For the past four months which is the length of time that I have been crafting I have been following Gingersnap Creations challenges. I love their site and am constantly amazed at the standard of art that is posted to it. All of their challenges are unique and very interesting and I have been tempted on several occasions to have ago but to be honest I’m just a little intimidated. Today I decided that I would throw caution to the wind in the hope that it wouldn’t  come back and smack me in the face ! I’m sure those lovely ladies don’t bite and if they do they will just have to catch me first !

My Geisha is a lovely stamp by Crafty Individuals underneath I have once again printed onto acetate one of my lovely Japanese designs which is then placed over some gorgeous handmade paper. Unfortunately the photo doesn’t do it justice , I must find me a better photographer or at least try to take the pictures in the daytime !

Hope you enjoy it and please be gentle with me.

Marie

Today is my first official appearance as Design Team member for Get Creative and boy am I excited and I must admit a little nervous. In fact it’s my first design team spot so am really looking forward to it also happens to be get Creatives first ever card challenge !

The theme is to make a card about spring or utilising spring colours an easy topic so go on over and check it out and see what the other talented design team members have created. The challenge is running until the end of the month so plenty of time to get your entries in ! There are also prizes to be won which will be announced later so watch this space !

Don’t forget to check out guest designer for this month Karen Wray who has created a fantastic Easter Egg house, simply stunning !

Spring here in Greece always reminds me of little lambs frolicking around in the meadows, care free days and picnics, so this is my take on the theme. I used Stampin Up white embossing powder for the flowers which I then used a variety of Ranger and Stampin Up inks to create a distress emboss effect. Little lambs courtesy of my Silhouette as is the sentiment. Spring stamp SU and the little birdies are courtesy of Crafty Individuals.

Hope you enjoy.

Marie

I was very pleased to see that one of my favorite stamp makers Crafty Individuals has started a blog and not only that they have started their first ever blog challenge. I was so excited as theirs where the first stamps I bought together with their lovely mini books and backing papers. The theme for their first challenge is simply square this put me in a real tizzy because if you check out their wonderful guest designers they all make such amazing pieces of art with so much detail ,  and I have to say I am a little intimidated by them. I have been following their blogs for the past few months and am well and truly in awe . I just couldn’t decide which stamp to use . Of course of all the stamps I have from them, there isn’t one square one ! and I didn’t want to cut down any of the images, so what stamp did I use ………well none of them !

In fact what I did was to use background paper from one of the books ( don’t know which one have lost the cover ) I printed a leaf design onto acetate just love the old acetate and placed it over the background. The little bird is from one of the CI spring mini books which again received the old acetate treatment on top, they were then matted onto card. I know it was really easy and will not compere to all the other beautifully stamped creations that everyone else has submitted but in the flesh it’s really rather pretty .

I look forward to taking part in their forthcoming challenges and to being inspired with their wonderful products.

Hope you like it.

Marie

The April challenge over at Get Creative is up and running and our wonderful leader Irini has set  a challenge to make something for Easter, whether it be an Easter card or basket for your child’s teacher, painted eggs or garlands whatever reminds you of Easter. My debut as a Design Team member for Get Creative will take place in a few days ( can’t wait ) .

Have to say was a bit tricky, I wanted to do something with butterflies Easter always reminds me of them as it’s the time of year in Greece which I love the most lots of picnics and lots and lots of butterflies ! Couldn’t decide whether I wanted to go with less is more or more is too much ! but in the end as you can see I went with the latter . I decided that after spending several hours of creating these lovely creatures it seemed such a shame not to let them have their moment ! The images are courtesy of Hero Arts which once again I have printed onto acetate and paper ( see a bit of an acetate fetish forming ) Most of the acetate butterflies I have passed through my texture boutique but being the expert camera woman I am was a waste of time as you can’t see a thing ! The flowers I made with the help of my lovely Silhouette machine where would I be without it !

I want to enter this for the challenge at Just for Fun the lovely Zoe has given us free reign this week and as usual I’m having a moan , I complain every week about the themes she sets this week too much choice ! Secretly I’m enjoying her challenges because that’s exactly what they are ! So thanks Zoe .

Hope you like my little extravaganza

Have a wonderful weekend

Marie x

You may remember a few days ago when I announced that I had become a member of the Get creative design team. In honour of which I spent several hours working late into the night creating a fusion of flowers (ooh I like the sound of that ) to take part in their challenge to create a card or layout including five flowers or more. Only to have my two scoundrel dogs  R & B ( Rosy and Bailey ) eat four of the five flowers the fifth perished during the night !
The challenge finishes in two days time and they have some wonderful blog candy on offer for the winner plus the very talented Melenia is offering a nine week on line course to help us perfect our layout skills go check it out. I have to say there where some doubting Thomases ( they know who they are ) who didn’t believe me that R & B ate my card so this is for them.

I promised that I would redo my card but was stricken down ( me a drama queen ? ) with bloggers neck so had to postpone all activities of the creative kind for a few days. 

I also want to enter this into the Take a word challenge who’s theme is  ” Blooms ” I love their site they always come up with such interesting challenges.

The photo frame is cut using my Silhouette machine and the flowers I hand made using SU and Ranger inks to colour and my texture boutique to emboss them

Hope you like them.

Marie

Just for fun well that’s what they think ! Haven’t had a laugh all afternoon ! Come to think of it all week.
A few weeks ago  I had the dreaded bloggers bum from too much sitting, then there is the ongoing bloggers blindness am gradually losing ” the light ” and then on Saturday was struck down my bloggers neck ! Is there an insurance policy that covers all of this ? So for the past few days I have been bedridden ( oh I do love a bit of drama ) and was unable to take part in any challenges.

Today feeling a bit perkier and under the influence of various prescription drugs decided to attempt a little something. Zoe from one of my favourite challenge blogs Just for Fun (ha !) has asked us to use our stamps in a way that is new to us. Well Zoe they are all new to me ! I decided to use the kissing technique whereby you ink up two different stamps in different colours , press them together ( The Kiss ) and then use one image. Sounds easy peasy but it wasn’t for me have spent four hours yes four whole hours only to produce the above ! and you can’t even see the kissing but I swear I saw them do it !

I used Stamping up Swirl and crafty Individual letter script stamps, you can see the result more so on the flower.

Was it worth it? you be the judge !

Going for a lie down now all that kissing has worn me out.

Marie xj

I really love the Theme Thursday challenge blog they always seem to come up with interesting topics and this one is no exception ! The entries are always very original go check them out . Although I love the theme this week the possibilities were endless so what usually happens to me under those circumstances is that I spend hours making a mess ( you should see the floor ) and find it difficult to actually make something. Although this looks quite simple it took me forever printing onto acetate and then the cutting out is a bit of a nuisance ( did want to use a more descriptive word but didn’t want to offend ) That O was a nightmare ! I wasted so much of the acetate trying to get it right. Also gluing onto acetate is also a bit tricky I used glue dots anyone any tips only this as in some cases they are visible !

Hope you all have a crafty weekend with love light and sunshine !

Marie

For those of you who didn’t read my post yesterday shame on you ! and for those of you who did sorry am going to repeat myself. Had a bit of a fiasco ! I had received exciting news about being appointed ( sounds so official ) design team member for Get Creative and spent several hours creating something for their challenge to scrap a layout with five flowers or more. To cut a long story short my two terrible dogs R & B ate the flowers ! Well four out of the five the fifth unfortunately expired  in the early hours of the morning it’s injuries being too severe. So had nothing to upload except for a picture of the two villains . ( Irni please believe me the dogs ate them I tell you)

Have to say was in no mood today to look at another flower and shall postpone my debut with the gorgeous girls at Get Creative  until tomorrow.

In the meantime something that I had been toying with for the last few days popped up on a challenge over at Take A word their theme being architecture . I had the bees already cut out and the honeycomb mask in front of me. Now what could be more fitting than  natures own architecture ? So here is my version.

I used my Silhouette for the bees and cut out as mask of the honeycomb ,various Ranger and SU inks plus my texture boutique for the wood effect, a bit of gold shimmer mist which you can’t see but it’s there a bit of distressing and there you have it.

Hope you like it .

Marie

Today was supposed to be a big day for me I could finally announce to my fellow crafty bloggers (doesn’t sound right ) that I have been keeping a little secret .  The secret is that I had been offered a design team position with the amazing Irini and her talented team at Get creative /http://craftycroppersgr.blogspot.com/

I nearly fell of my chair when I heard the news ( another dent in the old bloggers bum ) Had there been some mistake,? is she mad ? ( she is a little but in a good way ) was this a cruel joke ? but no none of the above, so of course I accepted before she changed her mind ! http://craftycroppersgr.blogspot.com/http://craftycroppersgr.blogspot.com/
 is an amazing group of women all of whom are very talented, each one has their own individual style and unique talent and they have welcomed me with open arms. I have only been crafting for four months now and feel there is a lot that I can learn from each and everyone of them as I have been learning from all of you lovely people whose gallery’s I have been visiting since the start of my blog a few months ago.

Anyway getting back to the beginning of my post, today was supposed to be a big day but Bailey and Rosy ( my two pesky dogs ) had a different idea. I had been crafting away all day on a piece for Get Creative who has a challenge at the moment to scrap a layout using five flowers or more. So I thought to coincide with my announcement  of becoming a DT member I would participate. R & B as they shall be known as from here on in, little did I know had been planning revenge.

For the past couple of months they have been feeling somewhat neglected due to my crafting addiction . They sit behind me on the sofa in my crafting room and growl and whine at me when they get bored , which is about five minutes after I start fiddling with my inks. To cut a long story short they could sense that I was really in the zone and definitely not up for lots of cuddling so they waited until I had finished my  ” work of art ” and while I was away looking for my camera the little so and so’s upped and eat it !!!!!! Of course it was my fault I left it next to them on the sofa, they had been feigning sleep, biding their time it was pay back !. So of the five flowers on my creation there is sadly only one and I don’t think it will survive the night ! So instead of posting something lovely on my design team debut I’m posting a picture of the culprits ! ( please excuse mess on floor )

Marie

What a day !

I wont bore you with my domestic problems but just let’s say that my lady that ” dose ” doesn’t at the moment and things have started to back up. Plus my oldest son decided to visit bringing his  ” posse ” ( do they still say that the young uns )  with him for the weekend and boy can they eat !. Needless to say I have been spending my time between the kitchen and the ironing and trying to fit a bit of crafting in between . That’s a bit of a lie really have been only thinking about doing the dreaded ironing but its punishment enough. What I really wanted to do was to take part in a couple of challenges today with my favourite components die cuts.

I have spent hours and hours die cutting a multitude of forms. my desk is literally piled high with all manner of shapes of every size imaginable but nothing would come together too much choice.  I’m having a nervous breakdown,  I’m all die cutted out,  so am posting something I’m not quite happy with. My Silhouette machine and I are exhausted !

The theme over at the sunday stamper is die cuts and Shels has just received her V……d machine
her piece was glorious !

Also over at Lets ink it up they have a similar theme die cuts and punches so it fits the bill perfectly there too.
 I used my Silhouette machine for the die cuts and Crafty Individual stamp for the inked background I embossed my flowers with my texture boutique and then coloured them with a variety of distress inks by Ranger.

Hope you like it cos , cos if you don’t I think I’m  gonna cry !

Marie