In my "itsy bitsy little polka dot bikini"!

OK ... so it's not me in my itsy bitsy little polka dot bikini you understand. I'm sure there's probably a law against that! :oD!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, I hope you're all well today. 

It's new challenge time at Whoopsi Daisy and this week we're giving you the option of style either Fun in the Sun or Summer ... now that's a bit of wishful thinking as our spring/summer weather here in the UK appears to be around for a couple of days and then we get some more cool and dreary weather!

As usual, Linnie is offering our lucky prize winner one sheet of images from the Whoopsi Daisy Store, unless you've used a Whoopsi Daisy Image for your project in which case you can choose two sheets of images.




Summer fun is definitely enjoying the sunshine, preferably at the beach. So for this challenge, I've used one of Linnie's past freebie images which is just perfect for my idea of summer!!!!! And here's my card which, apart from the base card, is made up entirely of freebies!:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Base Card - is Centura Pearl in Ivory which I cut, scored and folded to make a 12cm square card.
• Design Papers - are from the July 2012 Cardmaking & Papercraft Magazine. How perfect are these beach hut and "swimmies" papers for a summer card?
  
• Image - this little one dipping her toes into the waves is by Linnie at Whoopsi Daisy and she was a freebie on Linnie's blog in March of this year. If you're not already following Linnie's blog then you really should as she sometimes offers her followers some lovely goodies! I have brought this cutie to life using my Spectrum Noir Pens and Craf-T Chalks in the following colours:
• Skin - FS4, FS5
• Lips - CR5
• Hair - GB8, GB10
• Hair Ribbons - CG3, CG4
• Bikini - CG3, CG4, EB1
• Sunglasses - OR3, FS6
• Outline - BT1
• Sky - Chalk in Light Blue
• Sand - Chalk in Tan
• Sea - Chalk in Turquoise with a sprinkling of White Glitter to get the effect of the sun glinting off the sea!
• Sentiments -  is perfect for this card, and is a freebie by my very generous blogging buddy Annette. If you head over there, please be sure to let her know that I sent you!

So there you have it ... my idea of Fun in the Sun! I do hope you'll come over to Whoopsi Daisy Challenge and have a look at the wonderful creations by the other Divas and come back to show us your Summer-y creations. Don't forget that if you're using a Whoopsi Daisy image then you don't have to follow this week's theme!!! This challenge closes on Sunday 23rd June 2013.

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

• Challenge #38 - Anything Goes With Chalk at Chalk-Ah-Lot Cafe
• June Monthly Challenge - Summer Fun at Stamp and Create
• PNDC #6 - Summer Lovin' at The Paper Nest Dolls
• ABC33 - Summer at 'ABC' Challenges
• Challenge #12 - Bright and Breezy at The Crafty Bloggers Network
• Challenge #176 - Summer at Kaboodle Doodles
• June Monthly Challenge - The Great Outdoors at Lady Anne's Challenges
• June Challenge - Anything Goes with an Optional Twist at Mema's Crafts - I've taken the twist of Summer/Vacation

Hope you have a great day!

Hugs, Helen x

A Safe Haven

Here we go with another "post fest" - I got soooooo behind with my "makes" last week, that I'm all behind with my posts too. Sorry folks! I'd like to extend a very warm welcome to Heather, my newest follower - hope you enjoy my "makes"!

It's new challenge time at Lexi's Creations and this one is very topical for us in the UK as we'd like to see your creations for Father's Day or a Special Male Birthday.

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!

Usually I would use one of Lexi's (Fairy Dust Crafts) beautiful images, but this time I thought I would give one of the images I recently won an airing! So here is a card for my Dad for Father's Day:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Base Card - is Centura Pearl in Ivory which I cut, scored and folded to make a 15cm square card.
• Design Papers - are by Summer at Summertime Designs and (in keeping with the nautical theme!) are both from her kit She Sells Seashells. The bottom paper is called "Striped" and the top paper is called "Cream Dots".
  
• Image - this lovely scene has been drawn by Teri over at Delicious Doodles and it is called In The Harbour. I have brought this idyll to life quite simply, using my Versamark Pen (which I used on the heavily shaded areas to give more definition) and my Craf-T Decorating Chalks in the following colours:
• Boat on Left - Ruddy Red, Burnt Sienna, Black
• Boat on Right - Turquoise, Burnt Sienna, Black, Light Blue
• Sand - Tan
• Harbour Wall - Dark Brown
• Sky - Light Blue
• Sentiments -  are computer generated using my word processing package and a font called Goudy Handtooled. 

Do come over to Lexi's Creations and see the other wonderfully inspirational male cards which have been designed by the other DT members and our Guest Designer Silvi. Don't forget to come back and link up the creations you've made for Father's Day or a Special Male Birthday. This challenge ends on Saturday 22nd June 2013.

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

• Father's Day at Going Grey with Scrap Creations
• Spots and Stripes at Joanna Sheen Second Entry
• Masculine / Father's Day at Simon Says Stamp!
• Challenge 17 - Father's or For a Male at The Crafter's Cafe Challenge
• Challenge #103 - Masculine at Top Tip Tuesday
• Card for a Male at Crafty Sentiments Designs
• Challenge 12 - We Love You Dad at Creative Craft Challenge

Phew - that's me caught up now! Off to work on next week's DT projects.

Have a great week!

Hugs, Helen x

... and Relax!

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

This is my second card for  Incy Wincy Designs this morning. I've done them on separate posts as I'm not sure about putting 2 cards on one post and then entering them into different challenges! Just as a reminder, this week's challenge topic is Butterflies and Bows. 

We have got 2 totally amazing sponsors for you this week ... just a shame I can't enter our own competition!

First, we're welcoming Heather Valentin from Lacy Sunshine Stamps . This is Heather's first time sponsoring one of our challenges, and she is offering one lucky winner a $20 Gift Certificate to her store. And with sooooo many gorgeous images to choose from, I can guarantee that you'll be spoilt for choice. Heather also has a retiring section with a number of her digital images priced at just $1, so there is no excuse for not topping up your stash! 

Our second sponsor is perennial favourite, Krista from Saturated Canary who is offering our second lucky winner 2 digital images from her store.

Both of our lovely sponsors very kindly offered the DT their choice of image to use this week. However a number of my teamies, like me, had sooooooooo much trouble choosing between Heather's images and Krista's images that we had to do one of each! 

So for this card, I'm showcasing one of Heather's delightful designs:

I have made a Flap Card (a new fold for me, but very simple to do by following this tutorial at SplitCoast Stampers), using a palette of colour inspiration from Design Seeds - thanks to the team at Jellypark Challenges for a wonderful challenge this week, as this gorgeous colour scheme was at the top when I popped over to Design Seeds to take a look! 

My card recipe is as follows:

• Base Card - is Centura Pearl in Teal which I cut according to the dimensions in the tutorial I then used the largest rosette on my Ultimate Pro Board Springtime Sweets and Cupcake Treats to shape the flap. The rest of the card was re-cut, scored and folded as per the tutorial.
  
• Image - this gorgeous and chilling out girl is called Jillian and she has been designed by artist Heather at Lacy Sunshine Stamps. Unfortunately, I can't give you a link to Jillian as I can't find her in Heather's online store anymore :o( ... and I'm sure I didn't choose her from the Retiring section.  Having carefully superimposed Jillian onto an oval shape and  cut her out using the 'out of the box' technique, I brought her to life using my Spectrum Noir Pens in the following colours:
• Skin - FS2, FS3
• Lips - DR1
• Eye - GT2
• Hair - EB5, EB8
• Top - DR3, DR4, DR5, Silver Gel Pen
• Yoga Pants - IG1, IG2, IG3
• Pumps - DR5
• Outline - GG1
• Sentiment - is another goodie from one of my favourite designers, Paulette at Create with TLC. I've taken the rather appropriate sentiment into my word processing package and changed the colour of it so that it tones in with the rest of the card. Once printed out, I cut the sentiment strip into a banner shape.
• Butterflies - are by Lexi at Fairy Dust Crafts and the image is called DIY Butterfly. They were perfect for this challenge as I resized them to make them quite small and then paper pieced them using the "Cranberry Dots" paper from the Summertime Designs kit Thanks for Giving. I finished the butterflies off by dotting my Silver Gel Pen for their abdomens.
• Ribbon - is a satin edged, organdie ribbon from my stash which I attached to the top flap of the card (under the image) and tied at the bottom of the card to keep the flap shut.

So, after two posts from me (!) I hope you'll come over to Incy Wincy Designs to check out the other gorgeous creations by my team mates and our Guest Designer for June Linda. Don't forget to then come back and show us your creations featuring Butterflies and Bows. This challenge ends on Sunday 16th June 2013.

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

• Color Inspired Challenge at Jellypark Challenges - I've been inspired by the Cocktail Color Palette as shown on the right
• Challenge #185 - Magenta, Teal, Light Gray at The Play Date Cafe
• Challenge #10 - Anniversary Anything Goes at Lacy Sunshine Challenge
  

That's it from me for the moment - hope you have a great day!

Hugs, Helen x

Oh Baby!

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

Morning all and hope you're all well!

What a busy day yesterday was, and I'm sooooo veeeery sorry that I didn't get to finalise my posts and get them up and running on here - second week running that I've been late too. Hmmmm - bad me!!!!! However, today is a new day and I'm hoping to not only get caught up but also to get ahead and try and schedule next week's posts too! Wish me luck :o)

Anyway, there's a new challenge started at Incy Wincy Designs and this one's a fab topic - Butterflies and Bows. 

We have got 2 totally amazing sponsors for you this week ... just a shame I can't enter our own competition!

First, we're welcoming Heather Valentin from Lacy Sunshine Stamps . This is Heather's first time sponsoring one of our challenges, and she is offering one lucky winner a $20 Gift Certificate to her store. And with sooooo many gorgeous images to choose from, I can guarantee that you'll be spoilt for choice. Heather also has a retiring section with a number of her digital images priced at just $1, so there is no excuse for not topping up your stash! 

Our second sponsor is perennial favourite, Krista from Saturated Canary who is offering our second lucky winner 2 digital images from her store.

Both of our lovely sponsors very kindly offered the DT their choice of image to use this week. However a number of my teamies, like me, had sooooooooo much trouble choosing between Heather's images and Krista's images that we had to do one of each! 

So here is my first card for this challenge, and this one features one of Krista's gorgeous images:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Base Card - is Centura Pearl in Ivory onto which I embossed the largest Butterfly shape from my    Crafter's Companion Ultimate Pro. Once I had cut out this shape, having left 2 hinges at the top of the wings, I then cut the reverse of the card the the same outline.
  
• Image - this beautiful baby is called Butterfly Baby and she comes from the pen of Krista at Saturated Canary. This little cutie has been brought to life using my Spectrum Noir Pens in the following colours:
• Hair - GB7, GB8
• Face - FS1, FS2, BT2, CR3
• Baby Grow - GB1, GB2, GB3
• Wings - LG3, LG4, LG5, LV1, LV2, LV3
• Outline - GG1
• Sentiment -  is of course by my favourite designer, Paulette at Create with TLC. I took this totally apt sentiment into my word processing package, and recoloured it in purple to match the colour scheme on my card, before printing it out in a purple coloured oval. Once the sentiment was cut out, I punched a hole in each side of the oval and threaded through some thread from my stash, which I had coloured using my Spectrum Noir Pen in LV3 so it matched the rest of the project, to make a "Ribbon Slider". I then finished off the slider, by tying a bow around the threads.

There'll be another post from me in a minute, and then I hope you'll head over to Incy Wincy Designs to check out the other gorgeous creations by my team mates and our Guest Designer for June Linda. Don't forget to then come back and show us your creations featuring Butterflies and Bows. This challenge ends on Sunday 16th June 2012.

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

• Day 152 - Sweet Baby at 365 Cards
• Challenge #48 - Addicted to Colours at Addicted to Stamps and More!
• Challenge 188 - Hey Baby! at Totally Gorjuss
• June Challenge - Summer at Crafter's Companion Challenge

Catch you in a minute!

Hugs, Helen x

Spring has Sprung!

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

Ooops - got rather carried away with life yesterday, and I forgot to post my inspiration for the new challenge at  Incy Wincy Designs. Really sorry girls! Everyone's back to work and school now, and I've got my days off back to myself, sooooo normal service should be resumed!

The challenge topic for this week is Spring is in the Air! Well it certainly is here on the south coast of the UK. We've got wall to wall sunshine today, although a breeze is rather keeping the temperatures down. Our garden is filling out a bit now with the Aqualeigas, Broom, Clematis and Dicentra all in flower.

We've got 2 fabulous sponsors this week ... and you won't want to miss these prizes!

Firstly, Laurie from Doodle Pantry is offering our first lucky prize winner 3 digital images from her store. Here's a little bit from her:

Hello, my name is Laurie.   I'm just a regular Joe crafter.  While trying to find digital images that met my own crafting needs, I decided to draw some of my own, as I had so many unique ideas that I just couldn’t locate elsewhere. I truly enjoy what I do and enjoy sharing the creativity that God has given me in the hopes it will inspire others to create too.  I have a variety of doodling styles and I like to keep a diverse selection at hand.
I hope you enjoy creating to your hearts content with some of my doodles.   I sincerely hope something here inspires you to go create something special that then puts a smile on another's face. ~Laurie

Secondly, Heather from Heather Ellis is offering our second lucky prize winner 3 digital images from her store.

Both Laurie and Heather kindly gave the DT some images to work with this week. Now I love Heather's cutesey images, but as time was of the essence last week (regular readers will know that I spent most of last week being chauffeur and packed lunch chef, as we had our half term holidays and were out nearly every single day!) I'm afraid I cheated a bit and made the following project:

My project recipe is as follows:

• Candle - small unscented block candle in white from Ikea
• Image - pre-coloured flowers from the Spring Song Birdies Color Plus Kit by Laurie at Doodle Pantry. I printd the image out onto white tissue paper and left it to dry. Then, I carefully cut around the image and then placed it onto the candle holding it in place with a piece of Greaseproof Paper. I then used my heat gun (since I treated myself to this, I've got past the stage of needing to use my hairdryer now!) to heat this 'sandwich' up and make the image melt into the candle … just be very careful that you don’t burn yourself at the same time. There is a great tutorial on SplitCoast Stampers with a video showing you how to do this!

Here's a close up of part of the image:

These candles are so quick and easy to make, and look fabulous! With the end of the academic year approaching in the UK, I think these candles would make great, and quite inexpensive) gifts for teachers or classroom helpers.

Linda is our new Guest Designer with us for the month of June, so please head over to Incy Wincy Designs  and see what she and the rest of my teamies have created to show that Spring is in the Air! Whilst you're hopping around blogland, why not visit the Doodle Pantry Blog where some of their DT are showcasing their Spring projects, as well as featuring some of ours too! Don't forget to come back and show us your Spring creations - if you use a Doodle Pantry image, you can join in with their current challenge as well. The Incy Wincy Designs challenge will close on Sunday  9th June 2013.

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

• Anything Goes at Crafter's Digital Art Center
• Challenge #1 - Anything Goes at Crafty Friends Challenge

Hope you have a great day - enjoy the sunshine if you've got it!

Hugs, Helen x

A Fluffy Cloud

Good morning my crafty friends - I hope you are well on this bright Tuesday morning!

Unfortunately, today is the last post of my residency as a Guest Designer at Top Tip Tuesday. :o( Ladies, thanks sooooooooo much for having me the last 4 weeks - I have had a blast! This fortnight's challenge is Numbers and today brings our mid-challenge reminder. As a recap we're looking for numbers on your projects ... perfect for Birthdays and/or Anniversaries, and we'd love to see how creative you can be!

There are two amazing sponsors lined up for the winners of this challenge. Jodie from Bugaboo Stamps is offering one lucky random winner 7 digis of their choice! And Tammy Lousie from Shape EZ is offering our second winner 2 digital shape templates of their choice! And, as if that wasn't enough, you too could be a future Top Tip Tuesday Guest Designer just by leaving a great tip!


Both of our fabby sponsors gave the DT free rein with our choice of which of their products we would like to showcase. Last week I designed with one of Jodie's great images. As promised, this week, I'm showcasing one of Tammy Louise's beautiful card templates:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Base Card - is the Shape EZ Cloud Card template which I've printed at normal onto lightweight cream card and digitally layered the DPs over. Then I cut out the shapes that make up the template, layered them together, popped a few folds in to make the card stand up and ... hey presto, one Cloud Card! The size of this card printed at this size is just 9cm high by 12.5cm wide, but there are resizeable files included in the download so you can make it your own size.
• Design Papers - are all from the set Just a Number by Krystal Hartley and available at Sweete Shoppe Designs. I've used 3 of the papers in this kit, including the fun numbers paper, and printed these directly onto the cloud template.
  
• Image - this great umbrella is by Nana Vic and is the first image in the current Progressive Freebie Challenge over at Crafter's Digital Art Center (there's still time for you to join in too!). This item does not appear to be for sale in Nana Vic's store, although there is plenty of other gorgeousness over there! I brought this gorgeous brolly to life using my Spectrum Noir Pens in the following colours:
• Main Umbrella Fabric - CR1, CR2
• Spots and Umbrella Trim - DG4
• Umbrella Handle - GB8, GB10
• Metalwork - Gold Gel Pen
• Outline - GG1
• Sentiment -  is of course by my favourite designer, Paulette at Create with TLC. If you're not following her blog, why ever not ... she gives away a free (yes, free) piece of word art every day!
• Bow - made from twine from my stash
• Pearls - are from my stash and here is this week's TOP TIP for you: Take a leaf from garden designers and use embellishments in odd numbers, 3 or 5 or 7. This helps to draw the viewer's eye through your design and makes your project more pleasing as it looks more natural.

The Top Tip Tuesday girls have got some great projects and tips for you, so I hope you'll head over and see their Numbers. Don't forget to come back and show us your creations! This challenge ends on Monday 10th June.

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

• Progressive Freebie Challenge (April-June) at Crafter's Digital Art Center
• Day 148 - Micro-Managed at 365 Cards My three teeny tiny elements are 3 small pearls, 1 small bow, 2 very small stars cut through the top layer of DP (just visible to the left of the sentiment strip)

Have a great day!

Hugs, Helen x

Vintage-y ... I hope!

Hello friends!

I hope you are well. Last week was half term here so it was a week of "no get ups"! Back to the alarm this morning, but there's only 7 and a bit weeks until the summer holidays. :o) Nice to see some sunshine again, although who knows how long it will last!


Anyway, it's new challenge time at Whoopsi Daisy and this week we're giving you the option of style either  Shabby Chic or Vintage ... another challenge for me as I don't make many cards in either of these styles.

As usual, Linnie is offering our lucky prize winner one sheet of images from the Whoopsi Daisy Store, unless you've used a Whoopsi Daisy Image for your project in which case you can choose two sheets of images. Linnie has let us loose in the store once more, and here is this week's project, using the current sketch challenge at Little Miss Muffet for the layout, for you:

I was aiming to hit Vintage, but I'm not sure if I achieved it! Anyway my card recipe is as follows:

• Base Card - made from Centura Pearl in Dark Chocolate which I cut and scored to make a 15cm square card
• Design Papers - are all from a collection by Summer at Summertime Designs called All Is Calm. This is actually a winter kit, but I love the colours of it, which hint at a touch of vintage style. The bottom layer is called Pinstripes, the next layer is called Dots, and the top layer is called Red Damask. I've edged all the papers with Craf-T Chalk and a damp dish sponge (!) in Light Brown.
  
• Image - is one of Linnie's "Little Misses" and she is one of the two images available on Sheet 453. I used the pre-coloured version; I needed to be able to make this card quite quickly as I spent last week out and about with my family. However, there is a line drawing of this gorgeous girl, so you can take your time and choose your own colours. I also edge distressed the oval with Craf-T Chalk in Light Brown.
• Sentiment - is by Paulette at Create with TLC and I re-coloured using my word processing package to match the papers. The Banner is home-made, also using my word processing package.
• Pearls - are from my stash and are coloured using my Spectrum Noir Pen in shade DR7 before mounting them onto another Banner shape.

I do hope you'll come over to Whoopsi Daisy Challenge and have a look at the wonderful creations by the other Divas. Then come back and show us your projects which are either Vintage or Shabby Chic. Don't forget that if you're using a Whoopsi Daisy image then you don't have to follow this week's theme!!! This challenge closes on Sunday 9th June 2013.

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

• Challenge #62 - Sketch at Little Miss Muffet I've rotated the sketch through 90 degrees  ... and then added the banners!
• Spots and Stripes at Joanna Sheen

I'll be back a little later with my next post.

Hugs, Helen x