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Tuesday 29 September 2015

LoTV - Dainty Dancing

Morning everyone! It's not often lately that I make something purely for the pleasure of it rather than being for a Design Team, but I have had this stamp in my stash for over 6 months and I really wanted to colour her up. So I dug out these pretty peachy pink papers from my stash and voila!


A fairly simple card design, but I thought it turned out really sweet.


She reminds me so much of my daughter when she first started dancing lessons (she was 4 when she first went to classes).


I used these little  star die cuts made with a La-La Land club kit to match up with the stars on the image. I coloured those stars with my Gold Stardust pen, which looks lovely but doesn't show up too well on the camera.


I finished the inside simply with one of the squares from the 12 x 12 sheet and added some beautiful embellishments from the Ribbon Girl and my stash.

Hope you like my make for today, I'll be here again soon :) xx

Friday 25 September 2015

Lisbeth - Winter Warmth

Hi everyone, I'm sharing a little make today using Lisbeth - Winter Warmth, from the new LDRS Creative release.

I thought I'd do a little b & w colouring, but for a bit of interest I added just a touch of blue to her cheeks, hairband, scarf and boots, to pick up the colour of the papers I used for my card. You can find links for the products below.


I used these lovely digital papers from Michelle Roo, I thought they were so perfect for this image!
I fussy cut my image and sat her on this double layered snowflake doily cut with a Whimsy die.


I added some lovely wintery embellishments.


I thought this sparkly bow went really well with the icy theme.


That's all from me today, but I'll be back soon! :) xx

Tuesday 22 September 2015

Elisabeth Bell - September Rose

Happy Tuesday everyone, I hope your week got off to a good start!

We have a new challenge over at Deep Ocean Challenge and this time it's Autumn.

We'd love to see you join in with our challenge and as always we have a lovely prize to be won as well as a badge for your blog.

I chose this beautiful Whimsy stamp from Elisabeth Bell called September Rose, isn't she beautiful? I thought she was perfect for a beginning of autumn card and I chose these pretty Glitz papers in browns and deep rose and coloured her with my distress ink markers to match.





I'm currently putting together a series of tutorials on how I colour with my distress ink markers, as I've been asked to do one quite often, I hope to have them ready in a couple of weeks, so do keep an eye out for that if you're interested.

The leaf and fence dies are from La-La Land and will be available in the shop soon.

(which I have managed to almost completely hide with my die cuts sigh)

The beautiful butterfly is from Karla's Kreative Korner

Before I go I just have to mention that the Ribbon Girls are looking for a guest DT for their October card challenge, so if you fancy trying out, you can find the details here.

Enjoy the rest of your day! :) xx

Sunday 20 September 2015

Little Darlings 3rd Quarter Release Day 3

Good morning and happy Sunday!
I hope you're all enjoying a fun filled or relaxing weekend and are getting the opportunity to re-charge your batteries.

Today I'm here with my 2nd card for the 3rd quarter release from LDRS Creative.

The stamp I used this time is called 




I used some lovely papers from Pion Design and some wonderful embellishments from the 
Ribbon Girl.

I also used a sentiment stamp from the 
stamp set.


I coloured her with my distress ink markers to match the papers.



You can see all the wonderful work from our design team on our blog 

To add to the fun

are having a special LDRS colouring competition that's lasting all week!

I do hope you can join in the fun.

Have a lovely Sunday! :) xx


Friday 18 September 2015

Little Darlings Blog Hop


It's time for our 3rd Quarter 2015 RELEASE from




FEATURING 11 NEW
IMAGES FROM
CandiBean and 
Lisbeth





We are very excited about each of these new images and we know you will
want them all!!!

We want to give
you a chance to win several of these new stamps so let's get ready
to HOP!

AND THAT IS NOT
ALL!

You are invited
to share in the Blog Hop Party

filled with more
chances to win with games and a special coloring contest! 

by joining us on our 

Facebook page and on one of our favorite sponsor's FB sites,

 Passionate Paper Creations and Friends!



 First, let's begin with our Fall 2015 BLOG

HOP!

Each of our Design Team members will be sharing their
inspiration with gorgeous projects that feature
every one of these new images!


I used the delightful Candibeans Pamper Time, which you can find here on the Little Darlings Rubber Stamps Store.



 I coloured her up with my distress ink markers to match these lovely papers from Michele Roo.


I also used the Dewdrop Circle Die and the Fluttered Tulip Bodice Die which I trimmed a little. I accented with one of Kay Fatula's gorgeous butterflies.

What would a blog hop
be without a fun game and some prizes? 

As part of our hop, we invite
you to leave a comment on each designers blog, as you hop along!

This will enter you for a chance to win!!!!

1st prize = 5 stamps from the NEW RELEASE!!!

2nd prize = $25 Voucher to the LDRS Creative Store!

Winners will be chosen by random.org.

When you are
finished hopping along with us,

please JOIN US
FOR AN ONLINE PARTY

ARE YOU READY TO GET THIS PARTY STARTED?!  LET'S HOP!

Elisabeth Bell - Strawberry Dreamer

Happy Friday everyone! I'm back with another Elisabeth Bell stamp today. This is one of her older images from the Cottage Cuties collection.

This is called Strawberry Dreamer, isn't she lovely?
I didn't have any paper with strawberries on, so I pulled this Maja Design paper out of my stash that had raspberries on, close enough right? :P


Anyway, I love the way this turned out and hope you will too.
Products are linked at the end of my post.


Love that strawberry charm, just perfect for this image.


I liked the contrast of the deep reds with paler creams and greens.


A little view of the inside.

From Dies to Die for

From the Ribbon Girl
Cheesecloth
Ivory White Magnolia Flower
Burgandy 20mm Open Roses
White/Purple Pink 2 Tone 30 mm Wild Roses
Cream 20 mm Open Roses
Berries Red Beaded
15 mm Andrea Ivory Fine Cluny Lace
38 mm Vintage Plum Fluted Edge Sheer Ribbon

That's all for now, but don't wander too far because I will be back with a super exciting Blog Hop later today! :) xx

Wednesday 16 September 2015

So You Want to Join a Design Team?

Morning all! No pretty card or cute mini album from me today, I thought I would share my musings with you. 
This is mostly aimed at newer bloggers or those who have not yet stuck a toe in the DT waters, but others may find it interesting or wish to share their advice/experience in a comment.

So...there comes a time in most crafty bloggers timeline when you start to think about applying to join a DT, or maybe someone has seen your work and asked you if you'd like to be a part of their team,....well you need to take into account several things...and your first question should be ..

WHY?  
What's your reason for wanting to join a design team. People join for different reasons and there are certain things to take into consideration.

  1. Free stuff. This is a common one, it is however important to realise that all DTs are not the same.             Some challenge blog DTs will offer you a few free digis from sponsors.....this can be a double edged sword, because you don't know which artists you will be working with and often you have to work with an image you are given.                                                                                                                                                                 Some digi artists will give you free rein to chose any of their digis you wish to work with. Some will just offer you new release images or let you chose from a select few.                                                                                 Rubber stamp companies can be a mixed bag, you may get a few new release stamps, you may get the full release, some will also send a few stamps from previous releases, some will give you digi versions to work with as well/instead of and some will send you extra goodies. From stamp companies that also produce dies you may also get some free dies to use.                                                                                                                           Online craft stores may send you a selection of stuff to use, or let you choose a certain value of goods during your design team period. If they send you a large selection of stuff you may need to post reusable items such as stamps/dies back costing you postage.
  2. Exposure. This is another common reason. Being on a design team can get you noticed....but probably not as much as you think it would.
  3. Respect.  Other crafters may well respect that you are on design teams, particularly if they are fairly prestigious ones, but if your work is good and you give other people the respect that they deserve, it's likely that you will get this anyway.
  4. The fun and camaraderie of being on a design team. An excellent reason and you will likely make good friends that you will keep in touch with even after your term has come to an end. Please remember though that not all DTs are the same, some run a very lively interactive chat (La-La Land is one of THE best example of this from teams I have been on), others are much more low key. Some DT leaders can be very demanding also, while others are very laid back and understanding (Debbie and Lou I'm thinking of you here for the best of laid back but hands on).                         

So having explored the reasons, lets move on to what you should think about and look for in a DT.
  1. You should love the majority of what you will be using, or be prepared to use and still produce good work from the items you will be working with. - This may be harder then you think, especially when you have a deadline and your mojo has gone walkabout.
  2. The  amount of work expected from you should fit the time you have available and are willing to give, be that 1 card a week or 1 a month.The rewards (see question 1 above) should be commensurate with this.
  3. Always remember it is not a job, even if you get some free stuff you are not being paid for your time, therefore demands on your time should be reasonable. For your own benefit calculate how many of the items you are asked to work with are likely to be items you would actually choose to buy, that's how much your time is worth, so only you can calculate if it's worth it to YOU.
  4. Do you admire the work of the other DT members, these are people you will be working alongside. Are they friendly? Helpful? Supportive? Does it seem like it will be a fun atmosphere?
What should they expect from you?

  1. Your best work, this should be obvious really.
  2. Your own style. This is a tricky one and one that's frequently misunderstood. This doesn't mean you have to be totally different from everyone else ever, but it probably means that people would see a card from you and have a fair idea that it's yours. I see a lot of work out there lately that all looks the same. By all means take classes, use other people's work for inspiration, but find your own style, experiment, enjoy it. If you love what you do and you're not afraid to try different things, your own style will develop over time naturally.
  3. Your time and commitment. Don't take on more than you can cope with, make sure you have home/family/work/DTs balanced. If you can't cope with the demands of another DT don't take it on, be selective, it's not fair on the DT owner/leader or the rest of the team if you keep skipping posts because you have too many DTs to juggle and can't keep up. Nobody will mind if you have to miss a post from time to time because of health/work/home issues, but this should not be because you have too many other DT posts to fulfill. 
  4. Social media, most DTs will expect you to share your work with their products on such places as Blogger, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram etc, and many coordinate their DTs via a private Facebook group.
  5. A professional looking post. You should be able to take and post clear photographs, add a watermark and add a list of products used with links.
  6. A sense of teamwork, being able to get on with and support your team mates.
  7. For rubber stamp/die companies, you may be expected to send some of your work to them for CHA, trade shows etc. The cost of posting may be met by the company or you may be expected to post at your own expense. This can be quite expensive if you are posting to a different country. The cost of your materials should NEVER exceed the free products you receive. Furthermore you need to ask yourself if the cost of buying the products you would have actually bought if it hadn't been sent for free,exceeds the materials used in your projects OR how much you could sell them for. If it doesn't and there aren't other reasons for staying, you may be best off looking for a different deign team.
  8. A love for the product, if you don't love it, how will you produce your best work.

There may be many things that I have left out, but those are the ones i can think of currently. One good way to experience DT life can be through guesting for a DT. This is an excellent way of getting a taste of things without a large commitment. GDTs can range from 1 or 2 posts up to around a 3 month stint. If your work has been good you will often be asked to join the main DT. GDting is also a great way of experiencing lots of different DTs if you don't have the time to commit to several permanent DTs and as someone who works full time, I can highly recommend GDT spots.

So, that's it. Design Team work is a lot of fun and I've had my share of great teams, just remember it's not all glamour. I hope I've given you something to think about and haven't put you off of trying!
. If you have any questions, please post them in the comment section below, and I'll have an answer for you as soon as I can.

Enjoy your day! :) xx

Tuesday 15 September 2015

Tiddly Inks - Love You Mostest

Hello everyone, it's a little extra post from me today.
I found this card in my draft folder where I admit I'm a little embarrassed to say that I forgot all about it,  ooops!
I made it at the beginning of August on request from a friend of my daughter's, and while I did remember to photograph it before sending it off, in all the excitement of my daughter's visit, I completely forgot to blog it! So I'm sharing it with you today.

I used one of the newer wedding couple images from Tiddly Inks and coloured it with my distress ink markers.



The shape of the card is made with a Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page set. The lacy flowers are made with a Magnolia die.



12 mm Pearly Ivory Flower
8 mm Pearl Ivory FB
6 mm Pearl Ivory FB

That's all from me today, but I'll be back on Friday with more to share with you, have fun! :) xx

Sunday 13 September 2015

Elisabeth Bell - Tania Baking

Happy Sunday folks. Today we have a new challenge over at The Ribbon Girls and as always for the 2nd Sunday in the month it's an Anything Goes with an Image challenge.

So you can make any project you like providing it has an image on it.

Recently I was contacted by a lovely lady who has bought a couple of my cards, asking if I could make her some cards with Elisabeth Bell images on them. Well I love Elisabeth Bell images and don't use them nearly enough, so I was more than happy to oblige.....so be ready to see a few of these cuties over the coming weeks.

Although I'll be using a few rubber stamps, this is actually a digital image from Elisabeth Bell's website here

She's called Tania Baking and she's soooo sweet! I coloured her with distress ink markers and just couldn't resist pairing her with this adorable apple printed paper from Maja Design from their Fika collection.




Isn't this minature rolling pin the cutest little embellishment?



I used the following products from the Ribbon Girl on my project

Rose Leaves
Apple Charm

I do hope you can join in with our challenge, you could win a lovely prize from the Ribbon Girl and Lily of the Valley, and don't forget to ogle the rest of my team mates' gorgeous creations here.

That's all from me today, but I have more to share with you next week, including an exciting new release from Little Darlings Rubber Stamps! Enjoy your Sunday! :) xx

Friday 11 September 2015

Tiny Townies - Blossom Loves Balloons

Happy Friday everyone. I'm always pleased when Friday rolls around, because apart from the fact that it's the end of my working week and I can look forward to some weekend crafting time, I get to share my D2D4 DT make with you.

This time I used one of the new super cute Tiny Townies from Stamping Bella.
I love these!
This is Blossom Loves Balloons and I paired her with the new delicious Summer Crush collection from Maja Design, they are just yummy.

Here's what I made







Walnut Stain Distress Ink

Pale Pink Pure Silk Ribbon
Clementine Ivory Lace
20 mm Dusky Blue Open Rose
Apple Blossom Mixed Pastels
Pretty Blossom Pink
Beaded Stamen Blue/White

Well that's all from me today, but I'll be back on Sunday with some more cuteness to share with you. Yup, despite having an awful head cold, I've been a very busy girl this week lol!
See you soon! :) xx

Thursday 10 September 2015

Saturated Canary - Some Bunny Loves You

Hello everyone! Well It finally happened, I gave in and joined the latest craze.

Shaker cards, they're everywhere right? So I grabbed this little fellow Somebunny Loves You from the Saturated Canary - It's a Spring Thing collection and inked him up. I have to say he really was super fast and easy to colour.

A die cut a fuse pocket and tool and some sequins later and I had the base elements for my shaker card. Add some design paper, some cardstock and a few simple embellishments and voila, one card, shaken not stirred.
I've linked the products used at the end of my post.

Hope you like it! :) xx


Tuesday 8 September 2015

Magnolia - Divine Tilda

Hello crafty friends. It's time for a new theme over at Deep Ocean Challenge and this time the theme is
'Shabby Chic'
A great theme for me as I love a bit of shabby chic style.
It seems an absolute age since I coloured a Magnolia stamp, my poor Tildas are feeling very neglected.  So I dug out little Divine Tilda and coloured her up with my DI Markers to match these gorgeous new papers from Pion Design. I've listed items used along with links at the end of my post.







Butterfly from Karla's Kreative Korner

I hope you like my make for today, why not join in with our challenge, we have a great prize on offer from

and don't forget to check out the rest of the teams fabulous makes!

See you all soon! :) xx