Sunday challenges

Over on Tag you're it this week there are some changes going on. We have so loved doing the tag swap we have decided to become a tag swap blog! So this is our last weekly challenge and we thought we would go out with a Boo rather than a bang!

I bought some sweet treats for trick or treaters last week forgetting we are actually away so wont be able to answer the door! Anyway I made one to give my Niece and Nephew which is full of sours. The stamp set is one I have used a lot lately and I bought it from Baker Ross at least 4 years ago. Coloured with promarkers then punches out to make a tag.
Check out Tag You're it - not just to see my fabulous team mates tags but to check out our monthly tag swap too :0)

Now we are are on to Keep it simple and I have made an atc for a Halloween swap over on Willowing and friends. My swap Partners turns out to be the lovely Katy who I love swapping with but I bet she pulled a face when she saw me as her partner LOL. These stamps are a mixture of the Baker Ross Halloween and some Hero arts. I have used sunshine orange adirondack ink and black momento. the character is coloured with promarkers and cut out then added to the atc. Just for added interest I have put glossy accents on the bats - a tip I learned from Katy x Hope she likes them she should have received them by now.

Happy Halloween!

Tuesday once more and a very fond farewell!

Over on Tuesday Taggers how could we fail not to have a Halloween themed week? There is a twist however chosen by Blackdragon AKA Lyn you must include deep purple in the creation!
I decided to make my niece and nephew a halloween card so as they are only 4 and 7 I went with a cute Mo Manning image. Coloured with promarkers I have also added some stamping from a Hero arts stamp set. I have just used purple and orange card which again I have stamped onto then a bit of purple ribbon to finish off.
This week we are sponsored by our wonderful friends at The Craft Barn. Having recently ordered from them myself I can fully recommend their service even though some of the products I ordered were not in stock I have had phone calls with updates as well as emails keeping me fully up to date with the order progression - really excellent service.
One lucky random winner will receive £15 to spend in the shop which is stuffed with tempting stash so do join in the challenge - you have nothing to lose it could be you spending that dosh!
My news is we are saying farewell to one of our lovely team this week. The wonderful Teri is going to be concentrating on her fastly growing Delicious Doodles shop. I greatly admire all Teri's work espcially her talent to make her own Digi stamps. Good Luck Teri and Big Thanks for all your hard work on the Tuesday Taggers team.
Hope this schedules ok - I am at work doing my 6th shift on the trot so I will be so glad when 3pm comes around and I can have 2 days off!
Hope you are having a great day :0)
Janet

Fridays offerings

First of all its challenge 8 yes can you believe it 8??? at The Stamp Man challenge blog and this time we want to see something for the chaps in your life. Lets face it sometimes they can be really tricky however The Stamp Man has some fabulous stamps to help out with the dilema!
These are from the aspects of design nautical sheet. Teamed with some distress inks and patterned paper its just short of the sentiment which I decided to leave off until I know what I am doing with the card. My team mates have all come up with some fab "chappie" sort of cards so do stop by for a look here

As its Friday its also time for my Rockette post

I really need to dig deep for gratefuls this week so in no particular order the 5 in my head are:-

1) Grateful no 1 son is coming home today - he's been at a pals for a week and I miss his lovely hugs x

2) Glad my pals Emma and Andy came up for a short stay - always lovely to see them and for Emma sharing her fabulous ideas.

3)No 2 son finally seems to be getting over his girlfriend finishing with him in April. Its been a long haul for him and part of me is proud he is such a loving and loyal chap but it was awful watching his heartbreak and not being able to do anything to help - no sticking plaster can heal that first- love- ended -wound. So I am thankful I can hear laughter in his voice once more.

4)Glad I have got this evening off - I need an early night!

5)so happy to have a loving family and wonderful friends.

I hope you have time to stop by The Celtic House to check out the other Rockettes I do hope i see you sharing there too - its great to set the weekend up on such a positive vibe :0)

Tuesday Taggers a blast from the past???

Oh boy Tuesdays sure do roll around fast or is this a sign of getting old???
This week we have this prize on offer from Ribbon Oasis - see the logo on my left hand side bar - well worth checking out!

The lovely Georgina has challenged us to make a project which includes a Nursery Rhyme so as I had baby girl welcome cards to make this is what I came up with.

Papers by Papermania. Teddy stamp - habico, Martha Stewart doily edge punch, swiss dots embossing folder, ribbon and card candy from stash.

This could be any Teddy Rhyme such as round and round the garden however the one I had in mind was from my eldest sons favourite Nursery Rhyme book and goes

Teddy bear Teddy bear turn around

Teddy bear Teddy bear touch the ground

Teddy bear Teddy bear show your shoe

Teddy Bear Teddy bear that will do

Teddy bear Teddy bear go upstairs

Teddy bear Teddy bear say your prayers

Teddy bear Teddy bear turn off the light

Teddy bear Teddy bear say "Goodnight!"

I spent many hours reading to my eldest son, from 6 months old reading was and still is at 23 a passion for him. He loved all the action rhymes and would repeat them back to me as soon as he was able to talk but I have loved revisiting the memory of the special song times we had together so thanks Georgina for the fabulous challenge. Do stop by Tuesday Taggers and see my team mates work too x
Thanks for stopping by x Janet x

A day late - sorry folks

It has been a hectic weekend with The Stamp Man open days (brilliant demos and great company thanks folks) and also working on a late sleepover and early Sat/ Sunday. It has been extremely challenging at work at late with lots of on the hoof decisions which you always hope will be the right ones. Yesterday one of the young people trapped my toe under a door closure so I also have a very blue and sore toe to add the weekends challenges!

On to this weeks Tag You're it which is you've been framed. This is one of my new stamp sets from stampin up xx thanks Emma xx and I have been dying to play with the gorgeous wheel set that accompanies it so this is the result. All stamps are by stampin up as are the punches too. Do stop by Emmas blog if you need any stampin up supplies - its quick and easy!

and here is why I chose this set for this weeks challenges - a birthday card for my lovely pal Jae. Over on Keep it Simple the challenge is to use a charm, which you can just see on the J. The letters are from an old Brenda Pinnock kit which I have stamped. The colour of ink is called Not quite Navy and is from stampin up - this has to be my favourite colour of this year and I have been playing with it a lot (you may have noticed!)
Hope you have time to stop by both blogs and see my team mates projects too x Happy Monday x

More than 2 legs???

Last Wednesday the baby of our family, Meghan, turned 15. Meghan loves most things with more than 2 legs growing up with a love of dinosaurs instead of barbies and the legend Steve Urwin was her hero. Bless her she made him a papier mache crocodile complete with the rope ties and a swamp - Its one of my lifes regrets that I didnt send it to Australia Zoo for her - she was gutted when he died and her excitement for crocodiles began to wane in favour of these four legged creatures!

Our Meg loves her horses so what to put on her card really was a no brainer.

I've actually used one of her stamps - coloured the image with promarkers and decoupaged bits of it. The papers are by Stampin up - Haiku I think they are called, with some card candy and peel offs to finish it. So why the two legs post?

Well my team mate Michelle challenged us to make a project with something on that had more than 2 legs on it this week at Tuesday Taggers and as usual the DT have come up with some corkers.

Do stop by for a peep - go on it will be worth it :0).

I must apologise for not leaving comments this last week I dont know if its Mr Blogger or just my blogging but I have been unable to leave comments unless you have the comment window that pops up (if you get my drift) but I have seen some stunning projects from all the challenges I am on as well as many more. Huge thanks for sharing your cool projects with the likes of me - you all keep me inspired and motivated to keep playing with my bits of paper and card xx

catch up

Wow what a week! Been sooo busy I have been chasing my tail. Above is the Autumn tag I made for The Stamp Man challenge The stamps are the Aspects of design nature sheet - some of these are also being sold individually in the shop - the colours are from distress inks.

Over on Keep it Simple.

The theme is seeing stars so here is a very simple card using a diecut star then adding tiny stars as a trail. Sentiment is blonde moments.

and at Tag You're it - its The Jewellery Quarter so here is a little tag with a necklace on. I have used stamps I am actually selling on this tag - you can find them here

You may have a little clue about what I was up to last night from the bottle (EMPTY!) in the top right hand corner of the stars card picture. Today is my Sister Amy's birthday - she is 33 today- but because I am working today we celebrated last night with a lovely chinese, a bottle of wine or 2 and the first of the X factor shows live. We had a lovely evening.

My sister Amy has downs syndrome and after moving into supported 4 years ago became very unhappy - a very long story with much heartache but she came back to live with Mum after 18 months. In trying to solve what will happen to Amy when Mum is no longer able to care for her we now live next door in houses which are connected upstairs and down by a door. This enables Mum to go away and still have a life(which she did last week) and we can care for Amy with no disruption to her whatsoever.

A bonus of this is that we can get giddy like teenagers and sisters do about things we really like - like the X Factor and Britains got talent. We can have impromptu bottles of wine on a Saturday night and watch soaps together if we want (a passion of Amys) and this all helps her feel secure and happy which in turn makes both Mum and I happy too. After the anguish we felt over her unhappiness every smile is a bonus and makes us smile along too.

Happy Birthday Sis - Love ya lots xx

The Stamp Man Blog Hop- fixed at the top so please scroll down for new posts

Hi there and welcome to the Stamp Mans hop at my place! You should have arrived from Lisa

If you need to start at the beginning you need to go back to here

As you can see the letter for you to collect here is

N

Dont forget to leave a comment here to be eligible to win a Hero Arts set - Friendship messages (CL046)

I used Ranger paint dabbers for the letter then stamped some flowers from Kays funky flowers sheet and added them with silicone glue. The leaves and vines are drawn by hand x

hope you are having fun and are ready for your next stop Here

Good luck!

Tuesday Taggers Pandoras box!

Our newest Teamie Georgina chose this fabulous theme and I have so enjoyed playing around with this. I was up till the wee small hours on Saturday playing with these fabulous graphic 45 papers from here
The papers are all bits left over from other projects - even the book box was although its so long ago I painted it I have no idea what I was going to use it for!

I added the Graphic 45 logo on the book spine as it seemed to fit the bill perfectly!

and as we had to make something handmade to put in the box I have made a little tag book. It would have been perfect for atcs however it is just a little too narrow to fit them in.

To create the stamped background I have used a set of children's halloween stamps I bought years ago from Baker Ross - they have really come into their own this year as I have used them more and more. That spiders web is a brilliant background stamp and I have also used my well loved Tim Holtz crackle stamp underneath that as well. Inks used momento tuxedo black and peeled paint distress ink.

These pumpkins are from the same set - they look ghoulishly wicked don't they? Card stock is from stampin up - old olive and pumpkin pie

This face is from a stamp set owned by my pal Michelle - she let me stamp some images a while ago. The rabbit below is too!

The little clock face was from The Stamp Man.

And the Jabberwocky finishes the book.

Thanks for a wonderful theme Georgina it really was fun. I have made it as a gift so I hope its liked as much as I liked making it!

Do stop by and see what my team mates have made for this Pandoras box theme - it will be worth a visit!

Tag You're It - Feelin' Fruity

I have been soooo crafty this weekend its almost felt like a retreat again LOL! Over on Tag You're it we have been feelin' fruity which is also the name of our monthly Tag swap check it out here
My first tag is from a stamp set I bought from Joanna Sheen especially for decorating all the crab apple jelly Mum and I made a few weeks ago. Coloured with promarkers and simple matting and layering I've gone for a recipe card look :0)

Tag 2 Could not resist this little chap - Also bought from Joanna Sheen - did we have days this summer when we longed to be dunked in lemonade? If so its a distant memory today x

And the final tag is using the freebie stamp from craft stamper when they first went polymer - I revisited the article for inspiration - I just love my craft stampers and could not bear to part with even one issue! Papers by My Minds eye and stamp and punch for the sentiment is from Stampin up. That little scrap of ribbon was begging to be on this tag - do you keep tiny scraps too? They are so useful for making tags with.

I had a lovely day today spent at Embsay Mill with the lovely Katy doing a promarker class. Katy is truely a master of card making with copics and promarkers so it was lovely to be inspired with all her hints and tips. I made 4 cards and then rushed home to make 2 more! Housework Pah! It will still be there another day but my MoJo may just disappear so I just have to follow it don't I???

Hope your Sunday has been Fun Fun Fun x Janet

Keep it simple

Over at Keep it simple today we are being thankful so would love you to join in and make a Thank You card.
Mine is really simple using stampin up cardstock, punches and stamps
Do stop by the Keep it Simple challenge and see my team mates gorgeous creations x I will be back later- am off for a promarkers class with the lovely Katy :0)

Free Art Journalling???

Wow look at this - a free art journalling course - just join in the Ning network to find out more - Ive already signed up for this and the atc swap on there!!!

The Stampman ATC swap - Travel

What to use for this months swap really was a no brainer having found these fabulous stamps sold individually the map here
and the sailing ship which I found in the shop too teamed with a little distress ink and some brushes my atc was almost complete. I have added wording from the across the miles stamp sheet and highlighted it with glossy accents a crafters must have staple! The ship is mounted on 3d foam to raise it a little and add some depth.
So what will you use for this one? Im at the shop today collecting the The Look atcs - I havent yet seen all the September swaps yet - that delight comes this weekend when I do the swap and choose a winner - atcs are such fun - do give them a try :0)
See you soon x Janet

Rockin my world Friday

So its Friday again and where did the week go? I am sure someone stole some of my hours! Back again on Rockette duty here is whats rocked my world this week.
1) The most wonderful folks at our craft retreat last weekend - the list of folks to thank goes on and on but I will just add one person here - our wonderful Chef Andrew for the most scrumptious grub!
The retreat went really well with new friends and old meeting up for a weekend of crafting. We had a workshop on Saturday where the fabulous Midnight Crafter helped us make a gorgeous sea chest - they were all so different and wonderfully colourful - brilliant! As always the Beamsley project made us feel really welcome and our crafting area was much better this time with tons of light.
If you would like to know more about our next retreat then click on the label at the top of the page - more workshops in this retreat with a do your own thing retreat planned for September.
2) My crafty Pal Averil - cant say why but she gave us some fabulous news and ideas this week - dont you just love it when plans comes together???
3) Today is the Lovin ink stampers club at The stamp man - so I would like to thank Jill and Ian and their fabulous team for sharing their wonderful space with us so we can have more messy fun - alcohol inks this week!
4) My son James for giving me such a laugh on Wednesday - he went back to Uni almost 2 weeks ago and has not been able to find his ipod. We've searched the car he's searched his room and we both came to the conclusion he must have lost it. On Wednesday he bought a new one and on the bus route back to his digs remebered where he had put it to keep it safe rofl - Still he says the new one is better and he can sell the old one on ebay.
5) My hubby - this morning he got up early to pick me up from work - its a real pain for him sometimes me not having a driving license but with only a little grumbling he always comes up trumps x

So will you join our Rockette group this week? Surely you have some things that have rocked your world? Do stop by the Queen of the Rockettes blog and find out more at The Celtic House
Janet x