Sunday catchup and TOOT!!

Yesterday me, my sis and mum went to visit my dads sister (June) and her family who lives in York. It was lovely as she really looked so much like dad and even had his manerisms and everything! It made me smile, for some reason it wasnt sad........it was really lovely to see :)
We called at an American diner for breakfast, stayed at my Aunts for dinner (the meringue was the best ive ever had - Denise is a miracle worker with a whisk!!) :D
Loved the range as i managed to pick up beds and a scratchpost for the cats for half the price they would have been in Pets at Home!! So envious of people who live within reasonable distance of this fab shop, unfortunatley a 2 hour drive wont cut it with DH! lol

I swear this girl makes me giggle so much!! My little sis....I am so happy, i have been chosen to be on the Creative Scrappers Design Team!! Check out this fabulous sketch blog and forum for some great ideas!! My first layout as part of the dt will be coming soon :)

Ive finished my Gallery Idol 'appliance' card, its uploaded and will be going live lunchtime tomorrow MST (which is around 6 - 7 pm UK time) I will post a link again and more pics here too :)

Thank you so much for all the comments and wonderful emails - i do try and comment back on everyones blog etc or reply to the mails as they are really appreciated :D

Top 15 Yayyy!!

Thank you so much for your support girls, i made it into the top 15 of Gallery Idol - im so excited i could burst!! Papercraftconnection is where the announcement is so check it out for all the info on the next round...........household object..........hmmm will have to think hard on this one! eek! The cards have to be submitted by monday and i think voting goes live Monday lunchtime US time :)

In the meantime here is a card i made using the Cardpatterns sketch. I used Papertrey Ink bitty square paper, chocolate ink and sentiment from the Vintage basket collection, Prima flowers and Hero arts swirl stamp.

Creative Scrappers sketch/ Cuttlebug combo ....

After a swift run through to the shops this morning (told you i was running out of DST - well it happened!! eek!!) i have come to the conclusion on 3 things.............

1. when you have no money you see loads of things you would like
2. when you have your hands full with shopping the little ones legs give up and they need carrying
3. you will sound like foghorn as soon as the little one goes round a corner out of sight! **i swear my heart will never be in its normal place again, then this little angel face says Boo and you dont know whether to cuddle or cry** It wasnt even major, he hadnt wandered for miles he was literally ducked down at the bottom of the checkout just out of view but i swear he could have been abducted by little green men the way my heart sank!

When we got home i chilled and scrapped (suprise!) a sketch set by Creative Scrappers. I have so many windows open with challenge pages, sketches, tasks and designs that i will get caught up one of these days! I have combined this one with a challenge set at the Cuttlebug Challenge blog - go check it out, supercool prizes up for grabs! The tree is simply brown cardstock edged and inked, which is instead of the mini tutorial today i took a pic of how to create the fluted edge ( i know Jane asked for details the other day and the only way to explain was via pics.....)

Its so simple but will ruin your nails so be prepared! Stick the double sided tape a little bit away from the edges of your cardstock etc otherwise you wont be able to lift up the very edge. Run your fingernail underneath and flick it upwards now and again causing the little tears. You can do lots or just say touch it - both creating different effects :)

Pah.....summer???

A lot to share today as i went into overdrive yesterday! I think it was seeing the rain pouring down and not being able to get out and about that sent me into a creative spin! Please let the sun come back - it really cant have been summer already, can it?? There surely has to be some more warm weather on the way?? At the minute its like tropical thunderstorms every day, rain coming down so hard its bouncing and filling up the drains in seconds! Oh well, i guess as long as its cool i can get through some of the challenges etc and some DT work without the worry of melting all over them! :)

First up today is my take on a sketch from Creative Scrappers. I flipped the sketch and worked it upside down so i could take advantage of the Good Times Great Food sentiment printed at the top of the paper :) Papers are from a Cutnpaste pad (so shabby chic its adorable!!) Pic was taken of me and Claire on the way to Debden this year - an American diner with fab food, what more could we ask for on our 5 hour journey!! :)
Next up is a layout created for Scrapwhispers challenge this week. The challenge was to use red, white and blue - a combination im loving right now! Mine isnt based on July the 4th - more just fab colours that worked well with these poser photographs of Ethan! lol
I love the sheen on the red card. The star stamps are from Papertrey.
Its that time of year again when we get creative for the teachers :) Scott is leaving for big school so its going to be an emotional time when it comes to leaving his brothers in the little school :( I have made a special folder/book for Scotts teacher (she is also my next door neighbours daughter so i have inside info on the kind of things she likes - it also helps shes a cardmaker!!) which i will share shortly. I made this card for Jakes teacher based on the sketch from Sketch Saturday. The stamps are Vintage Basket from Papertrey ink.
Last but not least is my take on the Caardvarks sketch this week. Cupcakes and inks are all from Papertrey (ok so you didnt really expect anything else did you! lol )
Right, today i have a list of things i need to get done so im logging off here now..........ok, let me check some sites first......oh and i need to check emails too.....ooh and theres those blogs i didnt visit.......

Im running out of DST!!

Im going through double sided tape like its no ones business!! I dont even think ive scrapped this much since i first started - i just cant get enough and would rather substitute sleep with playing right now! lol

Here is a layout i created based on the So Sketchy July layout sketch. Its a little about the journey i have been on to get to where i am now, (lets just say i owe my friends a lot!) :)It was lovely to use these papers as ive never had the right photographs before (the boys just dont suit damask and fleur d lys patterns) LOL

I cant seem to do a layout without it having the fluted edges either - it adds the depth im looking for right now so maybe i will stick with it a while, maybe not - we will see :)

Thanks again for all the support and lovely comments about Gallery idol. All of the girls have done a fantastic job and im just pleased to have been placed amongst them :)

Pick me Pick me Please vote!

Ok im going to go out on a limb here and ask you to vote in the Gallery idol comp, of course vote for whos card you like best and i will only hope i can make it through to the top 15 of these talented ladies! :D

click here to vote
Point your friends in the direction of the card marked Debbie (durham). There are 19 very talented ladies there and i need all the help i can get!! :D
*all the above is said very tongue in cheek - we are all very supportive of each other so just taking the time to vote for any one of us is really appreciated* :)

A creative start to the week...

This is the first time i have actually managed to do Dawns colour challenge and finish in time!! LOLI used mainly all Papertrey stamps even down to the little heart leaves, buttons, cardstock and inks :) I am so in love with Vintage Cream ink its getting used on everything! (i cheated as i couldnt find my heat embossing gun so the silver grey looks a little off - it is off now as it just brushed away! lol)

The Basic Grey newsletter had a great sketch in for July so i quickly got onto it and made this layout of the biggest strawberry we have seen this season! Im loving all the layers right now and the ragged edges - its playing havoc with my nails though! lol (strawberry stamps are Papertrey and the papers are Basic Grey)

I made another layout for the Hero Arts photo challenge too - (i know! im scrapping like a madwoman right now!) Yes, before you ask, Jake is always eating! lol Theres no filling this kid up so most pics of him include food of some kind ;)