evonne reidy

2012-01-03T09:21:00.000-08:00

I hope 2012 is a good one for all of you, and that it’s a successful year for all.

So many people are happy to see the back of 2011, and yes it was a tough one for many people, with sadness, tragedy and of course ‘austerity’. (A word I never heard until 2011!)

2011 was a challenging year for our family, but it was also one of the happiest we’d had for a few years. Our lovely son Fionn joined us in January of 2011, and brought so much joy to our lives. His older brothers and sister also brought much joy and happiness, and as they grow older I am blessed that they all have their health, and are really great kids, if I do say so myself.

Crafting took a back seat for a while in 2011, save a few little projects here and there. I did learn to knit though, and I got a lot of pleasure from making some baby clothes and possibly the highlight of 2011 (craftwise) was knitting Fionn’s Christening gown and making his christening candle. Of course I did meet Tim Holtz in February, and that was truly a wish come true!!

So here’s 2012 and I have a LOT of projects and goals for this year. It’s going to be a busy one.

I’ll be starting monthly scrapbook workshops in February.
I’m going to learn to SEW. (I stumbled across this blog which I’ll be watching carefully – LOVE IT!)
I’m going to learn to Crochet.
I’m going to learn to use my camera properly – hopefully take a class.
I’m going to Dream……..it’s my word for 2012. Dream big.

What are your plans for 2012?

Hello...hello

2011-12-20T06:57:00.001-08:00

hello....I'll bet there is an echo in here!
Sorry it's been so long since I posted. 2011 has been such a busy year, but after a long break I've finally got back into the crafting flow again!
Christmas cards are all made, and posted as of today!
Christmas fair wrapped up last weekend for another year. So, now it's time to craft for fun again!

I'll be back soon with some photos, a round up of my year and hopefully some new projects to share. I hope I'll still have some readers when I come back.

Merry Christmas to you all xxx

Hearts & Flowers; but not Valentines

2011-02-10T06:39:00.000-08:00

Hello there, I know it's been a long time but life has been very busy here since the arrival four weeks ago of baby Fionn.

Oh we are smitten here, the little bundle of cuteness has made such a change in our lives, and already we can't imagine not having him around.

He finally made his appearance a few days late on January 13th. I had hoped he would be delivered naturally but it wasn't to be - section was the only way he was coming out! He weighed 9lbs 11ozs, so maybe that section was all for the best in the end!

He's so cute, and so cuddly and we are enjoying every minute we spend with him. He's also a very relaxed and calm baby - good feeder and good sleeper (*thank you Lord*) so life is pretty good here right now!

Anyway, moving on - todays challenge on Paperplay challenges is Hearts & Flowers but with a twist - it cannot be a Valentines card!

I was late uploading this to the challenge blog, the little man just did not want me spending time away from him yesterday!

Yesterday happened to be our wedding anniversary so I made this card for my husband!
The papers are from Tim Holtz, the stamp is from a very old set of See-D's - remember they were the first stamps that used the acrylic block! Theres some grungeboard elements and of course the flowers!

Thanks for visiting. I hope to start keeping this blog updated from now on so do pop back again soon xx

Week 40 - Sketchtastic!!

2010-10-07T06:20:00.002-07:00

Whoah.......where has the time gone? And has it seriously been over 2 months since I posted? Tut tut!!
Well, what better way to start posting again than with the fabulous Paperplay Challenges, and this week we have a great sketch for you to follow!

This week we are sponsored by Stitchy Bear stamps.

So here's the sketch.........

And my card.......

I tried in vain to get a better photo of my card, but I just could not reduce the glare on it. I used stamps by Tim Holtz and arranged them in the formation of the sketch above, rather than follow the sketch exactly as it is!

Deirdre, my lovely teamie on Paperplay has some Yummy blog candy up for grabs! You have until Friday 15th October to enter, so pop over to her blog and leave a comment!

Something old...something new

2010-07-27T05:53:00.000-07:00

Thats the Challenge on Crafty Angels this week!!
The challenge hasn't been posted on the blog yet, but it was due to go up yesterday so I'm sure its ok if I post this now!

Here's my card for this week. It had to be done in a real hurry as I spent last week in hospital again on the drip!!!

Thanks for visiting.

Shabby Chic at Crafty Angels

2010-07-20T04:10:00.000-07:00

Hello there!

This week on Crafty Angels Sandie wanted to see Shabby Chic!

I decided to use the leftovers that were on my desk to make this card.

The papers are the fabulous Porcelain from Basic Grey - great for Spring/Summer layouts and cards as well.

I'm going to enter this card into the following challenges:
Craftalicious Challenges - Birthdays
Allsorts Challenge - Summer Days
Stampavie - Anything Goes

Stampin for the Weekend

2010-07-17T02:44:00.000-07:00

So, my stint as Guest Designer on Stampin for the Weekend has come to an end! I'd really like to thank the girls there for inviting me to participate in their challenges!
This week there is a recipe challenge.
So, we were asked to use 3 Patterned Papers, 2 flowers and 1 ribbon.
There were two fabulous sponsors this week:

This is my second attempt at using digis! I just can't do the colouring......but I am doing my best with my new copics, I need lots and lots of practise! There are so many fab digis out there, it would be such a shame not to be able to use them.

Papers are from Papermania, I made grungeboard flowers, and used copics and lots of distress inks for colouring and distressing!

Thanks for visiting.

Challenges:
Stamp Something - Go Digi
The TownScrapper - Anything Goes

Paperplay Week 28

2010-07-15T05:19:00.000-07:00

Wow, week 28 on Paperplay challenges already, and this week we have a great sketch from Sandie for you to use.

Remember you can flip, rotate or resize the sketch but we must be able to see the sketch on your project.

This week we are sponsored by Meljen Designs

I had terrible problems with my printer, I had to print the photo about 6 times before there was one half decent enough to use!!! Such a pity, as I really like this picture of my daughter holding my niece! It still looks blaaaah though! Oh well.

The papers are from Anna Griffin, I distressed them with Walnut stain distress ink from Tim Holtz, and I used coredinations cardstock, X-cut and Martha butterflies, and
Grungeboard elements covered with TH crackle paint and some distress ink again. Finally, more TH masks, and Liqiud pearls!

Thanks for dropping by, and don't forget to visit my teammates blogs to see their fabby creations too.

Challenges:
Flutterby Wednesdays - Layers
Pennys Paper-Crafty Challenge - 7 of something
Shellys Images - Layers
Craftalicious Challenge - Cute
Totally Papercrafts - Swirls and Pearls

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth.......

2010-07-13T09:33:00.001-07:00

I know, I know........it's been ages and ages since I posted. We were in the process of moving house at the time, so thankfully thats behind us and we are settling into our new home now. We are all thrilled to be living back in our old neighbourhood on the site where our old home originally stood. Back home, but in a brand new house!!

Anyway, as normality resumes (for a while at least*) I was able to get some crafting done!

I was delighted to be asked to be a guest designer for July on Stampin for the Weekend. Their theme was Christmas in July and this was my contribution.

This week on Crafty Angels the challenge was to use Red and Black so here is my contribution for that.
The flower was handmade from some circles of CS which I distressed and stickled! The sentiment is from Hero Arts. I got a fabulous set of these stamps the last time I was in Siopa Bui and I just love them, they have the perfect sentiment for every occasion.

Quixotic Challenges are looking for Pearls. I've only used one!!!
PaperSundaes want lots of layers - I think my flower should qualify for that :)

* I have a little announcement to make also. (It's the main reason I've been MIA for so long) We are expecting a little arrival in the New Year. I am now 16 weeks pregnant and despite the fact that I've never been so sick in my whole life, I am really excited about this! It will be a huge change in our family, but a very welcome one also. This pregnancy is proving very difficult at the moment, and I really would appreciate all your prayers and good vibes please.
Needless to say we are all very excited about what the New Year holds in store for us. Oh, and if I do have to go missing again, you'll know why ;)

Challenges and Chaos

2010-05-29T04:32:00.000-07:00

Well things are well and truly chaotic in the Reidy household these days!!
Our new house was 'supposed' to be ready this weekend...the removals are booked, everything is packed, we are moving out of the rented house today BUT the new house is not ready. YIKES. It's going to be an interesting weekend. I will probably be offline for a few days next week until everything is connected, etc but will be back as soon as I can.
I probably won't get a chance to enter my usual DT challenges this week, but should be back to normal after that. Fingers and toes crossed!!

Ok, so this week on Crafty Angels Laura asked us to use Teal and Brown. I was down to a limited supply of craft products this week, what with everthing packed. Soooo, I had to make a teal colour from my much loved Distress inks! I think it's quite close to Teal isn't it???

Paperplay Challenges is sponsored this week by the very talented Elisa from Mami Doodles. The challenge was "Up in the Air" and Elisa very kindly provided some images for the DT to use.
So, here is my first ever attempt to use a Digi image, I'm not happy with it, but I love the image. Going to practise lots........and I especially need to learn how to colour the images.
MMMnnnnnnnn.........Copics advice anyone????

Something Completely Different are looking for Crowns this week, so I'm going to enter that challenge too.

Ok, thanks for visiting bloggers....please wish me loads of luck for this weekend! I need it.

Forgive me please.....

2010-05-22T02:23:00.000-07:00

....I'm sorry, it's been so long since I posted, and I haven't been keeping up with blogging my challenges - or visiting any blogs to comment. I've had a mad busy two weeks, and just when things were beginning to calm down I was struck by illness! So sick!!! So I've lots to catch up on, and I'm going to be very busy again this week, as we are finally moving house next weekend, so lots of packing to be done! YIKES!

Ok, so Week 19 on Paperplay was set by Julie and her challenge was to use Brown and another colour on your project!
Here's my card!

Over at Crafty Angels Week 34 challenge is One for the Girls.

This is my entry, I've used some old Doodlebug CS and PP that I've had in my stash forever!

Finally, Week 35 @ Crafty Angels, set by Shirley is Ripping and Tearing

I made this card with Elisa's Monochromatic Challenge in mind over at Mami Doodles!
Thanks for visiting bloggers, and again I'm sorry about the long absence!

123 Recipe at Crafty Angels

2010-05-04T06:58:00.000-07:00

Hello bloggers,
Hope you all enjoyed the bank holiday weekend. The weather was really great here, and not one for sitting inside crafting!!! However, I did manage to get my Crafty Angels card made, following a recipe provided by Sandie this week!

The recipe - a 123 Recipe is 1 ribbon, 2 papers, 3 flowers!

Don't forget that the Top 3's from each week will be in with a chance of winning our monthly prize. This month it is a fabulous set of stamps from Papermania called "Honey & Hugs"

Just a few challenges I'm going to enter this one into:
Kabodoodles – Celebrate Spring
Sew many challenges – Anything Goes
Quixotic Challenges – How Distressing

Thanks for visiting.

It's amazing........

2010-04-29T13:21:00.000-07:00

........just how fast you can turn out a card when you need to!!

Despite my renewed interest in card making recently, I had no Thank You cards in my pile when I needed one this evening.

This card took all of about 10 minutes to make, I have to say it was the fastest and easiest make ever!

I'm sorry the lighting is so bad here this evening!

Going to enter this card into a few challenges:
Flutterby Wednesday are looking for clean and simple!
ABC challenges want Thank You cards
Allsorts Challenge - be inspired

Pretty Pastels.......

2010-04-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

Oh wow, this week is a good one for those who take part in Paperplay Challenges, not only do we have one prize up for grabs, but the lovely Kate one of our former DT members has also donated a prize, so please do take part to be in with chance of winning!

Cardmad Fairy have kindly given us these yummy stamps

And this great prize is courtesy of Kate

This week our lovely Mandy set the challenge, and she's looking for Pretty Pastels on your projects! I have to admit I'm not used to working with Pastel colours, but I do think my Basic Grey papers fit the description!
I used my new Tim Holtz label die (any excuse!) the stamp is from Hero Arts, one of my all time favourite stamps, the sentiment is Basic Grey also, I've used my trusty Martha Stewart butterfly punch, (mmm do I use this in every project?) and I added some pearls hoping it would soften the look a little! LOL
I still haven't mastered the art of taking decent photos of my projects..but you get the idea here anyway!

Thanks for visiting and don't forget to pop over to Paperplay to take part in this great challenge.

(Edited to add)

I made this card with a few more challenges in mind:
Delightful Sketches - pull out your punches
Lily of the Valley - Summer
Stampavie - Distressing
Quixotic Challenges - How Distressing
Crafty Cardmakers - Desert Island must have - that would be my butterfly punches!!
Creative Belli Blog - Birthday card using something forgotten from stash - my rub on sentiment!

Summer time.......

2010-04-27T04:10:00.000-07:00

Hello bloggers, I guess its all the unseasonal good weather we've been having here in Ireland that inspired this weeks challenge over at Crafty Angels.
This week we are looking for Summer themed projects.
Don't forget that you are in with a chance to win the beautiful Chelsea stamp from TGF this month, as well as the Top 3 Blinkie each week! Do pop over and take part.

This week my layout is quite different from my usual style, it's very clean for me LOL! I don't think there is ANY distressing to be seen.....

I'm entering this LO into the following challenges:
Something Completely Different - H for holidays
Pennys Challenge - Anything goes

Scrap the Art and some more.......

2010-04-24T02:47:00.000-07:00

Good morning bloggers! It's yet another dry day here, that rain we were told was coming seems to be holding off for another while - and I hope I haven't just jinxed it now by saying so! LOL

This week on Scrap the Art we have another print to inspire you.

'Hand with reflecting sphere' by M.C.Esher ca. 1935

There are just so many possibilities with this, and I really enjoyed working on this challenge. I went out of my comfort zone on this and wasn't sure how I was going to pull it all together. My inspiration came firstly from the hand, and also the reflection, then the sphere, and finally the colours. I think I've managed to incorporate all into my layout.
My sons handprint is one of the stamped elements. In his sunglasses (it's not very easy to see!) you can just make out the reflection of everyone that is sitting around the table. I used my nesties to cut the circle shape, and finally I followed the colour scheme in the print also.

Special thanks have to go to Eyjafjallajokull for easing off long enough to allow my Tim Holtz dies to arrive! Wooo hooo! They are here now Eyja - erupt again all you like!!!!

I'm also going to enter this layout into the following challenges:
Something completly different - H (hand)
Pennys Challenge - Anything goes
Crafty Creations Challenge - Distressing

Lets forget about Patterned Paper!

2010-04-22T03:18:00.000-07:00

Its Paperplay time of the week again, and this week I set the challenge!
I would to create a project without using any patterned paper. Cardstock only can be used.. however you can do what you like with it - distress it, ink it, emboss it, tear it, etc!

We are so excited to be sponosored by Whiff of Joy for this challenge...

And they are giving away a fabulous stamp this week, so please do head on over to Paperplay to take part.

Here's my Layout for this weeks challenge.
The white cardstock is embossed, and I've used lots of Liquid pearls, some stitching, handmade flowers, and of course butterflies!!!

Here are some close-ups.

Thanks for visiting, please remember to leave a comment :)

Weddings at Crafty Angels

2010-04-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

Hello bloggers! Time for another challenge at Crafty Angels. We were wowed at the amount of entries last week, thanks to all of you who played along. The top three for this week have been chosen, so don't forget to pop over to the blog to see who the lucky winners were. Don't forget that at the end of each month all the Top 3's will be entered into a draw for this really cute Greeting Farm stamp, so make sure you enter each week to be in with a chance!

This week Shirley asked us to make a Wedding Card. I dug out the Basic Grey papers for this one. I decided to keep my image very simple, and not colour it! Hope you like!!!

I'm also going to enter this card into the following challenges:
Allsorts Challenge - In Stitches
Stamp Something - Something Layered
Friday Sketcher - Sketch
Stampavie - Butterflies
Our Creative Corner - Butterflies
Pennys Challenge - Anything goes
Flutterby Wednesday - Butterflies

My Favourite Things

2010-04-17T04:13:00.000-07:00

This week over on Crafty Angels I asked people to make a project using their favourite things! This can be your fave embellishments, techniques, papers, or whatever you fancy! We've had a huge response this week - it's great to see so many people taking part!

I find it hard to decide what my favourite technique is on my pages... I like using lots of die cuts, lots of liquid pearls, flowers of course, butterflies - would you ever have guessed(!!) and distressing!
So, this week I've done all of these on my Layout!

Thanks for visiting.

Shiny Happy People

2010-04-08T06:17:00.000-07:00

Hello bloggers!
This weeks Paperplay challenge is called Shiny Happy People and is set by Julie! All week I've had the song going around in my head LOL!
The requirement was to use a "person" stamp/image, but it must have gloss, shimmer or sparkle on it.

We've got a new sponsor on Paperplay Challenges and are very pleased to welcome Simon Says Stamp as our sponsor for this week and for every 2nd Thur of the month.

So to be in with a chance of winning $15 in store credit from one of the largest online craft stores all you have to do is enter this week's challenge and make sure to link back to Paperplay Challeneges in your post.

So, onto my card for this week!

I really hope you can see the sparkles in her wings! It was difficult to get a photo of it!
The stamp is from Darkroom door......as you know, one of my favourite companies!
And I've 'rock candy stickled' her wings!
I'm also entering this card in a few challenges
Stamping for the Weekend Ribbons & Bows challenge.
The Townscrapper - Charms
Flutter by Wednesday - Glitter/sparkle

Thanks for visiting.

Crafty Angels - A Sketch For You

2010-04-06T04:41:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had a lovely Easter!

This week on Crafty Angels we have a sketch for you to follow.

Here's my take on it.....

The background is done using Distress inks, and I've coloured the image with them too! The lace and flowers are also from Crafty Angels, and so too is the Martha Stewart Butterfly punch.
Please do go over to the Crafty Angels blog and take part, and be sure to visit Sandie & Shirleys blog for inspiration too!

Paperplay Sketch.

2010-04-01T05:25:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
Happy April fools day LOL! I hope no-one has been fooled today, and if you have I hope it was nice and not nasty!
I'm ashamed to say my husband got me earlier......he rang me at work and told me that the new house we are building had been broken into last night, and there was windows broken etc! I was naturally livid - the thing is, when we built our first home 8 years ago this DID actually happen. So I thought it was just such bad luck it would happen again.....and then I heard the snigger!!! Yes, he was fooling me, and I bought it!!!

So, as revenge (I'll call it revenge, but really you all know it was planned!) I'm using his photo in this weeks Paperplay Challenge.

This week Sandie provided us with a sketch:

So here's my interpretation of the sketch.

I've used lots of grungeboard elements in this one & not quite so much liquid pearls as I usually use. This week I got a bit 'doodle-happy' which is something I haven't done for ages! I found a white gel pen in my stash, and went to town on the LO drawing lots of swirls and dots!

Thanks for looking and please do leave a comment.
And just in case I'm not back before the weekend, I hope you all have a very Happy Easter.xx

Crafty Angels - Easter

2010-03-30T04:34:00.000-07:00

Hello again,
I guess being the week thats in it, this is a very popular theme. Yes, it's Easter challenges at Crafty Angels.

As per my post last week, Easter has really stumped me this year! I don't have typical Easter stamps, and I wasn't happy with any previous Easter photos. So yet again I've gone with a simple Easter greeting card.

The stamps I used are both Hero Arts. The background is distressed with Antique Linen distress ink, and then stamped in the same ink over it. I used the watercolour effect on the stamp with Pine Needles and Worn Lipstick. (ink the stamp with the distress ink, and spritz with water!). The image was simply matted on the cardstock, and I used rub-ons for the sentiment.

Now, to make sure the same thing doesn't happen again next year I'm going to be more prepared for Easter! I've just been checking out all the lovely products at Crafty Angels. You can take a look here.

Scrap the Art challenge #4

2010-03-30T04:21:00.000-07:00

I was very chuffed recently to be asked to join the Scrap the Art design team.
This challenge takes place every two weeks, and the idea is that a piece of art is given and everyone uses that as inspiration for their project.
This week the following painting was the challenge:

It's called Rainbow Rembrandt I. 1977 by Larry Rivers. It's his own take of The Polish Rider by Rembrandt. He overlaid a sunburst onto the older version and changed the look completely.

I created the background on which the photo is matted from Distress inks, it looks like a Sunburst IRL but the lighting was pants when I took this photo. I will try and re-take it again for you to get the effect.
I also took obvious inspiration from the horse drawing and used a photo of my two children pony trekking.

Ok, I'm definitely going to take a better photo of this.

Please do pop over to Scrap the Art and take part, and visit my team mates blogs too, to see how they interpreted the challenge.

Easter @ Paperplay Challenges

2010-03-25T06:49:00.000-07:00

This week at Paperplay the theme is Easter.

Of course, when I went rooting through my boxes of stamps I couldn't find anything remotely like an Easter Stamp. Then I had the brainwave of downloading some digi images, but alas my watercolour paper wouldn't go through the printer so that was a non-runner.

Eventually I decided to K.I.S.S - keep it simple (stupid!) and reached for my trusty Darkroom Door products again! I LOVE this company, Rachel is a fabulous artist/photographer and some day when I win the lotto I'm going to buy ALL of her stamps!

So here you have my contribution this week, a simple Easter card using a DRD photchip.

Now, I'm going to try and master the art of Digi images this week. If you've got any advice I'd love to hear it. In particular what printers you use, and paper too... and as soon as I get this going Mami Doodles will be my first port of call! Gotta LOVE Elisa's images.

Thanks for visiting.

Crafty Angels Paper Piecing!

2010-03-24T14:31:00.000-07:00

Hello again,
This week on Crafty Angels the Challenge was set by Shirl and she asked us to use some paper piecing on our cards! Panic ensued, and after half an hour on Google trying to work out what Paper piecing actually was, I got stuck in!!

Do check out the rest of the Crafty Angels Design team blogs for more inspiration, and don't forget to take part in the challenge too!

Thanks for visiting!

Lace & Hearts

2010-03-16T05:03:00.001-07:00

Good morning everyone!
This weeks challenge on Crafty Angels is Lace & Hearts!
I've used this fabulous Bo Bunny paper , which has been distressed to within an inch of it's life with Walnut Stain Distress ink. Crafty Angels have also got the new Tim Holtz distress inks in stock so do check them out!
The lace is also from Crafty Angels, Liquid pearls and the Grungeboard pieces.

I cut the butterflies from some old KI Memories paper I had, and the Title is some vellum quotes I've had forever too!
It's hard to see from the photo, but I 'rock candy stickled' my grungeboard Heart, and it looks lovely in reality(even if I do say so myself!)I used some of my Tim Holtz mini masks too, its definitely time for me to replace these.... I have used them so often they are loosing their adhesiveness (is that a word? LOL) but they are definitely one of the stash items that I just couldn't live without now!

So, please visit Crafty Angels blog and see what my teammates have come up with for the theme this week!
Thanks for visiting!

Seeing Double & Candy alert!

2010-03-11T06:30:00.000-08:00

This week's Paperplay challenge is set by Elisa and is very kindly sponsored by Stitchy Bear Stamps.

The winner will get 4 digital stamps/images.

The Challenge is "Seeing double" - use two of something on your card/project - two of the same image or repeat the saying/sentiment.

I've used the same butterfly image twice here. The stamps are from Darkroom Door. I embossed the Butterflies in white, which then resisted the Distress inks I used for the background.

Now for the candy alert.... Sandie is is celebrating 20,000 hits on her blog and is offering a fabulous prize at the moment! Just look at all these goodies!

Do pop over to her blog to be in with a chance at all that yummy candy!

Butterflies

2010-03-09T09:50:00.000-08:00

This week on Crafty Angels I set the challenge, and it was to use Butterflies on your project! If you are familiar with my blog, you'll know how much I love using them!
My card is very simple this week, I've used some old Crate paper and of course my well loved and used Martha Stewart butterfly punch!!
Please do pop over to Crafty Angels and take part in the challenge, and while your there do check out my teamies blogs too!

Just because!

2010-03-04T07:35:00.000-08:00

The theme this week on Paperplay Challenges was "Just Because".

Deirdre set the challenge this week, and here's what she had to say.....

"I love getting mail and I particularly adore getting a card in the mail! I bet I am not alone in this?!
I would like you to make a card/project - "Just Because". We have all been busy making Valentines, St Patrick's Day and Mother's Day cards .... so this week I want you to make a "just because" card - thinking of you, miss you etc and send it!

This challenge is inspired by my favourite company - Hero Arts who ran a challenge last year called "Mail It". So I am putting up some Hero Arts goodies for this week's winner - they include:-

Hero Arts Flower Box Cling Stamp
Hero Hues - Daffodil (set of folded cards and a set of envelopes)
Hero Hues Pearls and a selection of some Hero Hues Art Flowers/Vintage Collage Flowers.

Isn't that just a yummy prize? Do pop over to Paperplay and take part.

Here is my card:

As usual I've used Distress inks for the background, and a Tim Holtz mask (love these!). The card is so simple and quick to make - 3 blended colours of distress ink, some water bleaching, attach a flower. a stamped sentiment and some pearls and thats it!

Now I need some advice....I'm getting increasingly frustrated week after week as I've been creating lots of Layouts, cards etc recently BUT I'm only sharing the ones that I have to share for Design teams.... the reason is, I'm just brutal at taking pics of them. It's annoying to create something that you think is good, and hate the photo you've taken of it, knowing that it doesn't do it any justice!
So, if anyone has any advice on how best to take the photos I'd be so grateful if you could share it with me!

As always, thanks for visiting and for your comments! I do enjoy reading them!

Photo Inspiration for Crafty Angels!

2010-03-02T04:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my first project for Crafty Angels went live, and it was a Photo Inspiration challenge set by Sandie.

Here is the photo :

The idea is to use the photo above to inspire your creations. It can be the colours, design, theme.. whatever you can take from it.

So, do you notice the window panes? All those squares? Well thats the first thing that 'jumped out' at me and the second thing was the colours.

I used coredinations Cardstock for the base. I cut the squares from regular white cardstock, and then distressed them with Tim Holtz distress ink -worn lipstick and Walnut Stain.
I then ran some of them through some Cuttlebug folders for some texture. The Martha Stewart butterfly punch and the pearls and a handmade flower are the finishing touches!!

Finally, I know its hard to see the text - but the Title of the Layout is Dream. After all with a photo of such a luxurious bedroom, what can you do but dream!!!

Paperplay Sketch & a new DT position

2010-02-18T07:18:00.000-08:00

This past week has whizzed by again and already it's Thursday, meaning Paperplay time!!

This week our challenge is a Sketch By Sandie.

I love following sketches - they take the hard work out of designing a LO don't they??? Lol!
I used up some Cherry Arte papers I had for years (probably!!) and as usual lots of Liquid Pearls (my most used item of stash these days) and lots of Distressing!
My son was not too happy with the quality of the photo, I did take it with my iphone, and was very critical of it!!! But I do think he was chuffed to be the sole subject on the Layout!!

Our sponsor this week is Crafty Angels and the prize up for grabs is this uber cute Greeting Farm stamp. To be in with a chance of winning Izzy head on over to Paperplay and join in! And don't forget to visit my teamies blogs too, and leave them a comment!

Speaking of Crafty Angels - I was absolutely chuffed to bits when the lovely Laura asked me to join her new Design Team. Check out their blog here I'm really looking forward to being part of this design team, so please do visit over there and join in the challenges!

Something special!

2010-02-13T03:02:00.000-08:00

Over at Paperplay this week our challenge was to create a Birthday project for someone special!
My daughter loves dressing up - what 7 year old doesn't I guess, so I made this mini-album from the Rusty Pickle Pirate Princess range to hold the photos of her birthday party! She loves this album, and as we all know happy child = happy mom!

Do get yourself over to Paperplay and see all the fab projects from the Design Team. And if you join in this week you are in with a chance to win a lovely prize from Liz of Lace, Ribbons, Buttons and Bows.

So have a great Valentines weekend everyone, and for those of you who are hoping to get spoiled tomorrw, hope it's a loved-up, rosemantic day!!! <3 <3

Catching up on Paperplay Challenges

2010-02-09T06:50:00.000-08:00

I've a few Paperplay entries to share, better late than never!!!!

Christmas without Red or Green was set by Elisa.

Now I know my tag looks like I've used some Green ink, I promise I haven't!!

I guess the Distress inks have blended a little giving that appearance!

I had a lot of fun making this tag, experimenting with different things, and using my Rock Candy stickles! I love these - although I think everything I own got Rock Candy stickled! for a while LOL

Next up Kate asked us to let a Movie or Book inspire us.

I loved the movie True Romance when it first came out. Just thinking thats probably about fifteen years ago now! Blush! I looked up the Movie poster online and used it as inspiration for this Layout of the Colluseum in Rome.

Julie choose Precious Metals for her challenge.
I altered a heart shaped tin using alcohol inks, grungeboard, crackle paint, and some more bits and pieces!

Thanks for looking.

I'm back!!

2010-02-09T06:26:00.001-08:00

Hello, hello, hello.........

Thanks for all your patience, and for the emails, cards, texts and kind messages etc while I was sick!

I can't believe it's been two whole months since I last posted, I have missed so much on blogland! I'll have a lot of catching up to do!

Well by now Winter CHA 2010 is done and dusted, but I was keeping an eye on all the new products released, and I'm so very excited about the new lines from my FAVE artist of all time, Mr Tim Holtz!

Have you seen his alterations line?? Yum. Yum. Yummy! I'm falling in love all over again. :)

And his book, it's on my shopping list for sure!

There's loads more, but I'd be here all day listing what I love so going to leave it at that for now!

Now I just need to work out a way to get loads of money for all these new products I want! ;)

Paperplay time of the week again!

2009-11-26T06:22:00.001-08:00

This weeks Paperplay challenge is a sketch by the very talented Sandie.

I managed to use up some Basic grey pp that has been in my stash for over 3 years I would guess! The quote from George bernard Shaw is one I love "We do not stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing". How true!

Crafty Angels challenge

2009-11-25T10:59:00.000-08:00

There were a number of photos I had to take this evening, and the lighting here is just soooooooooo bad! I'm really disappointed with how the pics turned out, the colour is just not true at all!

Anyway, the first pic I had to take was for my entry into the Crafty Angels challenge.
Crafty Angels is the newest Irish scrapbook & card making supplies store, and well worth a visit. Their blog challenge is on Week 11 now, and I can't believe it's the first time I've actually taken part!
This week it was a sketch, and as soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to do it!

So here is my entry for this week!

Tomorrow I'll be posting my entry for the Paperplay challenge. Fingers crossed I'll get some good light in the morning to take a better picture!

Thanks for visiting.

Paperplay Week 42 - Read all about it

2009-11-19T09:14:00.001-08:00

It's another wet miserable afternoon here, the rain has been coming down non stop for the past three days! Perfect crafting weather really I suppose!

It's Paperplay time of the week again, and Julie set this weeks criteria!

I want you to use some form of booktext, for example: vintage booktext, script background stamp, newspaper text.

This week our sponsor is Alison Spelman. Alison has recently set up her own digi image store and is offering 4 free images to our winner.

Alison also offers a free digi image each Wednesday on her blog so make sure to check out her blog. Click the image above to go there :)

So here's my entry!

I've had that paper forever, I just can't remember who it is by! I've used lots of liqiud pearls, TH distress inks and masks, and even managed some more text with the newspaper flower.

Thanks for all the good wishes for my nephew last week, I'm delighted to report that he is on the mend! Also, since last weeks post, I got the great news that my brothers wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, so I'm expecting some great scrapping photos soon! :)

Something Delicious from Scrapperlicious!

2009-11-14T02:18:00.000-08:00

Irene Tan aka Scrapperlicious is doing a fantastic giveaway to celebrate reaching half a million hits on her blog! Now this girl is SERIOUSLY talented, and I for one am totally inspired by her! Do check out her blog - you won't be sorry, and who knows you could win these yummy goodies for yourself!

PS - don't forget me if you do win! xx

Paperplay Week 41 - Recipe

2009-11-12T07:03:00.000-08:00

Wow, during the week I got the exciting news that I've been chosen as a DT member on the PaperPlay Challenge Blog! I was thrilled when I saw the news, and shocked as I always look at the fabby work the DT do, and never thought I'd really be in that league! However, I did decide to give it a shot when they were looking for submissions, and I'm so excited to have been chosen.

So, here is my entry for this weeks challenge, which was set by Kate.

For this weeks challenge I'd like you to use this recipe for your project.

2 Patterned Papers
1 Ribbon
3 buttons

Add some creativity and mix it all together

I altered a frame for this challenge! The 2 Patterened papers are from Basic grey, and distressed with Tim Holtz distress ink. The Ribbon was something I had in my stash ( i don't rem where I got it) and if you look closely you can find the 3 buttons as my flower centres!
The little guy in the photo is my nephew, and this morning we got the news that he is very sick with swine flu! So sending lots of hugs and good wishes to him today, for a speedy recovery!

Paperplay week 39

2009-10-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

Aaagh, I hate being late and I hate rushing! Unfortunately I've been both this evening - well maybe I'm cutting it fine rather than actually being late! It's Paperplay challenges I'm talking about! The challenge this week was to use your favourite embellishment! Wow, what a great challenge! So good that there are over 80 entries on the site already!
Now, if you know me, you know I LOVE butterflies! However, seeing as they seem to feature on EVERYTHING I've created recently, I decided not to use any, and to look to one of my favourite manufacturers (Darkroom Door) and use their photochips in this simple card. Photochips are fast becoming a firm favourite of mine, but more about these in a later post, for now I want to get this card online before 9pm so that I can say I made the deadline!
Thanks for looking! I'm sure you'll agree this is something very different from my usual style this time!

Paperplay Week 38

2009-10-13T04:25:00.000-07:00

This weeks challenge was a sketch by Mandy.

You can flip/rotate the sketch as you wish so long as we can see the original in your creation.

Here is my take on this weeks challenge:

I had lots of fun playing with Liqiud Pearls as you can see! Loads of stitching, which I'm addicted to lately, and of course Butterflies which seem to feature on everything I make these days!!! Close up views:

Pale and Spotty!

2009-10-13T04:11:00.001-07:00

These are two Paperplay challenges I joined in with, but wasn't on time to submit either of them!

The first one was set by Julie and the theme was Spot This.
"Pretty self-explanatory really. I am a sucker for buying spotty paper (and stripy - but we won't go there!), then I don't use it up because I don't want to cut into it. So this week, I'd like everyone to make spotty things (using paper or indeed anything else spotty you wish)."

The other challenge that I was late with was set by Dei and was called "Pale and Interesting".

I would like to see you use predominantly white with just one colour as an accent! Have fun!

I actually made a card and a LO on this theme.

2009-09-30T11:04:00.001-07:00

Here's a layout I did for the Craft Supplies forum monthly challenge.
The Theme was Get in Shape. And the criteria was to create a card or layout of any shape, but not square! For someone who always scraps in 8*8 or 12*12 squares, this was something new! I remembered buying this paper at Crafteire, and this is my first, non-square layout!

There's lots of distressing going on, inking, masking, stitching, etc! Hope you like it, thanks for looking!

Tag It

2009-09-23T09:23:00.000-07:00

Paperplay Challenge this week was Tags!
I'm a big fan of tags - they are a great way of experimenting new techniques, and I love TH's 12 Tags of Christmas every year!

Here's my entry!

2009-09-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I took part in a Paperplay challenge, but this week was one I really wanted to participate in! My love for Distress inks has meant that I've been playing around with them a lot more lately, and I decided this was a good way to do a colourful background, without using Patterned Paper - which as it happens is this weeks challenge.

This weeks challenge (Week 34) was set by Kate.
You are not allowed to use any patterned paper in your project. You may however (if you wish) make your own, out of card stock, for example, using whatever techniques you want ! You can use paint, you can emboss or stamp it's entirely up to you or you can just use different colours of plain cardstock if that's what you want

I used 3 shades of Distress Ink, and a number of different techniques on the individual shapes. Ink blending on the dry embossed rectangle, a cuttlebug folder (You), Mini Mask from Tim Holtz, UTEE, versamark.

My five current faves....

2009-09-10T10:25:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd share my Favourite Five today.

Paperplay Week 13

2009-04-16T15:08:00.000-07:00

I find myself getting really into the Paperplay Challenges recently, and I look forward to Thursday nights to actually have something to focus on creating.

This weeks challenge is:
"TIMES 4. ..... X4 your creation.. whether it's a layout, card or altered item.. times 4 it! 4 pictures, 4 buttons, 4 flowers, 4 of whatever you want!!"

I've started working on a Journal cover, using my distress inks and of course Sir Tims masks :-). In case I haven't said it often enough, I just *love* Tim Holtz products. They never fail to impress me. The script stamp is from Hero Arts. I'm sure I'll add some grungeboard and possibly some ephemera to this over the coming days.

As it happens I created a card with the *4 theme this evening also! I've just noticed some stray glossy accents in the photo that I didn't spot before not! Oh well....

Thanks for looking and do leave a comment if you drop by!

Catching up....

2009-04-11T06:22:00.000-07:00

I've been playing along with the Paperplay Challenges, but not being the greatest blogger, I haven't been posting or keeping up properly!!

Week 11 was All About Backgrounds, set by Jackie
" It's all in the background " so for this challenge I want you to create your own background papers using rubber stamps, chalks, inks, whatever you like, but NO patterned papers, you can use plain papers too and any embellishments you like as long as there is a handmade pattern clearly visible somewhere"
Here is my entry.

I used my brayer and distress inks to create the background, and the stamps are from Darkroom Door, one of my favourite stamp producers.
Incidentally, Tim Holtz has used a very similar (and much nicer) techique on an Easter tag this week. Check out his blog!

This weeks Paperplay challenge is Fabric and Ribbon.
"Touchy Feely
To create a project using fabric & ribbons. This weeks challenge is all about texture, to create something you can rub your hand over and enjoy the feeling of the different textures. You can use any other craft items too on your project, stamping, buttons,etc... but it must have fabric and ribbons on it somewhere!"

I've done a LO this time.

I'm not sure if I'm finished with this LO or not, I think it's missing something,so will have to think about what else I'll do with it!

Finally I'm just posting a pic of a quick card I did this morning. NO matter how many times I've taken a pic of it, the colours just aren't coming out true. The purple card is much paler in reality. And the green is more subtle too! But it was a really quick make and I'm happy with it, so thats all that counts really!

Have a happy Easter.

Paperplay Challenge - Week 7

2009-02-27T07:39:00.000-08:00

This weeks Paperplay challenge is "Distress It - use a stamped image to create an oldie feel project!"
I tried stitching for the first time, with some practise I might just get to like it!!

Paperplay Challenge

2009-02-25T08:23:00.000-08:00

This weeks challenge is to use one and only one each of these in your creation -

1. Patterned Paper
2. Button
3. Blossom/Flower

Here is my entry:

CraftEire 09

2009-02-23T10:09:00.000-08:00

I had a fantastic weekend at Crafteire. Every year it just gets better, but this year the atmosphere was so relaxed, and the pace was just perfect! As always there was loads of chatting & laughing with old friends, and meeting new people etc
I really enjoyed the classes I did this year, and I even won a prize at the Friday night challenge! All in all it was a perfect weekend!
My camera stayed put in the boot of my car all weekend, so I have no photos of the event itself, but heres some stuff I worked on over the weekend!

It snowed at last!!

2009-02-05T12:45:00.000-08:00

It's a very rare sight in this part of the country, so naturally it warranted a day off school to have some fun! This is the first time these two every played in snow :)

2008-09-10T01:28:00.000-07:00

Rachel has updated the Dark Room door blog with pictures of the recent card and ATC swap! I still haven't received mine but from the looks of the gallery it will be something worth waiting for :) You can check it out here

2008-09-03T02:11:00.000-07:00

Well it's September again, the leaves are falling, the days are getting shorter, kids are back at school, and hopefully I'll have a chance to get the creative juices flowing again and maybe blogging too!
Apart from the weather (Which was quite hard to ignore really) we had a great summer.
I'll be back later with pics of some cards I've been doing - I can't believe I am making cards, as I've had zero interest in them up until now!

Leaving you with this pic I took at Spanish Point beach, I think it's beautiful!

Geocaching, Cycling and ponies!

2008-05-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

So much news...but I'll keep it brief! ;)

We took a trip up North Clare today for a cache, luckily we knew the area fairly well, so only had a few minutes searching and fine tuning our co-ordinates when we got to the site! I had thought we'd be the first to find this cache, but someone had signed it only an hour before we got there!

The biggest news, at least as far as the kiddies are concerned is the arrival of the newest member of our family!!!!!
Say hello to the pony with no name!

And finally - this determined little lady insisted on getting the stabilisers off her bike yesterday evening! She's really flying it!

If nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies...

2008-05-12T11:01:00.000-07:00

Just adding a very simple LO that took all of 5 minutes to complete - 3 of those spent rubbing the Heidi Grace rub-ons, that I was none to impressed with really!
PP is Heidi Grace, and the sentiment is a stamp from the DarkRoom Door. I'm loving these stamps at the moment, and will have lots more of them to be seen very soon!
Thanks for looking!

National Scrapbooking Day

2008-05-04T04:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was National Scrapbooking Day in the US! Seeing as we haven't (yet!) got our own Irish celebration of the day, yesterday was as good a day as any to celebrate here. Here's a few I got done yesterday, as usual there's a few not quite finished yet!! Thanks for looking!

If you go down to the woods......

2008-04-30T05:06:00.000-07:00

On Sunday morning we headed off into Cork city for Carolines crop. Saoirse really enjoyed herself at her first crop, and was delighted with her prize - and at getting to choose the challenge winner too! Caroline taught an excellent class, there was a basque mini-book and a LO, so I decided to do the mini book there and work on the LO at home later! Here's my offering (minus photos!)

Finally on CS forum Caliln hosted a Transatlantic ATC swap. Here's a peek of the ATC's I made. The butterflies, although they look really black are actually acetate, with alcohol inks background and the butterfly is stamped with Stazon.

Finally, if you do drop by please leave a comment and say hello!

Snap Happy Afternoon

2008-04-04T10:32:00.000-07:00

Today was such a beautiful day (well considering our "normal" Irish weather) so we didn't waste time going home to change out of the uniforms after school, we headed straight to the beach! I was playing around with a new lens and took a gazillion photos. I'm sure 90% of them will be deleted, but here are a few of what the kiddies got up to today! I've intentionally not included any faces in the shots this time!
Hope you are all having a nice day :)

Earth Hour & March Madness!!

2008-03-29T11:36:00.000-07:00

No apologies this time for being a bad blogger! I just didn't feel like it, and was having a very creative & productive month for a change! All sorts have being going on here, and I've been up to my eyes for the past few weeks! It's a good complaint though!
Its been a year since I left my job, and I'm just so grateful every day for having the opportunity to make that decision! I love having brekkie with the kids every morning. I love being able to bring them to school, to after school activities, have their friends over, have my coffee pals over, and spending so much time with my family!

So speaking of Family, I did Beckies class at Crafteire this year and am totally *loving* the mini-book we created using Rusty Pickle products! Beckie is a RP chef, and one of the most talented ladies I have the pleasure of knowing. It was great to see her at Crafteire this year, and her class was the biz!

Another uber talented chick is Eva, and her Winter themed class was excellent! Although I didn't use the same paper or theme as the class she taught, I was blown away by the design/concept and have already used it twice on other layouts! I can see this being something I'll use over and over again!

I've been working on a few other LO's this week - some not complete so I've only got sneaky peeks to show.

In an effort to use up old stash and scraps (is there really such a thing?) I made 2 mini-albums yesterday and a quick LO of Euan with a distorted face showing his loose or lost teeth! I need a caption for this one!

So finally at 8pm tonight, we're going to be turning out the lights here for Earth Hour! What is Earth Hour? Well the blurb says that "Earth Hour was created by WWF in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and in one year has grown from an event in one city to a global movement. In 2008, millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 cities around the globe will turn out for Earth Hour" but I'm just hoping to make our own little statment here at home to raise energy awareness with the kids - and to have a little fun too!

Goodbye Mr DS! I don't think the weather here suited you :)

2008-02-17T05:12:00.000-08:00

It's official, I'm definitely not a cardie! Scrapping is now my thing, and making cards just really pushed my boundaries, moved me out of my safe zone, and into the scary world of making something to give away!!! You see, the LO's I do are just for me (and my family too I guess, if they want them when I'm passed on!) but cards, well they are made to be given away. All the time and effort that goes into them, just to be handed to someone else..........and worse still.........to be judged by someone else! YIKES! Hats off to all you cardmakers, I have to admit that right now it really scares me!
Now, I mention cards because a certain speedo-clad guy paid a visit to my house. Mr DS is now on his merry way to Sarah's house, and I'm sure she's going to have as much fun as I did with this stamp!
So, we got down n' dirty, I stamped out speedos big time, so now it's time to share with you some of what I made!

Firstly, a card that I'm sending to a friend who's not feeling the best right now! And I know she'll appreciate the sentiment inside!! (Sorry to hear you're feeling blue)

A Valentines card, using Love Elsie fabric paper, for the week that was in it!!

Next up is a non-descript card really!

Finally for now a Hidden message card! I have to say I love these cards, so simple to make, and quite effective! Mr DS is hidden at first glance, but the space is there for a really naughty message, if one so desires! LOL!

Thats all for now! Do check out Sarahs blog to see what she will be doing, and you never know, Mr DS might pop-up here again soon! And no pun intended ;)

By the way, please do leave a comment if you have dropped by!

Christmas themed ATCS

2007-12-21T03:28:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago on Craft Supplies Sabrina organised a Christmas ATC swap! The idea was that each participant makes 12 ATCs, keeps one and sends her the other 11. She then forwarded on each of the ATCS so that each person received a package with 11 new ATCS. So, here are the ATCS that I received. :) Many thanks to Sabrina for organising this, and to all the girls who took part!

Introducing Mr Dick Sticker!

2007-12-20T14:06:00.000-08:00

He goes by many names.......to date he's been called Mr Dick-sticker, Mr Budgie Smuggler or Mr Banana Hammock! Very soon he'll be winging his way over here, and I'll get a chance to Play with him! LOL I really cannot wait to get my hands on him!!

So, readers - what do you think? Any suggestion for a name?

Keep an eye out here and all will be revealed very soon!

Heres goes again!

2007-10-24T13:06:00.000-07:00

I was almost half an hour creating my last post, which just disappeared when I clicked on one of the images?????? What's that about?

Anyway, rushing now..........so I'm just going to add the pics of the LO's I did for ScrapWest Cyber crop last Sunday! I'll post again when I get more time.

I've 2 more almost finished, so will update tomorrow!

2007-10-10T02:12:00.000-07:00

Went on a bit of a scrapping frenzy last night! More to follow ;)

2007-08-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

It was my intention to put up pictures of the bride and groom before any other ones... but I just can't resist showing off my little flower girl and page boy!