Time for a glass of something that goes "Fizzzzzzzz"

Good evening crafty friends and welcome back to Casa Mia - as the current Covid restrictions ease, I hope you are keeping safe and well … please make sure that you adhere to any requirements that are local for you.

It's the fifteen of the month again (it's worrying how quickly they seem to come round!) and it's time for a new challenge at All Dressed Up Digital Stamps Challenge. As ever, our challenge is Anything Goes with an All Dressed Up Image. Don't have any All Dressed Up images? No worries, Wendy has plenty of gorgeous images available in the All Dressed Up Etsy Store and has also very generously provided some freebies here. However, please play fair with the freebies, and send your friends over to ADU for them … this will ensure that they continue to be available for other crafters to share! Thank you!

One of my colleagues celebrated her 40th Birthday last month, and whilst all team members receive a handcrafted card on their Birthday, I wanted this one to be special as this lady and I have covered a Duty Day together in the office together since the beginning of lockdown. I also happen to know that she particularly enjoys celebrating with a glass of something that goes "fizzzzzzzz", so this gorgeous image was very appropriate and the recipient absolutely loved her card, and the bottle of Prosecco that went with it!

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card base - is a 5" x 7" premade base in white card. This is a new size for me and I quite like being able to print my images that bit larger!
• Design Paper - is this beautiful Gray Paper which is part of a collaboration by the Pixel Scrapper Digital Scrapbooking designers called All the Princesses. This paper can be found in the Solid Paper Kit by Janet Scott. I have matted and layered this onto some matt black card for elegance.
• Image - is the ultra-glamourous Prosecco Time by the wonderful Wendy who is the artist behind All Dressed Up Digital Stamps. This gorgeous girl comes with her own sentiment too, but I cropped it out for this card. I have brought this girl to life using my Copic alcohol markers, before die cutting her with one of my Sizzix Framelits Ovals dies.
• Sentiment - has been die cut from silver mirri card, before being mounted on a fishtail banner made from the Gray Paper.

I hope I have inspired you to come over to the blog and join in with this month's challenge. But if you're in need of further inspiration please head over there to feast your eyes on the gorgeous creations made by my every-so-talented Dressy Teamies. Then, don't forget to come back and show us your creations which need to be Anything Goes with an All Dressed Up Image. This challenge ends on the evening of 14th August, UK time.

In the meantime, I would like to share my card with the following challenges:

• Challenge #39 - Anything Goes at CD Sunday Plus
• Challenge #490 - Creative Free For All but Add Pink at Fab 'n' Funky Challenges
• Challenge #7 - July at World Wide Open Design Team Challenge

That's it from me for now … take care!

Crafty hugs,

Helen x

Seeing Red .... and pink, and silver ;o)

Wowsers, it has been absolutely months since I last posted here ….. and quite a bit has happened in that time! I have still been creating, but not regularly as life kind of got in the way, plus my mojo has been on a very extended break. 

But I'm back now, and so back I tried to post this yesterday afternoon instead of today 😂

With it being the 15th of the month, it's time for our new challenge at All Dressed Up Challenges . As usual, our challenge is Anything Goes with an All Dressed Up Image. Not got any All Dressed Up images? Wendy has plenty of gorgeous images available in the All Dressed Up Etsy Store and has also very generously provided some freebies here - please send your friends over to ADU for the freebies though, to make sure they're available for other crafters to share!

Since youngest Bambino turned 18 last autumn, her friends are (one by one) also celebrating their eighteenth birthdays. Last weekend was youngest's BFF's (best friend forever) 18th, and I know that she loves receiving my cards - apparently she still displays the card I made for her birthday last year! With it being her 18th, I felt I had to create something really special for her, and Wendy's Amore image met with youngest Bambino's approval ... and this card was born:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card base - is made from Centura Pearl Snow White Silver which I have cut, scored and folded to make an A5 card base with the fold at the top of the card.
  
• Image - is the beautiful Amore, created by Wendy at All Dressed Up Digital Stamps; and this girl really is great value for money as she comes on her own (as here), holding a bunch of balloons (including the sentiment) and the bunch of balloons come on their own. I have brought this girlie to life using my Copic Pens (a mix of Ciao and Sketch), doing my best to follow some of my Kit and Clowder classes, before fussy cutting her out and attaching her to my card.
• Shaker Element - is made using this month's Balloon Die cover gift from Cardmaking and Papercraft Magazine. I have cut this from Red Centura Pearl card and some acetate, which were perfect for "sandwiching" the red, pink and silver "18 Confetti". I wrapped some twine from my stash around the base of the balloon, and led this back to Amore's hand.
• Sentiment - is a very simple Happy Birthday die cut from Silver Mirri card

Youngest Bambino was delighted with my project, and I understand that it was very well received by her BFF!

I hope that I have inspired you to play along with our challenge, but if you are in need of further inspiration please head over to the blog and check out the uber gorgeous creations by my talented teamies. Then come back and show us your creations which are Anything Goes with an All Dressed Up Image!

I would like to play along with the following challenges:

• Challenge #131 - Ladies or Girls at Crafty Friends
• Challenge #246 - Feminine + a Sentiment at Aud Sentiments
• Challenge #157 - Birthday (Including the Optional Twist of both Die Cutting and Fussy Cutting) at Time Out Challenges - I have used 2 different die cuts and also fussy cut my girlie out!
• Challenge #39 - Use Dies at Daisy Chain Challenges
• HLS March Anything Goes With Dies Challenge at Happy Little Stampers
• Challenge #49 For the Ladies/Girls at Pearly Sparkles Challenge Blog
• Challenge #36 - Die Cuts and/or Punches at SheepSki Designs Challenges
• Always Anything Goes at World Wide Open Design Team Challenge

In these uncertain times, I hope that you stay safe and healthy and if the country goes into "lockdown", have fun crafting!

Helen x

Mmmmmm ... Chocolate and Cream

This is my first post of the day - please scroll up to see my second post

Hello friends,

It's half term here at Casa Mia ... whoo hoo!!!! We've got a week of not-a-lot planned, well I'm hoping to get in a fair bit of crafting but we'll see what the minor folk at Casa Mia have planned for me :o) Hope you're all staying safe in the wind and rain. I'd also like to welcome my newest follower - thanks for joining the rest of us on our journey through my crafting.

It's new challenge time at Lexi's Creations and this one may challenge Mr Mojo as it's Monochrome. It doesn't have to be just black and white though; you can choose any colour scheme you like, as long as you only use shades of that colour.

Our wonderful sponsors for this challenge are the fabby team over at Joanna Sheen who are offering our lucky winner a £10 Gift Voucher to their on-line store. And with postage and packing free if you spend over £9 everyone's a winner if you buy in this Aladdin's cave! This is the last time that Joanna and her team will be sponsoring us for a while :o( - thanks for all your support ladies!


The lovely Lexi has once again let the DT loose in Fairy Dust Crafts (thanks Lexi!) and by the way, there's a sale on there so do go and have a look! Here is my card for you featuring one of Lexi's sweet images:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card Base - is Centura Pearl Ivory which I have cut, scored and folded to make a 15cm square card
• Design Papers - are from a collection called Chocolate Chip and Cream Delight by Debbie at The
  
  Crafty Pad Designs (available from Card Making Downloads). I have used 2 different papers from the set which I sized in my word processing programme and then put a chocolate brown border around them to give a faux mat.
• Image - is called Hot Chocolate Scruffles and he comes from the pen of Lexi at Fairy Dust Crafts. This cute, and messy!, dog was die cut using the largest Framelits Fancy Labels die, before being brought to life using my Spectrum Noir Pens (thank goodness my collection was completed with the arrival of my Darks pack last week!) in the following colours:
• Fur - EB3, EB4, EB5
• Marshmallows - EB1, EB2
• Cream - EB1, Colourless Blender
• Cup & Saucer - EB6 which I dotted to make a pattern, EB7, EB8
• Sentiment - is by Paulette at Create with TLC and this was a blog freebie in November 2011. I took this into my word processing package and put the same chocolate coloured border around it to make a faux mat
• Ribbon - a recent "grab bag" purchase (15 different ribbons, each 3 metres in length for £5) from Hobbycraft which I can't find, unfortunately, on their website :o(
• Gems - from my stash

If you're short of inspiration on this challenge, do come over to Lexi's Creations and see the other wonderful creations by my teamies, our regular Guest Designer Silvi and this week's special Guest Designer Janny. Don't forget to come back and show us your wonderful Monochromatic creations - this challenge will end on Saturday 1st March 2014.


I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

• C is for Chocolate Creams at ABC Christmas Challenge I've gone for a cream & chocolate colour scheme AND a creamy hot chocolate image!!!!
• Challenge #194 - Marie's Sketch at Sunday Sketch and Stamp
• Challenge #25 - Dies and/or Punches at Feeling Crafty Challenge
• DPDC 43 - Any Digi Goes at Doodle Pantry

Hope you have a great week!
Hugs, Helen x

Winter Wishes

This is my second post of the day - please scroll down to see my first post

Hello again friends!

It's new challenge time at Lexi's Creations and this one will ease you into the New Year gently as it is Anything Goes! Our sponsor this fortnight is Priyanka from My Heart Pieces and our lucky winner for this challenge will get to choose some of Priyanka's sweet digis!

The lovely Lexi has opened the 'doors' to Fairy Dust Crafts and allowed us in (thanks Lexi!), and here is my card for you featuring one of Lexi's gorgeous images:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card Base - is Centura Pearl Snow White with hint of Silver which I have cut, scored and folded to make a 15cm square card
• Design Papers - are from a kit called All Is Calm by Summer at Summertime Designs. My base layer
  
  is called Branches and Berries Paper, the next layer is called Blue Snowflake Paper and the top layer is Blue Brown Checkered Paper. I sized the papers using my word processing programme so that I was able to put a dark brown border around them to make a faux mat. Then I cut each layer out and mounted them onto each other. To add an extra bit of sparkle I highlighted all the visible red berries to make them a bit glossy and frosty by popping a blob of glue onto each one and then giving them a liberal dusting of White Glitter! You can just catch the glittery bits in the photo, and I think it makes the paper look like shop bought glittered papers.
• Image - is called Kiri and she comes from the pen of Lexi at Fairy Dust Crafts. This gorgeously glamourous girl was die cut using my second largest Framelits Fancy Labels die, before being brought to life using my Spectrum Noir Pens and Cra-T Chalks in the following colours before I gave all the "fur trims" a liberal coating of White Glitter:
• Skin - FS2, FS3, TB2, PP5
• Hair - GB8, GB10
• Parka - TB2, TB3, TN7
• Jeans - TB5, TB6
• Boots - TN7, TN8
• Background - Craf-T Chalk in Light Blue which I dotted with a cotton bud/q-tip
• Sentiment - is by Paulette at Create with TLC and this was a blog freebie in November 2013. I took this into my word processing package and recoloured it blue so it tied in with the rest of my card
• Gems - from my stash

I hope you'll come over to Lexi's Creations and see the other wonderful creations by my teamies, our regular Guest Silvi and our Special Guest Designer Caroline. Don't forget to come back and show us your wonderful creations - remember it's Anything Goes! This challenge will end on Saturday 18th January 2014.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

• Challenge #76 - Sketch at Little Miss Muffet Challenge - I've added a row of gems just to give my design a bit more sparkle!:o)
• Challenge #18 - All that Glitters at Creative Knockouts
• Challenge 18 - Your Favourite Colour and Why at As You Like It Challenge - this cool blue colour is perfect for Winter Birthdays as it alludes to snowy and frosty weather ... quite unlike the wet and windy we're experiencing in the UK at the moment!
• Challenge #97 - Blue with Bling (Winter) at Love to Create Challenge
• Make It Girly at Whoopsi Daisy
• Challenge #69 - Layer Up! at Delicious Doodles

Whatever you're doing this week, have fun - if you're in the UK or in the weather affected parts of the US and Canada, please stay safe.

Catch you soon!

Hugs, Helen x

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee!

Good afternoon everyone and "Happy Hump Day"! We're over Wednesday lunchtime, which means it's downhill to the weekend ...... wheeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

I know I don't usually do mid-week posts (unless I'm GDTing) but I'd been toying with this card in my mind. And then yesterday, a whole host of challenges popped up in my blog reader and crystallised my thoughts. So this morning I went for a run (OK, if you'd seen me it was more of a waddle ... and then I bumped into 2 students from school, waiting to be picked up to go to their college course; I was looking puce and sweating buckets! Heaven only knows how many sniggers and giggles I'll face tomorrow!) and then went to my yoga class. Came back at lunchtime, knuckled down ... and here's the result of this afternoon's labours:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Base Card - pre-made Kraft Card Blank in A6 size
• Design Papers - are from a kit called Comforts of Home by Summer at Summertime Designs.  (I think that's quite appropriate given the image and sentiment don't you!) The bottom layer is called Large Dots Paper and the top layer is called Red Chevron Paper. 
• Image - this lovely image was a digi freebie on The Alley Way Stamps Blog in November 2012
  
  (unfortunately it is no longer available) and I believe it was drawn by Alison Spelman - can't you just smell the coffee? I looks like it probably is now part of a stamp set called Breakfast Club. I die cut around the digi using an oval die before paper piecing it - my TOP TIP here is to make sure your scissors don't have any sticky residue on them which could wreck your fiddly cutting, give them a clean ... I find that a bit of cotton wool soaked in nail polish remover does the trick (and it doesn't involve rummaging in "himself's" shed for the white spirit either!!!!!) The bottom layer and handle are from Small Dots Paper (Comforts of Home kit), the band reminded me of a wrapper you get with a take-away coffee so I paper pieced this from a sheet of Kraft Card and then the heart shape was printed on Red Dots Paper (Comforts of Home kit) - once the heart was stuck on the other layers, I gave it a slick of Glossy Accents to highlight it. I finished the oval off by hand drawing some faux stitching in my metallic Bronze Gel Pen.
• Sentiment -  is by one of my favourite "sentimentalists" and that is Paulette from Create with TLC. This was a recent freebie on her blog ... thank you Paulette. I have put the sentiment into a speech bubble from the Speech Bubbles set, a freebie from Squigglefly. Again, this came under the spell of my trust metallic Bronze pen, and came out the other side with some faux stitching on!
• Ribbon Slider - is made from a length of satin ribbon in sage green and a faux button. This was made from 4 circles punched from Kraft card using my 1.5 cm circle punch which were stuck together, had 2 holes punched through and then slicked with glossy accents which was allowed to dry before threading my ribbon through.

So there you have it - and I'm quite pleased with this afternoon's work! Now I've just got to put the shopping away and cook tea, oh and hide the evidence of this afternoon's crafting session and pretend I've been doing housework :o) !!!!!!!!!

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

• Be Inspired #41 at The Alley Way Stamps
• Challenge #114 - Borrowed Sketch at Top Tip Tuesday - my TOP TIP is above 
• Challenge #73 - Seeing Dots at Little Miss Muffet Challenges
• Get Krafty - Use Kraft Cardstock at Ladybug Crafts Ink
• SFC4513 - Polka Dots at Squigglefly
• Challenge #188 - Add Some Doodling at Craft Your Passion
• #104 - Paper Piecing at Crafty Cardmakers
• Stitching - real or faux at Just Inspirational Challenges
• Challenge #65 - Stitching - real/faux at Crafting for All Seasons

Whatever you're doing this afternoon/evening, have fun!

Hugs, Helen x

Thank you for being my Friend!

This is my second post of the day - please scroll down to see my first post

Hello again friends and welcome to my second post of the day - this time it's for a new challenge at Lexi's Creations. I know our American friends are celebrating Thanksgiving, so Susan has set our challenge as being Thanks or Thanksgiving. If you don't celebrate Thanksgiving, you can make a card to say "Thanks" instead!

This week's sponsor is Priyanka from My Heart Pieces who is offering a prize of 3 digis to our lucky winner and the lovely Lexi from Fairy Dust Crafts has also let the DT loose in her store again!

Here is my Thank You card featuring one of Priyanka's images and one of Lexi's sentiments:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Base Card - made from Centura Pearl in Ivory, which I cut scored and folded to make a 15cm square card
• Design Papers - are from a kit called Thanks for Giving by Summer at Summertime Designs. The bottom layer is called Cranberry Dots Paper, the next layer is called Jeweled Floral Paper and the top layer is called Torn Green Paper. I have digitally layered these papers, adding a chestnut brown border to them as a faux mat.
  
• Image - this carefree cutie is called Cute Freebie and she comes from the pen of Priyanka at My Heart Pieces - at the time of writing this post (Sunday night) this freebie was still available... just click the link, and please remember to let Priyanka know you came from my blog. The swinging girl was cut out using the second largest Framelits Flowers Die before being brought to life using my Spectrum Noir Pens and Craf-T Chalks in the following colours:
• Girl - GB8, GB10, FS2, FS3, GB2, GB4, GB5, TH7, TN8
• Branch, Flowers, Foliage - OR1, OR2, OR3, DG2, DG4, TN8
• Swing - BGR3, GB4, GB5
• Outline - GG1
• Background - Chalks in Burnt Sienna and Dark Green
• Sentiment -  comes from the pen of Lexi at Fairy Dust Crafts and is a very thoughtful way to say "Thank You" to a friend. I also added a faux mat of a chestnut brown to this before cutting it out and fixing it to my card.

I hope you'll come over to Lexi's Creations and say Thanks or celebrate Thanksgiving with us and this week's Guest Designer Silvi - this challenge ends on Saturday 23/11/2013.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenge:

• PTT#145 - Thanksgiving / Thank You Notes at Party Time Tuesdays
• Challenge #55 - Autumn Splendor at Nutcrafters
• Midweek Papercraft Party 12 - Thank You or Thanksgiving at Handmade Harbour
• Stella Says Sketch Challenge #145 at Catch The Bug
• Challenge #36 - Friends at The Crafter's Cafe Challenge
• Challenge #93 - Feminine at Aud Sentiments
• CMM76 Thankful Tidings at Card Makin' Mamas

That's it from me today! Enjoy your Monday, and we'll catch up soon.

Hugs, Helen x

Attishoooo

Good morning friends and welcome to Monday. By the time this post goes live, I'll have been up for about 6 hours and will maybe have gone for an "early bird" swim too! The reason behind this? At the time of posting, eldest should be airbourne on her way west ... to New York City on a Geography Field Trip with school. We had to be at school at 4.45am - groans all round! Let's just hope that her flight doesn't get delayed.

Enough of the domestic notices! It's new challenge time at Lexi's Creations and this one is a great excuse to top up your "card boxes" as we'd like to see your creations for a Birthday Celebration.

Our sponsor for this challenge is our very own Lexi from Fairy Dust Crafts who will be letting our lucky winner choose 5 digital images from her store. Fairy Dust Crafts  is "Your one stop shop for Lexi's Digi images and a growing choice of delicious crafting goodies. Here you can find all Lexi's Creations digital images...also available as clear rubber stamps plus other crafting goodies in store now!"

As usual, Lexi has let us all loose in the store again (thanks Lexi) and here is my project featuring one of her cute images, using the current sketch at Bearly Mine Designs:

I'm sorry that this is a scan of my card - forgot to take a photo whilst it was daylight! Also, I've haven't put a sentiment on this card yet as I couldn't find one that said "One today" that I liked ... I shall have to keep looking on that front!

Anyway, my card recipe is follows:

• Base Card - made from Centura Pearl in Snow White, which I cut scored and folded to make a 15cm square card
• Design Papers - are from a kit called Patio Picnic by Summer at Summertime Designs
• Image - this very surprised youngster is called Ellie Blowing Bubbles and she comes from the pen of Lexi at Fairy Dust Crafts. Ellie was cut out using the second largest Framelits Scallop Squares Die before being brought to life using my Spectrum Noir Pens (I think some of my pens may be having a protest about not being used for a while as they don't seem to be blending very well!) in the following colours:
• Ellie - CG1, CG2, CG3, PP5, PP6
• Bow - DR1, DR2
• Bubbles - EB1
• Outline - CG1
• Sentiment -  none yet, but it will be for a First Birthday which my twin nieces will be celebrating in December
• Ribbon - white organdie with a Satin Trim from my stash

I hope you'll come over to Lexi's Creations and add to your stash of Birthday Celebration cards along with us and this week's Guest Designers Kate and Silvi - this challenge ends on Saturday 9/11/2013.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

• Challenge #109 - Monthly Sketch Challenge at Bearly Mine Challenges
• Challenge #38 - Child's Birthday at Little Claire's Challenge

Hope you have a great week.

Hugs, Helen x

PS: I'll bring more photo's later today, I hope!