CHALLENGE #20 - DIES TO DIE FOR

It was Sew Lovely to see all your designs for Challenge #19!!  A huge thank you to all who shared their creations with us.

The lucky person chosen to receive the roses, spray and pins is No.3 Kylie.  Congratulations!  Please email Mandy your address and we will get those in the post to you.

Dies have become big business in the world of crafting.  With an abundance of dies to choose from, which are your favourites?  We'd love you to tell us  and showcase them on a project.....and of course take part in our Dies to Die For challenge!

Mandy

My all time favourite die set has to be Love Lives Here by Papertrey Ink.  There are five dies in this set and they compliment each other beautifully.  I use them in my cuttlebug with designer papers, felt, cork paper and chipboard. The butterfly looks fab layered with felt and designer papers. The possibilities are endless with this set. 

Eileen

My favourite dies are butterflies.  I love the Marianne Creatable Butterfly die and also the cuttlebug die and emboss butterflies.   I made this butterfly card, notebook and bookmark.  I embellished with little rhinestones, roses and ribbon.

The papers are from My Mine's Eye.

Our giveaway for challenge #20 is Domestic Goddess Creative Scraps by Crafty Secrets. Printed on double sided cardstock the sheet is packed with over 36 images in a retro kitchen style.  These are great fun to use on cards, tags, layouts and altered projects.

MONIQUE

Monique from Belgium has entered this card into our challenge, she likes using Marianne Creatable dies.

Our Dies to Die For challenge runs until midnight Tuesday 7th June NZ time.  We look forward to seeing all your wonderful creations.

Please add a link to your project using Mr Linky or if you don't have a blog, email us with a photo attached and we will share it with everyone here!

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Loving all the Sew Lovely creations so far.

It's not very often I get a needle and thread out these days, however, I did take up two pairs of my daughter's work trousers at the weekend! lol

...but rather than share those with you I'll share a card I made today using a gorgeous image from Crafty Secrets Creative Scraps Sew Nice range.

Scroll down or click here for our Sew Lovely Challenge.

CHALLENGE #19 - SEW LOVELY

Wow...we reached over 30 entries for our 'Say it with Flowers' challenge.  A huge thank you to all who shared their projects with us.

The lucky person chosen to receive the gorgeous gift from our sponsor Marlou is Ira. Congratulations!  Please email Mandy your address and we will get them in the post to you.

For challenge #19 we'd love to see your projects which involve sewing in some shape or form.  This could be stitching on your card, a handmade stitched project, an image or die cuts to do with sewing.  These are just a few ideas, remember we like to keep our challenges as open to interpretation as possible.

Eileen

In the school holidays recently, I made sock monkeys with my daughters.  I did the sewing and they stuffed them.  I crocheted little flowers to match and sewed on buttons.   They really enjoyed making them.

You can find a tutorial on how to make them here.

Mandy

At the end of this month a colleague at work will be getting married and she loves butterflies!  Jamey sent me some gorgeous butterflies cut using a Marianne Die, just perfect for my design.

I used Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distress Ink to help blend it into my background paper.

The gorgeous felt used for my Papertrey Love Lives here butterflies comes from the Ribbon Girl's Summer Day Felt Collection.  These have been stitched together then added to a cork paper heart.

The gorgeous 32mm ivory silk ribbon and diamante heart pin are also from The Ribbon Girl and the paper rose and pearl spray are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

I finished off my design with a tea dyed tag and sentiment from Papertrey's Borders and Corners Mini Stamp Set.

We've been so lucky to have three wonderful Guest Designers over the last few weeks.  If you would like to join us as a Guest Designer for one of our challenges please add 'GD' after your name when you leave a link to your project using Mr Linky. We'd love to have you on board!

Our Sew Lovely challenge runs until midnight Tuesday 24th May NZ time. We look forward to seeing all your wonderful creations.

Don't forget, if you don't have a blog, email a photo to us and we will add it here for everyone to enjoy.

Our little giveaway for this challenge is a selection of gorgeous paper roses with pearl spray together with one of Mandy's decorative pin matchbooks.

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CHALLENGE #18 - SAY IT WITH FLOWERS

A big thank you to all the lovely ladies who took part in our Mad About the Boy challenge.  Such a fabulous selection of cards.

The winner chosen to receive the little gift of ribbons is No.3 Lilian, congratulations!  Please email Mandy your address and we will get those in the post to you.

We have two fab surprises for Challenge #18.  Firstly, we have the wonderfully talented Diane joining us as our Guest Designer.

Secondly, we have Marlou back with us, but this time as our sponsor!  Scroll down to see her wonderful Gracie Pins which will be sent to one lucky winner taking part in this challenge... but before you do that, here are our Say It With Flowers creations...

Diane

Firstly I would like to say a big thank you to Mandy & Eileen for inviting me to be a guest designer for this challenge. 

Using a template from Adela Rossol I have made a baby girls card incorporating Cuttlebug folders, ribbon, flowers, a gemstone brad and tulle.  I have changed it slightly to make it stand up by itself.

For the second project I have made a sock cupcake.

To make these you shape socks into a cupcake.

Make a cupcake holder and then present how you please.

I have presented this one in a clear cupcake favour basket box and added some ribbon with flowers on it.

 To see more of Diane's gorgeous creations visit her blog Time to Create.

Mandy

I really have to thank Marlou for inspiring me to use beads I've had kicking around in my craft room for ages.  Having received some of her beautiful Gracie Pins as a gift, it made me look at my beads in a totally new way!

Using my all time favourite K&Co Bailey papers and matching cardstock I made three little Matchbooks which I decorated with Seam Binding, Tea Dyed Tags and Butterfly Flower Pins.



Inside these Matchbooks are......

more decorative pins!  I thought these little Matchbooks would make perfect little gifts for crafty friends.

Eileen

Now....onto our gorgeous giveaway.  How fab are these Gracie Pins!  One large set and one teensy set, all beautifully handmade by Marlou!  Also included are 12 spool die cuts, these are so cute and make fab embellishments for cards etc.

You can find more of Marlou's Gracie Pins and other crafting supplies on Etsy at Gracie's Place.  Thank you for sponsoring our challenge Marlou!

Our Say it with Flowers challenge runs until midnight Tuesday 10th May NZ time. We look forward to seeing all your wonderful creations.

Don't forget, if you don't have a blog email a photo to us and we will add it here for everyone to enjoy.

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CHALLENGE #17 - MAD ABOUT THE BOY

Another fab response to our last challenge, a big thank you to all those who took part.  Your Easter creations were eggs cellent ! 

We would also like to send a huge thank you to Marlou for being our Guest Designer. 

The winner of our little giveaway for our Easter Challenge is No.2, Donna as chosen by Random Org Number Generator.  Congratulations Donna!  Please email Mandy your address and we'll get them in the post to you.

For our latest challenge, we'd like you to think masculine.....it's time to think about all the big guys or little guys in our lives.

Eileen

Imade this card for my son's teenage friend who is having a birthday this weekend.  He wants to be a farmer when he leaves school, so I thought this card would be appropriate.  To make the background I used my computer to make a picture watermark.   I printed a farm image for the centre.  I used little tractor brads along with ribbon and buttons.

Mandy

For my project I used very yummy Portobello Road Lost and Found papers, stamps and layered stickers from My Minds Eye.

Stars were cut using Stampin Up's star punch and the buttons are from a friend's loft clearout!

I didn't want to waste any of this delicious paper so used scraps from making the card to make a matching tag!  


We look forward to seeing your wonderful creations, below is a picture of our little gift for one lucky person who takes part in this challenge. A mixture of East of India and Stampin Up ribbons, together with strands of pearl beads.

Our Mad About the Boy challenge will run until midnight, Tuesday 26th April New Zealand time.  Please leave a link to your design using Mr Linky or email us with a photo attached.



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CHALLENGE #16 - EASTER

First of all we'd like to thank everyone who joined in with our Mum's The Word challenge.  Your designs were absolutely stunning!  The winner of the K&Co Bailey papers is No.7, Vicky, congratulations!  Please email Mandy your address and we'll get them in the post to you.

We are pleased to announce we have a fabulous Guest Designer joining us for Challenge #16.  A big hello and welcome to Marlou as she joins us for Easter inspired projects....

Hi everyone and here are my Easter themed projects….

The little card is 4”x4".  I used lilac pearl card as my card base then added white pearl card embossed with hearts. I made the felt flower with cuttlebug flower dies adding a pearl stone and a heart pin.

I double nested labels 4 die with oval {my first attempt at this}, before running through the wizard.  Then raised the label part on sticky pads, the sentiment is from Papertrey mini messages.  I tied sheer spotty ribbon and added more pearls for detail.

The felt posies were so easy to make, I made 7 in total.  All you need is a flower die {mine is cuttlebug}, fold in half and then in quarter.  Stitch a few stitches up the side and stick a cocktail stick through.  I cut the top off the cocktail stick and adhered a pearl stone with glue.  Then I hand cut a leaf from felt and glued one side to the flower head, so simple!!!

Thanks Mandy and Eileen for having me as a Guest Designer :) xx


You can see more of Marlou's wonderful creations on her blog, Scrapping with Love.

Mandy

For my Easter Project I've used Lauren Meader's Anyway You Slice Template and my all time favourite K&Co Bailey Papers!

I love the versatility of this template and it's a great size at 4 3/4" tall and 3 1/2" deep.

Perfect for holding lots of Chocolate Bunnies !!

This very cute image is a download from The Graphics Fairy, Karen has a lot of fab vintage images.

I've used Blosom felt from Sarah at Paper and String for my flower along with buttons from The Ribbon Girl.  Lace and Seam Binding are also from The Ribbon Girl.  I've dyed cream seam binding with Stampin Up's Cameo Coral stamp pad and added a little Antique Linen Distress Ink on top.  I love the subtle tones you get dying the binding this way.

The large tag was cut using Papertrey Ink's Tag Sale #1 Die and then tea dyed...another of my favourite past times at the moment!  Always have a bowl of tea on the go!!  I did the same with the teeny tiny tag before adding stamp detail.  The tiny heart is cut using Papetrey's Heart Collection Dies and is attached along with the tag with a Making Memories Garment Pin.

Eileen

I have decorated this little box and tag for Easter.  The lace I used I have had for a long time and I'm not sure where I actually got it from.  The ribbon is from The Ribbon Girl which Mandy kindly sent to me along with some other bits and bobs which I can't wait to use.   The gift tag has lovely string, also from The Ribbon Girl.   I embellised the little box with some cute little flowers, buttons on the bows and used a stamp for the easter messages.  I then filled it with little caramello eggs which will make a nice gift.

Our Easter challenge will run until midnight, Tuesday 12th April New Zealand time.  Please leave a link to your design using Mr Linky or email either of us with a photo attached.

We look forward to seeing your wonderful creations, and below is a picture of our little gift for one lucky person who takes part in this challenge.  Die cut shapes in felt and cork paper, decorative pins and tea dyed tags.

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A CHANCE TO WIN SOME FAB CREATIONS BY A.R. TEMPLATES....

Would you like a chance to win a fab new template created by the very talented Adela?  If so, come and visit my blog tomorrow and take part in the AR Design Team Blog Hop.  All you need to do is visit each Designer on my list and leave a comment and you will be in with the chance to win!  The hop starts at 6:00am PST, that's 2pm here in the UK and a winner will be chosen randomly by each Designer and anounced on Friday.

Below is a little sneak preview of the new designs....

We look forward to seeing you.....and good luck, I can assure you the new templates are absolutely fab!!

p.s. Don't forget to scroll down to take part in our Mum's the Word Challenge!

CHALLENGE #15 - MUM'S THE WORD

It was wonderful to see all the fab St Patrick Day inspired projects, a big thank you to all who joined in our challenge.

Congratulations to Donna, you were chosen by Random Org as the winner of our little gift.  Please email Mandy your address and we'll pop the goodies in the post to you.

Challenge #15 is Mum's the Word.  It's Mother's day in the UK on Sunday 3rd April, so we thought this would be a great opportunity to start thinking about cards and presents!  We'd love to see your creations with the theme of Mums or a special lady in your lives.

Eileen

Here is my latest card using the teapot template which I got from Adela.
I used papers from a selection called My Mind's Eye which I got from Warehouse Stationery.  

I have made a little cone hanging basket and filled it with Cadbury's chocolates The paper used is from Rosies.  The flower and leaves are made using the Marianne Creatable Dies.  

For mother's day I made this little apron card.  Again I used the Rosie's papers and an image of tatty ted baking muffins.  The little paper roses always look good to finish it off.  You can click here to get the template for the apron.

Mandy

A gift of Marks & Spencer's Lavender Shower Gel and Soap was inspiration for my matching card.

I used Papertrey Ink's Large Heart Die to cut chipboard, inked it up with ColorBox Wisteria Chalk Ink, added some Silver Pearl Embossing Powder and Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.  Then dressed it up with some scrummy Seam Binding, Decorative Pins, Button Twine and a Tea Dyed Tag complete with sentiment from Papetrey's Love Lives Here stamp set.  I also added Tea Dyed white lace.

The Ribbon Girl: White Lace, Decorative Pins, Button Twine, Seam Binding, Buttons.  Papertrey Ink: Heart Prints Die Collection, Love Lives Here Stamp Set, Kraft Cardstock. Graphics Fairy: Vintage Postcard Download.  Stampin Up: Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

 

We have a few ideas up our sleeves for future challenges, but we'd also love to hear what challenges you would like to see here.  So, please feel free to leave a comment for us and we'll take it on board.

It was lovely to have Vicky join us as a Guest Designer and it's something we'd  like to do more often.  If you would like to join us as a Guest Designer could you pop that in the comments box too.

Our Mum's the Word challenge will run until midnight, Tuesday 29th March New Zealand time.  Please leave a link to your design using Mr Linky or email either of us with a photo attached.

We look forward to seeing your wonderful creations, and below is a picture of our little gift for one lucky person who takes part in this challenge.  A gorgeous K&Co Bailey 6" x 6" Paper Pad.

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Don't forget our St Patrick's Day Challenge runs until midnight Tuesday 15th March NZ time.

Here's a perfect little box for this challenge, I do love green !

If you fancy making one of these very cute Nugget boxes you can find information about it here on Adela's Blog.  It's such great fun to make and I love the fact it opens at the ends which means you don't need to disturb the embellishments to get to the goodies inside!

Stampin Up: Old Olive Cardstock. The Ribbon Girl: 16mm Moss Green Taffeta Ribbon, Heart Pin, Teardrop Pin, Natural Jute Button Twine, Button. K&Co: Bailey Papers. Papertrey Ink: Love Lives Here Stamp Set. Other: Tea Dyed Tag

Please scroll down for our St Patrick's Day Challenge information.