Di's August #2 Sketch

There was a bit of a glitch with blogger the other day it seems ... in fact I guess it could have been google as a whole - I say that because my e-mail was down at the same time. The upshot is that the scheduled 40 days winners post & this one, completely disappeared!
Anyway, the first card is my DT sample for this week's card sketch and the second one is a simpler version of the same sketch. I do like to make multiple cards from Di's sketches! LOL. You might have noticed that these (there are others too similar to warrant posting) are thank you cards. This ties in with Di's 'Theme Thursday' this month, which couldn't have come at a better time for me. I have absolutely no thank you cards in my stock ... & I need a whole bunch of 'em due to the Big Birthday! LOL. So you can expect to see a few more this month too.
And in case you were wondering ... yeah! It's all scraps again!!
Why not have a go at the sketch yourself ... or maybe join this month's theme & make some thank you cards - hey! do both!!!

Be back later with that 'winners' post.

Butterfly ... Flutter By

Another bunch of cards, loosely inspired by Di's August #1 sketch (see previous post). I'm not a big stamper but loved the patterned wings ... so I had to get it! I have had it for some time now ... & I have used it before. It works well just stamped onto coloured/patterned papers but this time I have just picked out a few li'l details to colour in! I've also just curled the edges of the wings & attached the bodies to the card so as they are 'in flight'. Lots of texture on these with chenille & velvet ribbons from Making Memories ... have no idea whose papers they are (the brown ones are HOTP I think) it's all just stuff from my stash!
I prefer to stamp in dark brown rather than black ... looks a bit softer I think and doesn't distract so much from the overall design when using softer, distressed colours!


40 Days Winners coming tomorrow!!

Another Di Card - August #1

It seems that, unless I schedule these posts, I don't quite get around to blogging them ... not until the 11th hour at least. So I'm spending tonight (Monday 11th August) scheduling some catch up posts. Gotta love scheduled posting! LOL.
Anyway, this is last Wednesday's sketch ... & you still have time to whip up a quick card & get linked up before this week's sketch!
I'm still using up scraps & old stash ... HOTP Earth's Palette papers, scraps of HOTP 8x8 Vintage & Karen Foster Loopy Brads (unopened after about 3 years!!)
Check out the next post for some more cards ... yup! more scraps!!

Am I A Scrap Addict?

Evidently Deanne Burton thinks so!! I have just joined the Layout Sketch DT over on Deanne's fabulous blog ... Along with a few other names you might know! Go check it all out ... but first, just have a look at that cool blinkie over on the right column ... cool huh?
So, the deal is I'll be designing a cool layout for Deanne on the 1st & 15th of the month using one of her fab sketches ... & you can join in too - just link her up in the comments section when you've done yours ... so fun!
And don't forget the Pen Pals Challenges - you still have a few days to join in challenge #1 & grab a cool prize ... and join us in the coveted 'Pen Pal of the Week' spot.
I'm also sticking with Di Hickman's card sketch team ... even if she tries to shake me off ... I ain't goin' nowhere! LOL.
I haven't forgotten about the outstanding 40 days prizes ... struggling a bit to get straight at the mo - I feel another catch up post coming soon! LOL

It's All About Etsy!!

Ok - so I bet a few of you thought I wouldn't make it ... but I did officially open my Etsy shop today - at 23:49 - so it was on my birthday ... just as I said. There's not a whole lot in there just now but a bunch of cards ... but I do have a whole lotta projects to finish up & list.
It has an RSS feature, so you can sign up to the feed if you are that way inclined! And obviously I'll be updating my li'l bloggy here with the odd peek at my new creations.
If there is anyone who is still unsure as to what an etsy shop is ... basically it is an online venue with loooooads of shops selling mostly handmade stuff - you can sell a bit of scrappy supplies/kits & the like but it is mostly there to sell handmade. If you look over to the right of this blog - you'll see my Etsy link - just click on the shop name ... yup! it's 'crafty moments' & that will take you right to my store.
& if you like what you see - please e-mail it to all your friends (there's a feature to do that in the etsy store) and join the list of peeps that {heart} my store.
I'm a li'l bit excited about this ... can you tell???
Oh! and I have been taking on board all your suggestions for both the Etsy store and our new monthly kits ... I think you are gonna like what I've got planned!
I shall probably be offline mostly tomorrow - family BBQ for my birthday - but I'll be back very soon with more winners n stuff!

Day #40 - 40 Days Event

Well here it is ... the big 4-0!!

I actually, officially turned 40 at 4am ... & yup! I was still up! LOL

Thank you all sooooo much for joining me on this 40-day journey - it's been fun & you have all made it such a special time!

Our final challenge is another simple comments RAK ... and because birthdays are for gifts I'd like to award this one to someone who didn't win anything yet! So today (or before midnight BST on August 14th), leave a comment if you haven't won anything yet - don't worry about all the challenges that are still open ... I'll be drawing this one last so will take out the future winners too!

Keeping it short for now - I have to prep for my class this afternoon ... I am expecting that there will be cake! LOL

40 Days Round Up!!

Wow! Don't know what happened with the internet last night ... just couldn't get back on! LOL. So here is the post you've all been waiting for on the penultimate day of our 40 day journey.

Day # 35 You might be aware that over on my store DT blog, they call me Guv (short for the governor, geddit?) - today's challenge is to create a layout with a title starting with the letters 'G' 'U' or 'V' - I'll put on posts for each day's challenge in a mo - post your blog link (or e-mail me if you don't have a blog) on Day #35's post. Scrappy goodies up for grabs people!!

Day #36 Pop over to the webstore & then comment back on Day #36's post - what is your fave paper range that we currently stock ... & what ones would you like to see next ... A selection of store goodies going begging here!

Day #37 Another easy one! We launched our brand new monthly embellie kit on August 1st. So far it has been well received but you can't have too much feedback! LOL. So today's challenge is to post a comment on Day #37's blog post & let us know what you think of this kit, what you'd like to see in future kits ... and give us some ideas for upcoming themes! And the really good news ... although the store doesn't do international orders ... from September our kits will be available to everyone!! look out for deets later this month! There's an embellie kit up for grabs here (could be August's or September's)!

Day #38 Another comments only as I'm sure we are all getting a bit tired from the looooong journey! LOL. You might not know ... but I'm a bit of a tree hugging hippy on the side. So today, I want you to tell me one thing that you do for the environment ... whether it be composting, recycling cans or simply using your scrapping scraps - and give me your top green tip! Not sure what exactly the prize will be here ... there'll be some vintage supplies involved!

Day #39 Today will be the fourth & final round of 'Guv's Celebrity Squares' over on the store DT Blog but ... I don't have the new grid back yet! LOL. Hopefully I'll be getting it v. soon ... so check back later!

All these challenges end Midnight BST August 14th!!

And other challenges running until tomorrow???? Check them out:

Day #25 - win handmade etsy embellies
Day #17 - Birthday Tag
Day #1 - link list
They all end tomorrow ... so be quick!
We are still looking for October's GDT over on the store DT blog - find the deets here: free kit & exposure up for grabs!! & while you are there ... be sure to cast your vote for September's GDT winner!

Day #39 - 40 Days Event

Today will be the fourth & final round of 'Guv's Celebrity Squares' over on the store DT Blog but ... I don't have the new grid back yet! LOL. Hopefully I'll be getting it v. soon ... so check back later!

Day #38 - 40 Days Event

Another comments only as I'm sure we are all getting a bit tired from the looooong journey! LOL. You might not know ... but I'm a bit of a tree hugging hippy on the side. So today, I want you to tell me one thing that you do for the environment ... whether it be composting, recycling cans or simply using your scrapping scraps - and give me your top green tip! Not sure what exactly the prize will be here ... there'll be some vintage supplies involved!

Day #37 - 40 Days Event

Another easy one! We launched our brand new monthly embellie kit on August 1st. So far it has been well received but you can't have too much feedback! LOL. So today's challenge is to post a comment & let us know what you think of this kit, what you'd like to see in future kits ... and give us some ideas for upcoming themes! And the really good news ... although the store doesn't do international orders ... from September our kits will be available to everyone!! look out for deets later this month! There's an embellie kit up for grabs here (could be August's or September's)!Closes midnight BST August 14th!!

Day #36 - 40 Days Event

Pop over to the webstore & then comment back on Day #36's post - what is your fave paper range that we currently stock ... & what ones would you like to see next ... A selection of store goodies going begging here!
Closes midnight BST August 14th!!

Day #35 - 40 Days Event

You might be aware that over on my store DT blog, they call me Guv (short for the governor, geddit?) - today's challenge is to create a layout with a title starting with the letters 'G' 'U' or 'V' - post your blog link (or e-mail me if you don't have a blog). Scrappy goodies up for grabs people!!
Closes midnight BST August 14th!!

Here's some more winners!

OK! I love giving prizes as much as getting them! So this post makes me happy! LOL.

The winner of Day #23 Christmas in July is Vanessa Colbourne ... you win a bunch of Christmas Cards, handmade by me & ready to give as a gift (if you don't want to use them yourself! LOL). I have your addy & I'll pop them in the post for you!

Day #22's 'Use You Scraps' winner is Ruth - let me know what colour you'd like for your scrappy RAK & I'll pop it in the post ... have your addy too!

Finally ... the winner of the last round of Guv's Celebrity Squares on the DT blog goes to Stampin C ... need your addy!! The full deets & the next round (which is open to everybody again) will be published a li'l later - just as soon as I get the new grid from my techno-genius! LOL

I'll be back this evening with a catch-up post for all the missing challenges ... right now I have to go fix dinner! & if you are wondering how the same names keep cropping up as winners ... it's cuz they keep entering! LOL. You have to be in it to win it!!!

What's Up With Me?

I've been thinking for a while about doing a monthly summary-type post a bit like Di Hickman does, & somehow never get around to it - so from September my 'what's up with me?' post will be just that - there, I said it ... & that's like a commitment! For this month tho' there's just a few things that I need to get off my chest.
I have been struggling for some time now & failing completely to achieve some sort of balance. I've taken short breaks of a few days here & there but none long enough to really achieve anything. But just long enough to see that something has to give! Right now I'm coming out of a period of over-commitment, so this is a good time to make some changes.
My DT term with journaling junkie & MCC has now come to an end & most recently, Allie from Croppinsville USA announced that she was not going to continue with either the DT or Hometown Bloggers due to online issues with the webstore. I am not going to apply for anymore DT places in the near future, although there are 1 or 2 upon which I'm waiting to hear the outcome. I'm going to continue to create for those DTs upon which I do serve ... but that's it - I'm officially taking a 'creative break', which also means I'll be creating less for this blog too. So no challenge entries, no 'hobby' scrapping etc ... a proper break.
And that will give me some time to concentrate on my home (which is a state!) & my garden (which needs TLC). I have no idea how long this break will last ... could be days (it's been 3 so far), maybe weeks ... I doubt I'll last a month! LOL. But I expect to come back fully refreshed & ready to create with a re-invigourated (is that even a word?) mojo!
There will still be eye candy on this blog - I still have lots of stuff to post for DT work & for my classes, etsy store etc - I'm just gonna take some time to finish stuff up without worrying about creating every day etc ... then next month maybe I'll feel refreshed!
And I'm gonna try my very best not to take so much on in future! I have loved doing '40 days' but with opening the etsy shop before it ends & the launch of the new challenge blog & a few new DT applications & running the webstore & the launch of our new monthly embellie kit... maybe it's just too much! So from this weekend, I'm gonna take it all at a slower pace ... maybe just ONE thing at a time ... how about that!
Thank you all sooooo much for sticking with me - even when I am unreliable ... I love sharing my journey with you all! This week is for tidying up the loose ends ... the new, 40-year-old me will be taking over at the weekend! LOL

Possibly The Worst Blogger In The World!

Yeah! I know I'm days behind again ... bear with me tho' ... today is going to be another huge catch-up blogging day!
So basically:
If you have entered a challenge & haven't seen your project posted on either Blog 'Til You Drop or Pen Pals Challenge Blog ... I'm doing it, I promise - hopefully today.
If you are waiting for the results of a previous draw from the 40 days event either on this blog or Blog 'Til You Drop ... I'll be announcing all those, definitely today.
If you are looking for the most recent days challenges (August 3rd - 5th) they are all coming, definitely today!
If you just want to know what I'm playing at, being totally unreliable etc ... watch out for the next post - I can explain! LOL

Day #34 - 40 Days Event

Off to visit with Jay in sunny Bristol (!) UK today! Can you say 'ribbon?' LOL. Now Jay's competition is only open to the UK (postage is stupid expensive here) BUT for all our international players ... pop over to Jay & then come back & post your answers here & I will match the prize on this blog, geddit? UK players comment on Jay's post, internationals on my blog - so we'll have two prizes this time!!

Did you see the new ScrapJunkie Embellie kit? We are v. excited about it ... & after just one day we have just 3 left!!

Aaaaand the voting has just open to decide the winner of July's Guest Design Team challenge ... go cast your vote here.

Day #33 - 40 Days Event

Here's a bit of a peek at my first layout for the new Pen Pals Challenge Blog, who are also today's 40 Days Event organisers (yeah! Ok, it's me & Colette really! LOL). You'll have to pop over to pen pals for the full layout, deets of the challenge & fabulous prize but for those that want supply lists etc (with handy links to my webstore for those in the UK ;o) )... here ya go!
Supplies: Papers: Cloud 9 Design (Sunrise Smoothie); Flowers, velvet trim: Making Memories; Orange Ribbon: American Crafts; Buttons from my stash.