Playing with my Winnings - YEAH :)

Well I've literally just download the My Memories Suite which I won from Dorcas Designs, thank you again Dorcas, and I'm 'chuffed to bits'.  What a fantastic and easy programme to use.  Here is my very first creation and this is within minutes of installing it.  This is my hubby by the Trevi Fountain in Rome, where we went last year.  beautiful City and I can now do the photos and memories justice!

Bit of fiddling around needed I know, but as this was within minutes of downloading but I am absolutely thrilled with the results.  This suite is so easy to use and I'm so glad that I have it.  I'm looking forward to creating lot's of Memory Books now and experimenting with all the features that you can use.

Oh boy am I a happy bunny :)

OH MY STARS - I'M A WINNER - THANK YOU DORCAS

OH MY STARS - I'M A WINNER

I'm so pleased to announce that I'm a winner. 

Dorcas of Dorcas Designs held a Giveaway of the fantastic MY MEMORY SUITE and I'm soooo pleased to say, I'm the winner.  I never win anything and was so surprised and so very pleased.

The software package is amazing and you can visit Dorcas' Blog and find out more about the software by clicking on this link

http://dorcasdesigns.blogspot.com/2011/10/my-memory-suite-giveaway.html

Oooohhhh I'm so happy and can't wait to start playing with it.

I would like to say a huge thank you to Dorcas for offering the chance to win and also for her very inspirational blog.  Do pop over and have a look, there are all sorts of projects and I just love having a browse.

Sweet Magnolia and Copics

I was soooo pleased when I saw the theme from Pops for the Magnolia - Anything Goes with Coffee and Cream as an option and also the Copic CMC Challenge of 'Vintage or Distressed' with Copic or Promarkers.  So here's my design.

I love this stamp and just knew I had to have her when I first saw her.  There are so many possibilities with her, Birthday's Christmas, Wishes, all sorts.  

Anyway enough drooling over my stamps, I coloured her with a mixture of Copics and Promarkers, using an assortment of coffee, cream, beige and brown hues.  I ummed and arred over whether to distress the edges of the image, but as I liked her just the way she was, I decided not to and so I layered her onto a matt gold background to give an antique feeling and to keep it in line with my design.    The backing sheet is actually from a card cut down, I liked the vintage edge and the 'Olde English' text that runs across it - yep it's definately 'Olde English' and nope, I'm not that old!!!!!!  

The lace is actually vintage cream lace, which I picked up from a lovely store in Bexhill-on-Sea on the Sussex Coast, it's not a craft shop, just a store that sells all things divine (decadent chocolate for one - LOL).   To blend with the cream lace I topped it with a dark brown grossgrain ribbon, giving the coffee effect, more your espresso than your latte look.   The sentiment is from my stash, had them ages, and love them and the flowers are a mixture from Wild Orchid Crafts and I believe The Craft Barn in Lingfield.  

The flowers are actually cream and brown, although the photo has made the brown ones look red, they're not I promise you - I hope my daughter sorts her camera out soon so I can pinch it off her, the colours come out much better on her SLR than my little point and shoot - oh well. 

Hope you like her - have a great day :)  

I am entering this card into the two challenges then:

Just Magnolia - Pops - Anything goes with the option of Coffee and Cream

CMC Copic Challenge 28 - Vintage and Distressed Colouring

LOTV Challenge 115 - Let it Snow

Back to my favourite stamp but with a twist.  I've used all sorts of techniques on this card so I hope you like it! camera's playing up so sorry for the dark piccies :(

The card base is pearlescent with backing paper from my favourite stack at the moment,  First Edition Festive stack.  The ribbon paper is from Papermania and is self adhesive, and I love it.  

Now for the technical bits (LOL); 

The Faded Jeans backing is from a Tim Holtz Coredinations stack and it has been run through my 'Big Shot' with a Sizzix Embossing folder.  I then sanded the card to expose the core.  I made the sentiment in the same way.  I put a silver eyelet through the tag and added a piece of white organza. This has been added tot he card with 3D foam to add dimension.

The image stamping was a little more involved! 

I stamped the image onto Clarity cardstock with Tim Holtz's 'Faded Jeans' Distress Ink, to blend with the Coredinations backing.  I then masked the image with the blotted copy of the stamp and I punched a circle to create the moon, which I positioned on my cardstock where I wanted the moon to appear.  I then used my brayer to roll across the image to create the night sky.  Snowflakes have been stamped onto the main image plate and the tree and snowflakes have been 'Glamour Dusted'.  The corners of the image plate have been punched with a decorative snowflake, and I punched further snowflakes to embellish the backing paper.

The final design was finished with a lovely wooden reindeer embellishment from Wild Orchid Crafts. 

I hope you like my interpretation of 'Let it Snow' for the LOTV Challenge.

I am entering this into;

LOTV Challenge 115 - Let it Snow

Crafts and Me - Use a Digi Challenge

I love the digi stamps over at Crafts and Me and seeing that I'm an Aquarian and loving all things, watery and natural, I couldn't resist using their 'Felicia' stamp for this card.

The card base is pearlescent and layered with silver mirri - well what else for a gorgeous mermaid.  There is blue baker twine from WOC, to add the extra nautical touch.  The background is a wash of 'Dew Drop Brilliance Ink' in Pearlescent, Sky Blue, which I painted in swathes to create the feeling of depth and waves; and so to 'Felicia'.  

I coloured Felicia with a mixture of copics and promarkers.  I wanted her beauty to show through naturally, hence the colour palette that I chose for her. She is a beautiful image and  I highlighted her tail with Glamour Dust.  There are blue and green gems, from my stash, forming her stash of jewels and gems along with her collection of shells.  The fish have been coloured vibrantly to express the liveliness of the sea :)

The frame is a digi download that I have had for sometime from Cardmaking Downloads, but which I thought complemented Felicia beautifully.i cut the frame carefully and lifted it with 3D foam tape to add dimension.  I didn't add loads of embellies as I think Felicia speaks for herself!

Hope you like her and thanks for stopping by:)

I am entering her into

Crafts and Me Challenge 55 - Use a Digi

Button it at Christmas

Well the weather's still out of kilter, as it's beautiful at the moment and nothing like Autumn.  Anyway, I still decided that for the LOTV challenge this week I would use one of my Christmas stamps - LOL don't know why, just love the stamp and wanted to use it :)

So here goes for my 'Button it' Challenge offering

Not sure the photo does it justice, but I was really pleased with the result.  The image was coloured with a combination of Promarkers and Copics, with subtle shading with my favourite C-1 Copic marker.  The sparkle is glamour dust, which I have added to her hat and fur trimmings and also to the white poinsetta and leaves which are from Wild Orchid Crafts.  The buttons are from my stash and I just love them, as is the organza ribbon which is one of the best staples in my crafty stash. 

 The backing papers are from the Christmas First Edition paperstack, whose designs are just delish; almost breaks my heart to use them - LOL

So I am entering this in the

LOTV Challenge 114 - Button It

So here she is again, with her little doggy, 

best friend in the world, in my opinion :) 

Thanks for stoping by.