins and feather from my stash.....The lace is from Crafty Ribbons....The sentiment is a TH adage ticket run through a ribbler

A little peek at the inside decorated to compliment the inside.....

Have a lovely week,

Mandy x

Crafting For Gold Event - Day 9

Hope your all having a great weekend,short post today...We are up to day 9 of the Crafting for Gold event over at Crafty Ribbons Inspiration and the Company we are highlighting today is none other than Kenny K.....The Team were very lucky to get some Images to play with,so here's my card.....

I've used Farmer's Daughter for my card...Coloured with promarkers and flexmarkers...The paper is from a MME pad but I've lost the front so not sure which one it is could be Howdy Dowdy but as I said not sure...

The ribbon and lace are from Crafty Ribbons....

The flowers are from Mulberry Crafts...The corner is cut with a die from a set by Whimsy Stamps brought from Bunny Zoe's....The sentiment is from a Whimsy Stamp set also....The gems are from my stash also

A little peek at the inside decorated to compliment the  inside....

Mandy x

School day Phobe and Big Shoes

Today see's a new challenge over at A Gem of a Challenge and it's the first time I have joined in with the girls for a little while,felt good colouring one of Janet's gorgeous images again also it is day 8 over at Crafty Ribbons Inspiration Blog so I have decided to do a post including both,I have made individual cards for each so here goes...

For our new challenge over at A Gem of a Challenge Vicky is hosting and she has this fabulous sketch for you all to follow....

And here is my card....

Isn't she a cutie she is called school girl phoebe from Pink Gem Designs I've coloured with promarkers and flexmarkers...

The sentiment is computer generated and cut out with nesties...All the paper and card is from my stash trying hard to use some up before buying new.......The tape measure ribbon is from Crafty Ribbons and the fruit ribbon with lace on from my local craft shop,the gems are from my stash also...As you can see I put glossy accents on her glasses and apple....

And a little peek at the inside decorated to compliment the front.....

Right now onto day 8 over at Crafty Ribbons Inspiration blog today we are highlighting Nitwits who have given a fabulous voucher for one of you lucky people to win,our technique we are highlighting today is layers so lots of gorgeous Nitwits papers used... 

I've used one of the fabulous images from Mo Manning called Big Shoes ......This time I've coloured with polychromos pencils and blended with sansador......The paper is from Nitwits but for the life of me I can't remember what the name of it is,I'll add it when I find out,but they are all from the same collection I do know......

The flowers are all from Mulberry Crafts and the greeting is from a Kirsty Wiseman set from Woodware...The heart has been punched out with a Martha Stewart Punch and all the pearl gems are from my stash....

A little peek again at the inside decorated to compliment the front.......

I hope you have all lasted to the end of my post and will pop over to both blogs and check out both teams fabulous cards and join in with us....

I would also like to say Thank you for all the comments I hope to sit a bit later and catch up with you all looking forward to seeing what you have all been up to....

Have a lovely weekend...

Mandy x

Crafting For Gold Event - Day 7

I'm late with my post today sorry,it's day 7 of our Crafting for Gold event over at Crafty Ribbons Inspiration  .....The Company we are highlighting today is Bugaboo and they have given a fabulous prize so please pop over and join in with us.....

I have made two simple cards as I love the images from Bugaboo and the sentiments are so funny,so I felt they didn't need much more and as we are also highlighting stitching today I've put some faux stitching around the edge and I've used some saddle stitch ribbon on both from Crafty Ribbons

I've coloured with my promarkers and flexmarkers...Please pop over and join in as there are lots of fabulous Companies and give away's for you to see and enter for and there are still lots more fabulous Companies and give away's to come why not become a follower that way you won't miss out.....

Take care and have a lovely weekend...

Mandy x

Crafting For Gold Event - Day 5

Yes I have another card,couldn't sleep this morning so got up at 5am and sat looking at my craft bits for ages think my mojo was still asleep but this is what I came up with for day 5 of the Crafting for Gold event over at Crafty Ribbons Inspiration blog if you haven't joined in yet why not??? all you have to do is add your name to Inlinkz on all the posts and you could be the lucky winner of that days fabulous give away the event is running for 16 days so 16 chances,it's so easy so why not join in with us....

Anyway here is my card.....

The Company we are highlighting today is Ladybug Crafts Ink and I've used one of their images called Cat Flu,we are also highlighting a technique and it's Paper Piecing so I've done the chair...The papers are from my scrap box so don't know who they are by...I've coloured the image with Promarkers..... 

The ribbon is the fabulous saddle stitch from Crafty Ribbons and the sentiment is from a set from Little Claire...The pearl gems are from my stash....

It would be lovely if you could all join in with us....

Take care

Mandy x