Fab Friday at The Outlawz again!

Ok, second post of the day and once more it's time for the end of the month "Anything Goes" challenge which we (the Copics / Promarkers group at The Outlawz  ) are running with an optional 2013 calendar theme.  I'm choosing to do the calendar page each month and I'm using Teddy Bo images for the whole year.  I thought that April should be bright and cheerful so went with a sunshine yellow colour scheme!

Hopefully she will brighten up even the unpredictable April days next year :)  Why not head across to The Outlawz now and check out the rest of the fab DT's work here ?

I would like to enter her for the following -

http://creativecraftchallenges2.blogspot.com/ - anything but a card

http://www.thepixiecottage.blogspot.com/ - cuddly critters

http://movingalongwiththetimes.blogspot.com/ - cute & cuddly

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the lovely coments you leave - they really do make my day!

Bling it on!!

Back with the first of my 2 Friday posts.  I know I say it every week but I'm still amazed at how quickly the week flies by!  Here we are again with another challenge over at TOFF and this week it's all about the bling!  Now a snail may not be the first thing that springs to mind when you think of bling but this little guy is one of my favourite Octopode digis and I thought he deserved to have a bit of glitz and glamour in his life.
      I made the background by swooshing a piece of white card around on some blue & green Distress stains on an acrylic block and then stamped over that with a variety of stamps.  I coloured Brian (yes, he has a name and it's Brian!) with Copics and then cut him out and blinged him up - the sentiment is just computer generated and inked around the edges.

I would like to put this in for -

http://divasbydesignchallenge.blogspot.com/ - stamp something

http://simonsaysstampschallenge.blogspot.com/ - anything goes

Thanks for popping in and I'll be back later with my second Friday post :)

Henpecked????

Hello again - back with another one of my own digis which are available here at LilyPink Designs at CYDI.  I was doodling and playing around with words the other night and this one (and his friend) are the end result!

I would like to enter him into the following challenges -

http://canyoudigiit.com/blog/  - pretty peacock inspiration

http://retrosketches.blogspot.com.au/  - sketch inspiration

http://digitaltuesdaychallenge.blogspot.com/ - favourite colour (blue for me)

http://stamp-n-doodle.blogspot.com/ - embossing

Thanks for popping in to look  - I'll leave you with a close up..........



Winner of the Saturated Canary digi!

Thanks so much for all of the wonderful comments and also a very warm welcome to my new followers :)    I decided to use the random number thingy to pick a winner to make it completely fair and the lucky winner is Rachel of 'Knee Deep in Paper' - congratulations to you!! 
I will send Krista your name and leave it to you to contact her with your em details and she will send you Vicky :)  
        I hope you enjoy her!!

Friday fun at The Outlawz !!

Friday means a new challenge over at the copic/promarker group at The Outlawz and this week its all about Easter, chocolate and bunnies - you don't have to include all 3 but I did manage to find a really cute Bugaboo digi that did :)

I cut the card base using my Silhouette SD and coloured it with Copics as usual.  It's such a cute image and I do like the scallop edge to the egg shaped card.  The other DT members have come up with some some fabulous designs so why not wander over and check them out?

         I can't believe that Easter is nearly here already!!!  We're still having unseasonably warm weather here in NJ which I don't mind at all.  It's so lovely to feel the warm sunshine when you're out and about. 

I would like to enter this for the following challenges -

http://craftuscrazy.blogspot.com/ - something sweet



http://delightfulsketches.blogspot.com/ - Easter treats
http://www.thepixiecottage.blogspot.com/ - Easter/Spring
http://whimsyinspires.blogspot.com/ - anything goes

Thanks for taking the time to stop by - hope you have a wonderful weekend :)

Don't eat the daisies but you could eat these flowers!!

Ok, time to confess that I'm a big Doris Day fan :)  Calamity Jane is in my top 10 films and I will happily settle down on a wet and windy afternoon to watch any Doris film.  One of those is "Don't eat the daisies" and the lyrics from the title song have been stuck in my head for days - why does that happen??  Something comes out of nowhere and it's with you for days - or is that just me?
                          Anyway, there is a point here, honestly!  My card for this weeks Octopode Factory challenge has a line from that song down one side but I would say that these are definitely flowers that you could eat - my kind of gardening!!
I used the fabulous digi - Christine the Strawberry girl, available here and merged her over the cake blossoms  - the theme for the challenge this week is SPRING so why not head on over to check on the rest of the DT's fantastic work :)

I would like to enter this into the following -

http://craftypurplefrogchallenges.blogspot.com/ - anything goes

http://paperplaychallenges.blogspot.com/ - spring colours

http://craftsandmechallenges.blogspot.com/ - spring colours

Thanks for stopping by again :)

Are you a Saturated Canary fan???

I'm sure you must have seen one or two wonderful cards made with the fabulous Saturated Canary digis out there in web world - one or two hundred maybe!!!  It's no surprise to me how very popular these cute as can be images are - Krista Smith has such an amazing talent for art.  I first came across her on Etsy where she was selling art prints of her "girls" and then began to follow her blog.  I was thrilled when she started the digi images and happily began my collection :)

            A while back, Krista asked her blog followers for some ideas for new characters and she would send the lucky chosen ones, a digi of 'their' idea.  Well, I'm sure you can guess where this is leading.......

YES, I'M ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES!!!!!

(insert happy dance here)

Krista liked my idea which was a Viking girl and so here she is on a card I just made -

Isn't she just the cutest Viking ever???  I've been very interested in the Vikings or Norsemen ever since I managed to trace my family tree back to some Viking big-wigs!!  Yes, that's another one of my hobbies - genealogy.  I spent over a year researching my ancestry and it was so fascinating - like being an historical private detective.

     Anyway, enough waffling - the good news is that Krista has very generously said we, (the lucky ones!) can offer "our" digi as a prize - Yay!!  To be in with a chance of winning just leave a comment on my blog - it would be great if you became a follower too :)  Then head over to Krista's blog here where you will find a list of all the other lucky folk and you can visit their blogs for a chance of winning "their" images.

PLEASE NOTE THE LUCKY WINNER HAS BEEN PICKED NOW :)

How's that for a great start to your day?  I'll leave you with a close up of Vicky the Viking - I coloured her with a mixture of Copics and Distress Inks (first time I've painted with the inks).

I'd like to enter her for the following -

http://saturatedcanarychallenge.blogspot.com/ - use twine

http://paperprettiesblog.blogspot.com/ - new technique (1st time colouring with Distress Inks)

http://digitaltuesdaychallenge.blogspot.com/ - life is peachy

http://www.thekraftjournal.blogspot.com/ - anything goes kraft

Thanks for staying with me on a fairly lengthy posting for me - hope you enjoy all the other new SC images :)

Do you believe in fairies?

Well, do you??  I certainly believe they make for cute digis and this one from Dilly Beans is no exception!  She has a bit of an edgy, punky feel to her so I chose to spice her up with some red and green alongside the more girly-fairy pink.  The challenge over at the Dilly Beans blogspot this week is stars so I merged the fairy onto a background of stars using PSE10 and then added a few more for embellishments.

I would also like to enter her for the following -

http://flutterbywednesdays.blogspot.com/ - use a fairy, butterfly or angel

http://hippitywithippity.blogspot.com/ - things with wings

Thanks for stopping by.  I'll be back tomorrow with a chance to win a digi from a very popular artist so make sure you pop in again :)

TOFF blog candy!

Just a quick posting to let you know about the fabulous blog candy from the amazing artist, Lily, the creator of  The Octopode Factory . If you're a follower of my blog you will have seen some of my creations with these fun digis and now here's your chance to get your hands on some :) 

Boys will be boys!

Back again already!  This time for my Octopode Factory creation where the challenge this week is "boys will be boys".  Not a card this time but a canvas!  I love doing canvas art as you can so easily paint over it if it goes the wrong way - ideal for someone who can't always make their mind up easily.
The digi used is called "The Kid" available here and I just thought with that cute look, he would easily be able to get himself out of any trouble.
      I painted the background with acrylic paints and then stamped it and grunged it up a bit.  The digi was printed onto cardstock and coloured with my Copics, cut out and stuck to the canvas - ideal for any little boy's room :)

I had fun doing this one and have stocked up on some more cheap canvas from Michaels so watch this space!

I would like to put him in for -

http://simonsaysstampandshow.blogspot.com/ - anything goes

http://thatcraftplaceblog.blogspot.com/ - anything goes

Thanks for calling in today - the weekend starts now !!

Fun, fun, fun Friday!!

Friday again - how is that possible??  Another week flown by and I didn't get half done of what I wanted to do!  I did get a card done for the fabulous Friday Copics/Promarkers challenge at The Outlawz which is a good thing as I'm the one posting it this week.  Our challenge today is "Humour" -  should be easy enough to find a funny digi or rubber stamp for this so why not join in with us?
My digi was one I picked up ages ago as a freebie and I didn't know who it was by - luckily, one of my DTeamies (Jo) filled in the blank and told me it was from Just Inklined .  He's called Albert and he's in the "wrinklies" section :)

I printed the sentiment myself - it's a well used phrase in the biking community!  Maybe I should save this for my hubby's next birthday when he'll be 50 - good job he doesn't read this!!!

I would like to put this in for  -
http://cardsformen.blogspot.com/ - cheeky chappie
http://craftspotbykimberly.blogspot.com/ - manly man

Thanks for popping in to take a look - I'll be back again with my second post for the day very soon :)

Good shoes!

My card today is done with one of my digis again - this is a new one called "Good shoes" and I used the sketch from Retro sketches challenge for this week.

The digi is available with black shoes as seen above and also in an uncoloured version, both with the sentiment shown.  I just added a touch of flesh colour Copics to the ankles and there you have it,  one very quick card!!

Just a quick post this time - for a quick card :)

Mermaid and robots???

That title sounds like a really bizarre combination but that's what this post is about!!!

I was contacted by another Etsy seller the other day with the offer of a free digi if I would make a card with it - well, how could I refuse???   I was even more pleased when I visited the shop here and saw the digis available :)
             I couldn't make up my mind so asked the artist to pick one for me and here she is -

I do hope I've done her justice - she was a real pleasure to colour and I'm thinking I may use her again for a spot of paper piecing on her tail.

I would like to enter her for the following -

http://simonsaysstampschallenge.blogspot.com/ - green

Now my other card was done as a sample for Lily, the owner of The Octopode Factory.  She sent out some new artwork to the DT and I came up with this creation!  I do love that little robot - he seems to have a retro feel to him (retro sci-fi, is that even possible?).

I would like to put "Hank" in for this masculine challenge - http://thepapershelter.blogspot.com/.

Thanks so much for stopping by - hope your day is as sunny as mine is today :)

Spring flowers

Back again, on a gorgeous sunny day :)  Doesn't it just seem better when the sun shines?  It was warm enough to sit outside and spend some time with my Kindle yesterday; one of my favourite hobbies is reading and has been from a very early age - I just love getting lost in a good book!
       Anyway, on to the card for today - a CAS one for the Sunday challenge group over at The Outlawz which is "floral" this week.  I used one of my own digis from LilyPink Designs and printed it 3 times to get the layers - some simple colouring with copics, a twine tied button and a sentiment stamped with a dollar stamp from Michaels and it was done!

I would like to enter this card for the following -

http://www.craftybloggersnetwork.blogspot.com/ - floral

http://totallystampalicious.blogspot.com/ - flowers

http://papersundaes.blogspot.com/ - feminine flair

That's all for now - thanks so much for stopping by and here's hoping the sunshine lasts :)

My digi's at Can You Digi It?

Hello all - hope your weekend has started well?  I'm hoping to get some crafting time later on and we're planning to go picking or junking again tomorrow!  There's so many places to go here in NJ and PA, which isn't that far from us, so looking forward to that :)
     Anyway just a quick posting to show some of my digi's that are available here at Can You Digi It.  I wouldn't say I have a particular style at all and as much as I love colouring with my Copics, I enjoy doing the more graphic style of digi that doesn't always need colouring.  It's also a joint venture as my hubby does the majority of the very detailed motor vehicles - he has always been very talented at drawing and I'm very happy he's doing it again! 

 Just a few samples for you to look at - I would love to hear what you think.....

That's it for now - hope you all get some crafting time in this weekend :)

Let them eat cake!

It doesn't seem to matter that there is no evidence this was ever spoken by Marie Antoinette - this phrase has been linked to her for many years and as they say "mud sticks!"  Anyway, my second post today (Friday is a busy day for me) is for the current challenge over at The Octopode Factory which today is Royalty.
I chose to use this Marie Ant. in a mirror digi and can you guess, I just got some Liquid Pearls???  I'm having fun with these, even though I'm a bit late to the party (as always!).  I stamped the background with some Parisian themed Tim Holtz stamps - my one and only set so I'm trying to use it as much as possible :)

I'm really enjoying playing with these Octopode Factory digis - I do like the oddness about them and I think they work really well with mixed media projects (something I'm dabbling with at the moment!)

I would also like to enter this for the following -

http://paper-craftingjourney.blogspot.com/ - anything goes

http://dreamvalleychallenges.blogspot.com/ - female

Thanks for stopping by again - let's hear it for the weekend!!

Fabulous Friday!

Wow, another week just flew by!!  At least that means Spring is getting closer and we even had a couple of lovely warm and sunny days this week :)  So looking forward to winter going - I'm a sun-loving person and can't wait for the warm weather to get here!
Anyway, it's Friday so that means its another funtabulous challenge with the Copics/Promarkers group over at The Outlawz .  This week we're asking you to come up with something green (the colour, not the concept) in honour of the upcoming St Patrick's Day.  I chose to use a digi from Make it Crafty called Pipi petal sprite  - isn't she cute?

I like using pinks and greens together and to keep it all matching, I inked the seam binding with the same Copic green I used for her hair and coloured the edges of the scalloped backing circle with the same flesh pinks as the flowers in her hair - talk about attention to detail!!

Anyway, why not pop over to The Outlawz to check out the rest of the DT's gorgeous work?  If you're not already a member, it doesn't take 2 minutes to join and you'll have access to some wonderful inspiration and the chance to win some fabulous prizes each and every month!  Well worth it and it won't cost you a penny!

I would like to put this card in for the following -

http://digistamps4joy.blogspot.com/ - green
http://flutterbywednesdays.blogspot.com/ - butterfly, fairy or angel (I'm hoping sprite will count!)
http://simonsaysstampschallenge.blogspot.com/ - mother's day/ special female


I'll be back again shortly with my post for The Octopode Factory - hope to see you then :)

Fuzzy & furry

Hello all!  Back again already:)  This time I made a card with one of my own digis available from my etsy shop here.  He's called Mikey and he's one of the first digis I drew so I do have a soft spot for him!
               I'm offering a 30% discount to all you blog readers out there  - this can be used on anything from my shop until the end of March 2012 so I would love it if you popped in.  I'm not suggesting any of you crafters out there need cards (not at the rate we all make them!) but I do have a few digis in the shop that you might like.  The code is LPSBLOG0330 which you apply at checkout and the discount will be done automatically :)

So, back to the card - I kept the layout fairly simple and just used the sentiment "best wishes" as it can be useful to have a few general purpose cards in your stash!

                      I made this one with the current CMC challenge in mind - here  which is FUZZY-WUZZY, FURRY ANIMAL ANTICS.  I think he qualifies as being both fuzzy and furry :) 

I would also like to enter him into the following -

http://2sisterschallengeblog.blogspot.com/ - recipe - 1 image/ 2 papers / 3 embellishments

http://divasbydesignchallenge.blogspot.com/ - favourite things (he's one of my fave digis!)

Thanks for popping in :)

Recycling junk

Hello again - back with a quick post just to show you that I do stuff other than cards and digis!!  I found this old tool caddy whilst out picking the other week and knew it would be very useful for my craft tools - just not in that fairly boring and dull condition :(

So, several coats of paint later, a bit of sanding and stamping and a few transfers later - TA DA!!

Much better :)  and it fits in with my craft room very nicely.  The containers are recycled tin cans which I painted and wrapped with some scrapbooking paper.  I made the transfers by using the packing tape method which is one of the many things I have pinned on Pinterest - I have so many things I want to do from there but at least this is one done!!

Thanks for stopping to take a look today :)



Purple & pink dreams

 Hey, it's the middle of the week already and the temperature is on the rise here in the Garden State :)  I'm so looking forward to Spring - I'm not a winter person and even though its been incredibly mild this winter, I can't wait for the warm and sunny days to come!
My card today is more detailed than it looks - I stamped the image Jasmin onto cardstock and acetate.  I scribbled over the cardstock image with pink and purple copics and dripped some copics blender onto it to give the effect shown and then cut out the image.  I placed the stamped acetate layer over the cardstock and attached it with the 2 flower brads at the top - I think it gives the card the look of one of those cartoon cels but it is very difficult to show in a photo.  Anyway this was done for the Stampotique challenge which is to use purple and pink with black -

I would also like to enter it for the following -

http://ladybugscraftsinkchallengeblog.blogspot.com/ - pink & girly

http://papertakeweekly.blogspot.com/ - anything goes

http://ssdschallenge.blogspot.com/ - use your stash (I've had the acetate for ages!!)

Thanks for stopping by :)

Not perfect......

Hello - back again with a quick post of a card that came together really quickly once the idea popped into my head!!  Don't you love it when it all works out?  As I said in a previous post, I was lucky enough to win 3 digis from the Dilly Beans challenge and I wanted to use one of them straight away for the current challenge (green & black).
    Now I know he won't be everyone's cup of tea but sometimes I need a break from all the cuteness!!  I do try and control the snarky side of me (my hubby would be ROFLHAO at that statement!) but sometimes the cards just express exactly what people want to say!

I would also like to enter him into the Smudgy Antics challenge which is 'anything goes' and the Anything Goes challenge which is 'boyz to men'.

Thanks for popping in and I'd love it if you left me a comment :)

Digital duo!!

Back after a fun weekend where we popped into the Big Apple to see an off Broadway show called "Million Dollar Quartet" which is about one night in a recording studio with Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins & Jerry Lee Lewis.  It was brilliant and I would highly recommend it to all of you '50's music fans out there!!  We also had a quick lunch in Ellen's Stardust Diner where the staff all sing and dance whilst they're serving you - very unique!!  Gotta love NY :-)
Anyway, managed to do a couple of cards using my own digis, available here.  The first was done following the Saturday challenge over at The Outlawz which this week is paper piecing.  I used my dress and frame and paper pieced both the main elements using co-ordinating papers and I must admit, I like the end result, especially the skirt layered over the frame!

I would also like to enter this for the following -



http://www.craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.com/ - anything goes
http://papermakeupstamps.blogspot.com/ - CAS with a digi
http://thepinkelephantchallenge.blogspot.com/ - layers

The second card was made to join in with the fun of the Sunday CAS challenge team at The Outlawz.
The challenge this week is to mix it up and use 2 patterned papers which does make the whole CAS theme a bit more tricky -   I hope I managed to keep my card in the CAS zone!!

This digi is also available in a pre-coloured format at Can You Digi It as I thought that would give an even quicker option to make a card!



Thanks for stopping by and I hope the week has started well for you :)

Friday at The Outlawz!

Back again with my second post for the day - this time its for the weekly challenge by the Copics/Promarkers DT, of which I am a very proud member :)
     Our theme this week is "Men Only" and because so many cardmakers seem to struggle with the idea of making cards for the guys, I have offered up a free digi of a car to use, drawn by my very talented hubby!  My card was done using this digi and a Kenny K digi which I merged using PSE - I made a background from a freebie road map (I think it was Virginia......not sure) and kept the embellishments very simple.

The car digi is available to all members of The Outlawz  so head on over there and join up if you havn't already!

I would also like to enter this into the following -

http://morethanfavors.blogspot.com/ - vacation

http://www.cupcakecraftchallenges.blogspot.com/ - boys and toys

I also want to add that I just heard I won the DillyBeans challenge last week for my card with the Queen of Hearts!!  Yay!! Such nice news to start the day with and now I get to choose 3 digis from the shop here.

I've been very lucky as I also recently won the Dude Time doodles challenge and received a $15 gift certificate to Stamp by Step.  I placed my order and got it a few days ago - such great service :)  Will definitely be shopping there again!

Thank you for stopping by again and hope you all have a wonderful weekend ahead of you!

Dream big...................................

Hello all and Happy Friday :)
My first post today is for The Octopode Factory challenge which this week is "mushrooms".  I'll admit that mine are pretty colourful for mushrooms but I'm sure that's how this little fella sees them too!  I made an inked and stitched background from an old dictionary page and then popped the various fungi and the dormouse (all Octopode digis) up with foam pads to give it a bit of depth.  The large mushroom was cut from watercolour paper which I painted, inked, stained and stitched! 
                  Why not make your next stop the TOFF site to check out the fabulous work from the rest of the DT?

I would also like to enter this into the following -

http://scrapbitzcopics.ning.com/group/mix-it-up-mixed-media-altered-art-group - use a book page
http://divasbydesignchallenge.blogspot.com/ - spots or stripes
http://www.thepixiecottage.blogspot.com/ - sketch and/or anything goes

                   Thanks so much for popping in- would love to see you later on with my second post for The Outlawz :)