Cuttlebug Challenges Be Inspired #34 - Basic Grey

Happy Wednesday everyone! I hope you are all well? I must say that I've missed posting my Be Inspired challenges the last few weeks, and apologies if you stopped by expecting to see them, but as I mentioned previously life has been a little upside down recently! Anyway, normal service has just about been resumed and so without further ado here is this weeks Cuttlebug Challenges Be Inspired card - Cuttlebug and Basic Grey.

I made this card for the lovely Mr J who's birthday was on Monday. I used some Core'dinations Whitewash card for the 6x6 card base then layered on some silver mirri board and Basic Grey Offbeat papers. The frame was cut using an old Sizzix die, first using some more Whitewash card then some of the Offbeat paper. I embossed the outer frame with the Cuttlebug Distressed Stripes folder and gently sanded it to show the gorgeous orange core. The cool silver letters where from a local bargain store and the little alpha stickers are My Little Shoebox, and the glitter heart is Melissa Frances. The little 'studs' on the middle band are actually the leftover bits of the silver B's - a perfect finishing touch don't you think! Oh, and not forgetting a bit of faux stitching with a black pen!

I hope you'll be inspired to join in this weeks challenge as I'm sure all of you out there have some scraps of Basic Grey squirreled away somewhere in your stash! We'd love to see your creations so make sure you link them up to the Cuttlebug Challenge blog where you can also check out the gorgeous creations from the other DT girls

I'm back!

Hi there everyone! Apologies for my recent little extended leave of absence from blogging! Unfortunately my Stepfather suddenly passed away a couple of weeks ago so life has been a little bit upside down for a while, but things are returning to normal now and I have some 'sweet' cards to share with you. These were made using the Sweet Stuff shaped card set from The Cutting Cafe - Regina really hit the mark with these beauties, I love how they have turned out, they are so cute!



Here is the full set of 5 shaped cards which I made using just one 12x12 sheet of Imaginisce Blue Raspberry Ripple double sided paper, along with some plain Papermania card stock for the card base. I left the embellishments quite simple - Melissa Frances rub-ons, Papermania blue adhesive rhinestones and glitter brads, paper ribbon and flowers from stash.

Cupcake.

Lollipop.

Popsicle.

Cake on a stand.

Ice cream cone.
I love how these have turned out! They've made for such a cute set of cards that I think will get lots of use some how! You can buy the complete set of 5 shaped cards and matching envelopes for $6.99 or if there's just one in particular that catches your eye they can be bought individually for $1.99 each. So make sure you head on over to the Cutting Cafe and check them out!

Thanks for stopping by, and hopefully now I will be getting back into the swing of things and back to regular blogging!

Cuttlebug Altered Frame

This weeks challenge over at Cuttlebug Challenges is 'anything but a card'! The sponsors are Create and Treasure Publishing who very generously provided the design team with some gorgeous board books to alter. Unfortunately mine didn't make it to the UK from America, or to be more precise, only the envelope arrived, so I couldn't join in the fun this week which I was very disappointed about :o( The DT have done an amazing job in transforming their books so make sure you pop along to Cuttlebug Challenges to see what they have done.

Anyway, so that I didn't miss out altogether on this challenge I thought I would share with you a frame that I altered a few months back that I hadn't posted about. This was created for Ready, Set Create E-zine and is my first offical published item (hence the wait before I could post it here), yeah!!!

I'd bought this frame which was pretty enough in it's own right, but you know us creative types, we can't leave things alone and have to alter them a little!

I traced around the heart shape onto some chipboard which fortunately enough was just the right size to be 'bugged'! I used the gorgeous Textile folder and embossed each piece differently, one completely embossed and the other two just partially.

I then used the wax crayon resist technique to colour the pieces, using a brown wax crayon then cream acrylic paint to cover. This was then gently sanded once the paint was dry.

I then simply adhered the chipboard hearts to the fronts of the frames and decorated using some American Crafts Greenhouse felt flowers and button, hemp, pins and Swarovski crystals from my stash. And here's the transformed item.


A little different now and a whole lot prettier I think!


It's amazing how with some very basic materials and a little imagination you can completely transform a rather plain item into something quite beautiful!

I hope you'll be inspired to join in this weeks challenge - anything but a card, so any plain and dull items you have lying around, get your thinking caps on and see what you can do to them! Don't forget that there are the most fabulous prizes up for grabs this month at Cuttlebug Challenges. If you participate in any (or all) of the challenges on the Cuttlebug Challenge blog during the month of May, you will be entered into the drawing for either one of these prizes:

An Epson Artisan 700 All-In-One Printer plus three months' supply of ink cartridges
A Cricut Expression with an additional cartridge (along with the two that is already included with the machine!) plus a caddy from Scrapcessories.

WOW, How amazing is that?!?! Winners will be announced on June 1st so you have the rest of the month to participate. Just be sure to add a link to your project for each challenge you complete onto the Mr. Linky widget in the appropriate challenge post. The more you participate the more chances you have to win! I sure wish I could take part in this!

So, get creating, post your entries and good luck!!!

The gift of friendship

I can't believe it's Friday already! So glad though as I'm looking forward to a lovely relaxing weekend with Mr J and Daisy, with nothing planned except maybe a bottle of Champagne as Mr J and I are celebrating 15 years together (ahhh, sweet memories!).

So, just a quick post to share with you my Inspirational Card Sketch for this week. I'm getting marginally better at posting these before the deadline, lol! Another gorgeous sketch from Dawn and beautiful creations from the DT as always, so here is my interpretation.

A rather soft and feminine card for change but I really like how it turned out! I am seriously loving these new papers from Papermania, they are the Blueberry Hill collection and are the prettiest blues, pinks whites and creams, crammed full of gorgeous roses! Beautiful! I used my Nesties labels 4 (and I think I'm getting the hang of them now in terms of the embossing, lol!) Here is a closer view of the bow and flower.

The blue and cream card is from my stash (and matches the paper rather well don't you think!), ribbon from Hobbycraft where I also picked up the fab glittery leaf, the flowers are from Dunelm (bargain - £1.49 for a Hydrangea bloom full of petals!), crystals are also Papermania and the rub-on is Melissa Frances.

Well, I think that covers everything! Just need to link this post then I'm done. Just time to take Daisy for a walk before Chinese Take-away for dinner - yum!

Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a lovely weekend!

Cuttlebug Challenge Be Inspired # 30 - Weddings

Well, I know I usually express disbelief each week at how quickly the weeks are flying by, but it's true! I can't believe we're already into May and that the amazing Cuttlebug Challenge Spa weekend has been and gone! Ans wow, what an amazing weekend it was! I can't wait for the next one, lol!

Anyway, on to business and this weeks Be Inspired challenge is all about weddings, summer being the season of weddings! We have been sponsored by the wonderful Creative Cuts and More who stock the most amazing range of die-cuts, and who have very generously offered 15% off all orders from their store for one week starting today. I chose to go with the wedding gown. Here is what I did with it along with a card I made to match.


As soon as I saw this I knew I wanted to play with my Fusible Fibres again! This time with the gorgeous Cuttlebug Textile EB folder. Here it is in a little more detail, I hope you can see how much it shimmers.


If you haven't seen these fibres before check out this post. They are the easiest thing to use with stunning results don't you think?! I completely covered my box with the embossed fibres, side flaps included, and to decorate added some lace trim from my stash, Kaisercraft crystals and narrow cream ribbon, also from my stash. Here is the back view of the box.


Pretty similar to the front but I left the tails of the ribbon long to trail down the back.

I know that these favour boxes are usually used on the tables at a wedding reception but I think that these would make the cutest gift boxes too! Especially for a romantic groom to give to his bride, with some jewellery in! To complement the box I also made a card using the gorgeous Lola Rose bride image from Pink Petticoat (but unfortunately I don't think this image is available anymore).

The dresses match perfectly! And I think this photograph has managed to capture the shimmer quite well!

Card Details; Card stock from stash, Stardream paper printed with Pink Petticoat Boudoir flourish in Oatmeal, Fusible Fibres, Satin ribbon from Hobbycraft, flower and pins from stash, Kaisercraft rhinestones, sentiment printed from computer, Fiskars Effervescence border punch.

So, now it's your turn - we'd love to see your beautiful creations for a wedding! Check out the Cuttlebug Challenge blog (if you haven't already) for loads of inspiration from the rest of the DT, there are going to be some stunners there I'm sure! And don't forget the AMAZING prize that's on offer this month.

Grand Prizes for the month of MAY - we will be giving out an Epson Artisan 700 All-in-One Printer with 3 month supply of ink Cartridges. To win all you have to do is participate in any of the Challenges all month long to be entered in the drawing. Prizes will be awarded June 1st. The more you participate the more chances you have to win! The runner up will receive a Cricut Expression, with 1 extra cartridge in addition to the 2 that come with Cricut Expression, and a caddy from Scrapcessories. Participate in any of the Challenges all month long to be entered in the drawing.

WOW, I wish I could be included, tee hee!!! Such amazing prizes! So, what are you waiting for? Get busy creating with your Cuttlebug and who knows, you could be the lucky one! Good luck!

Blog Candy Winner!

And the winner of my Bath time Spa Blog Candy is......

....drum roll please....

...drawn by random.org is # 99 jinxi ~ aka angi. Congratulations Angi! Please e-mail me your address (my e-mail address is on my profile page) and I can get your prize sent off to you a.s.a.p.!

Well, it certainly sounded as though you all thoroughly enjoyed the first annual Cuttlebug Challenge Spa Retreat weekend! I definitely did! I'd just like to take this opportunity to say a HUGE thank you to all of you - to those that took the time to visit my blog and leave such lovely comments, to those of you who already followed my blog and to those who became new subscribers! I wish I could send you all a little thank you gift but I don't think Mr J would be too happy about that, lol!!! I thoroughly enjoyed reading your lovely comments and especially hearing how much you were all enjoying yourselves with the blog hop and challenges! I know I certainly had a blast visiting the blogs of all of those that took part in the different challenges - such great talent out there and it's a blessing to know that we have inspired so many of you! I can't wait to see who have won the prizes!

Anyway, after the wonderful events of the Spa weekend I just thought I'd leave you with a couple of photographs that I took on Sunday. We visited our local bluebell wood and this is the sight that greeted us -

Absolutely breathtakingly beautiful! I do love this time of year when everything is in blossom and bloom and I always have to see the bluebells at their best! Even Daisy enjoyed herself too!

So, that's it for today but I do hope that you'll stop by tomorrow as it will be time for this weeks Cuttlebug Challenges Be Inspired challenge, and hopefully you'll all be inspired to take part too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cuttlebug Challenges Spa Weekend - Bath Gift Set

Hello again! Thanks for stopping by my blog on this fantastic Cuttblebug Challenges Spa Weekend! I'm going to show you an idea for a beautiful bath gift set that would make a fantastic pampering gift for someone special.

To start with I bought some pampering products that in particular had very little detail on the bottles (but still smelt gorgeous!), and set about making them into beautiful gifts with the help of my Cuttlebug! I went hybrid with this project using the gorgeous August paper collection from Marks Paper Company as I felt these had a real 'spa' feel to them and really suited this sort of project. Oh, and of course I used Cuttlebug embossing folders to beautify these otherwise plain bottles and jars. I used both the Cuttlebug Textile and Swiss Dots embossing folders here. Here is the complete basket.



I picked up the bamboo basket from a bargain store and thought this was again a perfect fit for a spa theme! I decided on the papers I wanted to use and printed these off on slightly textured paper and card (I used the beautiful Accent papers and card available here). Then it was a case of setting to and decorating the jars and bottles.

For the bottles I made a belly band using the Bonus Paper 1 (actually from the Old Fashioned Kit), embossed this with the Textile folder, cut it to size and fastened it around the bottle. I then wrapped some hemp around on top of this. I used the Scalloped Brown Frame for the centre panel and embossed this with the Swiss Dots. The centre panel is the Ice Cream Cone paper and I just added my titles before I printed it. The flowers are fussy cut from the Snap Dragon paper with a little green Papermania adhesive pearl in the middle.

I kept the jars a little plainer as there was less area to 'play' with! The soaps already came in a little box so I just printed and embossed some of the brown paper and covered the existing box. I removed the acetate lid and simply tied some hemp around the soaps. Oh, and a little flower and pearl for decoration!

For the body brush and flannels I added some removable adhesive to some paper, laid on some cotton twill tape then ran this through the printer so that it came out printed with the Wildflowers design. Simple but effective don't you think?!

A pampering session wouldn't be relaxing with interruptions so I made a door hanger to be hung on the bathroom door! The flourish is the Sizzix Decorative Accents #10 and the stickers are MM tiny alpha's. I also decorated 3 glass votives to hold tealights or candles by simply wrapping some hemp around, securing with tape and adding fussy cut flowers and adhesive pearls. The accessories for ultimate relaxation!

The bamboo box was also simply decorated with a strip of textile embossed paper that was edged with the Fiskars Effervescence border punch, brown velvet ribbon (although it looks more like suede in real life) from Hobbycraft, hemp and a green label from the August digital kit.

And finally to complete the set I made a matching birthday card!

I hope that this has given you the inspiration to create your own spa gift set for someone special. Or for yourself even, as you are very special too! It's so easy to take the plainest of bottles, jars and accessories and transform them into real luxury items that will make someone feel very pampered and spoilt!

CUttlebug Challenge Spa - Nestibilities Fabric Flowers

FOR MY BLOG HOP POST CONTAINING MY FAVOURITE FLOWER PLEASE SEE HERE

Over on the Cuttlebug Challenge Blog there is a post from Allison, Christine and Nathalia showing how you can create your own beautiful flowers from fabric. They have made some absolutely stunning creations that I can't wait to try out myself! I thought I would share with you one of my recent discoveries, making fabric flowers using Nestibilities!

With the new dies that have recently come out you already have your own flower shape straight away. Here I have used the new Blossom dies. Did you know that you can cut felt with your Nesties? And did you know that you can also cut denim?!

Cutting felt is simplicity itself running it through your die cutting machine as if you were using paper or card. You get a perfect cut every time. You can see an example of Nestie felt flowers here. Now denim is a little bit tougher to cut but I found that adding an extra shim of thin card gave that little extra pressure to cut through it. Of course this will vary depending again on which machine you are using so it will be just a case of trial and error.


This shows my piece of denim after I have cut it and you can see that in some places it hasn't made a clean cut. By simply pulling the cut line apart or even using a small pair of sharp scissors, it easily comes apart.


For denim I think that this really adds to the effect, giving some slightly frayed edges. So, by simply now layering these together you have some beautiful flowers - how easy is that!

Here is what I made using my new blooms!


I was inspired by Eva's card that you can see over on the Cuttlebug Challenge blog. The card base comes from this idea, however for mine I changed the measurements to make mine slightly bigger. I've made this card for a young teenager and I think it works perfectly! I also cut some denim for the flower pot and hand stitched the edges with some pale pink embroidery floss.

The base of the card was made from Core'dinations whitewash card and the border was embossed with swiss dots, sanded to reveal the core, edged with the Fiskars Apron Lace border punch and finished with a pink gingham ribbon from my stash. The sentiment is a Melissa Frances rub-on and a gingham punched butterfly with Papermania adhesive shimmer dots to finish.


I simply added buttons to the flower centres which were stitched in place to hold the layers together. The green felt leaves are cut from Sizzix flower, petals and centre die.


This shows the pull out section of the card.

I'm so happy with the results I've achieved here. Hopefully you can see how easy it is to create your own flowers with a little imagination and some fabric! Who knows what you can create! I'd love you to let me know what you do create though!

I hope you're enjoying our Spa event and blog hop! I know I've had lots of fun creating my goodies for it. And there's still loads more to see! Wow! So keeping checking back there regularly and I'll also have a couple more things to share with you over the weekend.

Happy hopping!

Cuttlebug Challenge, Relax, Rejuvenate, Be Inspired!

Hi there and welcome to my blog which you have hopefully arrived at from Allison's blog, on your way through the Cuttlebug Challenge Spa Blog Hop! I hope you're having fun and feeling nice and relaxed, enjoying all the beautiful flowers and relaxation tips on your travels!

Talking of relaxing and rejuvenating I have a few favourite ways I like to relax and unwind. Card making is obviously one of them which I especially enjoy when Mr J is in the 'craft' room with me doing his oil painting, with a nice relaxing CD playing in the background! Another way is that I also love to take my little dog Daisy out on a walk with Mr J, especially to some of the gorgeous woodland that we have in this little corner of the UK. But for me the ultimate is definitely a trip to my favourite day spa where I can completely switch off, be pampered and spoilt, and come away feeling like a new person! Ahhhhhhhh, heaven!

So, onto the reason you are here, my flower. There are so many flowers that I love but my absolute favourite flower has to be FREESIAS.



I just love their delicate blooms and I adore their beautiful sweet fragrance. Freesias are named after the German physician Friedrich Heinrich Theodor Freese and they are said to symbolize innocence and friendship. Just imagine a beautiful vase of Freesias next to your bath tub, with some candles, for the ultimate addition to a fragrant, relaxing bath! Heaven!

By now I'm sure you've realised what you need to do to complete the blog hop and be in with a chance of winning some beautiful prizes from our sponsors! And not forgetting that some of the Cuttlebug Challenge Design Team girls are also offering up their own 'Spa' Candy as a treat too, that you will find as you visit their blogs! And that includes me! I'd love you to subscribe or sign up to follow my blog (if you haven't already that is) and also leave me a comment telling me what your favourite flower is, then on Monday 4th May I will use random org to select one lucky winner who will win this little package (that I will send anywhere in the world). The winner will be announced here and also on the Cuttlebug Challenge blog on Tuesday. So, my little spa treat is this -


A goodie bag containing a Wild Freesia highly fragranced candle, a Lush English Countryside Bath Ballistic (complete with real petals!) and a Lush Amandopondo Bubble Bath Bar, all decorated and packaged by myself!


So, now that you have my flower FREESIA to add to your list it's on to the next blog which is Nathalia's. Don't worry, it's not a race, you have all weekend to collect your flowers, and once you have all 30 flowers collected list them in an e-mail along with their relevant blog owners name, and send them in to the address on the Cuttlebug Challenge Blog. Good luck!

Before I go though I just want to say I hope you're enjoying yourself! Remember there is so much more going on over the weekend at Cuttlebug Challenge Blog so keep checking back regularly. I'd also love it if you would pop back here over the weekend as I will also have some little bits of inspiration to share with you!

Thanks for stopping by and have fun!

More exciting news!

This post will stay here at the top until 1st May, please scroll down for new posts. Thank you!

The Cuttlebug First Annual Spa Retreat!

How exciting does this sound?!?! I know I'm very excited to be taking part in it! There is going to be so much going on that weekend with amongst other things a blog hop, lots of great prizes up for grabs (yes, you read correctly, including Cuttlebugs!), a celebrity guest appearance, and tons of inspiration! So make a note in your diary for Friday 1st of May for a full weekend of Relaxing, Rejuvenating and Creating, and I hope we see you there!

For all the latest details of the weekend keep checking back at Cuttlebug Challenges and grab yourself the Spa blinkie from my sidebar to add to your blog too!