Black and White.....and a splash of colour!

Hello there!

I hope you are well and have had a lovely week!

This week has seen three different work Christmas celebrations and my mum's Birthday.....I'm exhausted!! I only have two more work days left....and lucky am able to work at home on those two days, so no more nasty 6:30am commute this year! I am so pleased to type that!

This is my last Sweet Stampin challenge of 2014 and we have decided to leave you with a colour combo challenge....we want to see your black and white cards with a splash of colour on them. It can be any colour....but it must only be a splash!!

I decided to end the year with a trademark cupcake card....

I love this stamp, it's pretty and I think it looks great both coloured and also in back and white. Because there is that lovely berry on the top of the cake, I decided my splash of colour needed to be bright red. To match the elegant cupcake I decided to use a black and white striped backing paper, along with some plain red paper to continue the colour theme.

There is of course some sparkle on the card too!

For more inspiration pop by the Sweet Stampin challenge blog and take a peek at the gorgeous DT cards that Team Abi has created this week. While you are there you can also read all about our fab sponsors this week....

We can't wait to see what you've been creating!

Thanks for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx

Winter Sports

Hello there,

Happy Hump Day! I do love Wednesdays....half way through the week! This week Wednesday is even more welcome as its my last day of work this week....tomorrow I am off to Germany with my family to visit the Christmas markets near the Rhine. I love that part of Germany and cannot wait to get back out there!

But before I go...we have a new challenge for you over at Christmas at Sweet Stampin, and for the last challenge of 2014 we have a winter sports challenge.

I have picked ice skating as my winter sport....and have gone a little overboard with the Christmas jumper inspired backing paper! 

My image is coloured with my Promakers and I have made my ice shine and sparkle with my stickles. I have this Do Crafts backing paper for ages and thought it went well with my ice skating theme.

For more winter sports inspiration pop by the Christmas at Sweet Stampin challenge blog and take a peek at all the gorgeous DT cards that have been created this month!

While you're there you can also find out about our fab sponsor this month....

Thank you for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx

A little Christmas magic...

Hello there,

I hope you are keeping well and haven't caught one of these nasty bugs that are currently doing the rounds! It's starting to get really cold now and there are a lot more people sniffing and sneezing in my office...I'm really pleased when I have no meetings and can work from home!

Anyway, as regular visitors to my little blog know....I LOVE Christmas! I love the sparkle, the excitement, the Christmas movies, scrummy food and Christmas songs on the radio. I am like a big kid as soon as I start seeing the Christmas adverts on TV....especially the Coke Cola advert!

Last year I was really pleased when Becca and Sheree agreed to queue with me to have our photo taken with the Coke truck in London!

Anyway, we have a "Things with Wings" challenge for you over at Sweet Stampin this week...to be honest this is a theme that always leaves me a little cold...I never know what to create....but this time inspiration struck....

Yes, I was inspired by a certain Christmas advert...can you tell which one??

I used a printed backing paper as the background to my card and simply added a stamped fairy image with 3D sticky pads. I coloured her with my Promarkers and added a little glitter to her wand and wings. Finally I added my Christmas sentiment (which doesn't look wonky on the card - honest!).

I am really pleased with how this card turned out.....for more things with wings inspiration pop by the Sweet Stampin challenge blog and take a peek at the gorgeous DT cards that Team Abi have created this week. While you are there you can find out about our lovely sponsor this week...

Thanks for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx

Woo hoo.....it's time to celebrate!

Hello there,

I hope you are well and having a good week.

This week it's celebration time over at Sweet Stampin as we are celebrating our 5th Birthday! I have been part of this wonderful DT for several years now and I love every minute of it - such a lovely and talented bunch of crafters!

So, let's get celebrating - we want to see your Happy Birthday cards to help us celebrate! We want to see a reference to birthdays on the front of the card and of course there has to be some stamping on the card (can be a digi stamp). It probably won't surprise you that my card features the odd cake or two.....

I opted for a pink and blue colour combo, featuring my cupcake trio and a lot of cherries! My cupcakes are coloured with my Promarkers and I have added a tiny bit of sparkle with my Stickles. 

For more Birthday card inspiration pop by the Sweet Stampin challenge blog. While you are there you can read all about our lovely sponsors this week....

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly - soooo girlie

I also just wanted to tell you about the UK Blog Awards 2015 - you may know that I write a little afternoon tea blog with my sister Lorna, which features reviews and rather a lot of scrummy afternoon tea photos! We entered the UK Blog Awards 2014 and we so pleased to make it to the finals - this year we want to try again...but we need your help!

Tea with Me and Friends at the UK Blog Awards 2014

The public vote is currently open....and we need your vote to get us back to the judged round again! All you need to vote is access to the Internet and an email address....each email address can be used to vote once in each category (any multiple votes are not counted). We have entered in two categories this year, if you would like to vote please click the links below....

Food & Drink

Most Innovative

We'd really appreciate your vote!

Thanks for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx

Brrr....can I get my Christmas jumper out yet?

Hello there,

Happy Hump Day! I hope you are having a lovely week - I am wishing mine away slightly as this weekend is Rhythm Riot in Camber Sands....our annual visit to the 1950s complete with lots of live music, dancing and cars! This is our third year at the event and I can't wait to get my petticoat out and put my hair in victory rolls!

Talking of clothes....as some of you may know I am a bit of a fan of Christmas time....I love everything about it...especially the fact that I get to wear my Christmas jumpers! Now can you imagine my joy when I found the stamp that features in my card today......

Hee, hee! I found this stamp just before Christmas last year and I have used it on so many Christmas cards since! I love the happy looking snowman.

This card has been made with our new challenge over at Christmas at Sweet Stampin in mind...can you guess what our theme is this month? We'd like to see your projects featuring snowpeople!

I have coloured my snowman jumper with my Promarkers and have added a tiny bit of sparkle to his hat and nose with my Stickles. I have continued the snow theme with some pretty snowflake backing paper and framed with a combination of light and dark blue plain papers. Finally I have added my stamped sentiment and some faux white stitching.

I'm really pleased with my snowperson card.....for more snowpeople inspiration pop by the Christmas at Sweet Stampin challenge blog and take a peek at all the gorgeous DT cards that have been created this month. While you're there you can find out about our fab prize this month!

Thanks for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx

Red for Remembrance

Hello there,

I hope everyone is well and have had a lovely week. I can't believe that we are well into November already and I have just seen the John Lewis Christmas advert - where has this year flown by too? I do love this time of year, there is so much going on - lots of Birthday celebrations to look forward to (including Sweet Stampin's birthday!)  and of course Christmas too!

However, this time of year also brings about the time for remembrance as we approach Remembrance Day. I haven't had the opportunity to see the poppies at Tower of London myself, but I have been amazed by the photos I have seen online. One thing I learnt about the Tower of London's part in World War 1 was that over 1,600 City workers swore an oath of allegiance at the Tower to join the ‘Stockbrokers Battalion’ and serve in the war - they called themselves "ditchers" as they made their oath standing in the dry moat.

Not quite the same as being there in person, but here are some of my favourite images from the internet....

Taken by MPS Helicopters - @MPSinthesky Twitter

Taken by BBC News - @BBCNews Twitter

In honour of Remembrance Day, this week at Sweet Stampin we'd like to see cards featuring red for remembrance....and if you'd like to feature poppies too that would be brilliant! Inspired by the wonderful images I have seen online, I have found my poppy stamp for this challenge.....

I've gone for a CAS card, to let the poppies shine. I have used a plain red paper in the background, topped with white card. I have stamped my poppy image twice and added the petals from the first image to the second with 3D sticky pads to add a little dimension to the card. 

My poppies were coloured with my Promarkers and I have added a little doodling to the card with a fine black pen.

For more inspiration pop by the Sweet Stampin blog to see the fab cards that Team Abi have created this week. While you are there you can also read about our fab sponsor this week....

I would also like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge - Poppies

Passion for Promarkers - Inspired by a Beatles song - Penny Lane ("The pretty nurse is selling poppies from a tray")

Papertake Weekly - anything goes

Thank you for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx

Anything but a card....

Hello there!

Happy Saturday! I hope you are keeping well.

It's been a bit quiet around here recently...that's because Lorna and I have just spent an amazing week in sunny Cuba! We swam in the sea, drank loads of rum and generally enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. We went on various tours and saw all sides of Cuba - it's a really interesting country to visit.

Anyway, enough babbling from me! I'm really here to tell you about the new challenge over at Sweet Stampin....this week we want you to get creative with an "anything but a card" challenge. 

You can make anything you like, as long as you use a stamp somewhere. I opted for a bookmark for my project......

I have kept it clean and simple, using plain white card to stamp my sweet jar on. My image has been coloured in bright Promarkers and I have added a little sparkle with my Stickles. I had a little faux stitching to give the bookmark a border and finally finished it off with some blue ribbon.

For more inspiration pop by the Sweet Stampin challenge blog and take a peek at Team Abi's creations. While you are there you can find out about this week's sponsors....

Thanks for popping by today.

Wedgie xxx

Just for Men...

Hello there,

Happy Saturday! It's the weekend at long last! It's been a really busy week this week, which found me in Nottingham, Swindon and also London. I am shattered and really glad that it's the weekend!

I'm back with another challenge for you from Sweet Stampin and this week Team Abi have a challenge for you that normally leaves me feeling really rather cold! Yes, its that "just for men" theme that I dislike as it tends to mean I have to steer clear of the pinks and purples in my paper stash. However, this time I have to say that I am actually quite pleased with my card and I might even go as far as saying I enjoyed making it!

Shock horror!! Here it is....

As you can see I have gone with a brown and blue colour combo for my masculine card and I have stamped a hand of cards. I must admit I added a little faux stitching which I suppose is a little girly, but overall I think it's a very masculine looking card!

For more masculine inspiration (cards not men!!) pop by the Sweet Stampin challenge blog and take a peek at Team Abi's DT cards. While you are there you can also take a peek at our fab sponsor this week.....

Thanks for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx

Seeing spots....and stripes!

Hello there!

I hope you're well today and have had a good week!

Today I'm back with a new challenge from Sweet Stampin and this week we want to see your cards featuring spots and stripes.

I have opted for a black and white colour combo for this card with a splash of blue.....

I have used Promarkers to colour the image and Stickles to add a little sparkle to the bubbles! 

For more spots and stripes inspiration pop by the Sweet Stampin challenge blog and take a peek at the fab DT cards that Team Abi have created this week.

Thanks for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx

Christmas Critters!

Hello there,

Welcome back to my little blog, I hope you are well and are having a fab week!

I celebrated Christmas 2013 (yes you read that correctly!) last Friday with Lorna and my friend Becca. We hadn't got around to having our Christmas dinner (despite seeing each other on other occasions!) and so decided to go all out. We had dinner at Becca's house and then ventured out to the local pubs.....

Yes, we are wearing our Christmas jumpers and are armed with crackers! Hee, hee!

Anyway, onto the reason for this challenge - we have a fab new challenge for you over at Christmas at Sweet Stampin! This month we'd like to see your Christmas creations featuring Christmas Critters!

My mum loves sheep - it's her thing! So when I saw this fab digi stamp I knew I had to buy it.....it also fits in with our theme really well......

I have coloured my cute little Christmas sheep with my Promarkers and added rather a lot of sparkle with my Stickles! I have then run with a green colour scheme - using both plain and patterned papers. Finally I have added the wonderfully themed sentiment!

For more Christmas Critter inspiration pop by the Christmas at Sweet Stampin challenge blog to take a peek at the wonderful DT cards that have been created. While you're there you can also take a peek at our fab sponsor this month....

I'd also like to enter this card at the following:

Glitter n Sparkle - Use a digi

Papertake Weekly - repeat, repeat (repeated holly pattern)

Thank you for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx

Sweet Birthday Wishes

Hello there,

Happy Saturday - I hope you've had a sweet week!

I'm back today with a new challenge from Sweet Stampin and this week I found the challenge quite....well....challenging! Our theme this week is "embossing"....and as some of you know I'm really not a fan! I'm not keen on dry or wet embossing...no particular reason...I just don't like it!

However, I'm a big girl....so when I saw the theme I took a deep breath and looked through my craft stash for some inspiration. To make it a bit easier I opted for a Birthday card and to sweeten it a little more I thought I should feature some cake.....

I've gone with a bright zingy colour combo, using the strong green plain paper with striped and starred patterned papers. My dry embossing was created using my Cuttlebug - I embossed the present and then used a light grey Promarker to add a little more definition.

Finally I added a stamped cake image, which has been coloured with my Promarkers and I've added a little sparkle with my Stickles.

For more embossing inspiration pop by the Sweet Stampin challenge blog and take a peek at all the gorgeous DT cards that Team Abi have created. While you are there you can read all about our fab sponsor this week...

I would also like to enter this challenge over at:

The Pink Elephant - anything goes

Top Tip Tuesday - anything goes

Cute Card Thursday - anything goes

Pop by all these fab challenge blogs to see some gorgeous DT cards.

Thanks for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx

Pants!

Hello there!

I hope you are keeping well....and if you're in the UK I hope you haven't been blown away by the crazy weather we've had this week!

Now, I'm here to tell you all about the new challenge we have this week over at Sweet Stampin and I'm quite excited about this one as it's one of my favourite topics (well after afternoon tea, cupcakes and teacups!) ...yes, it's Christmas.....

Hee, hee....now when I saw this image and sentiment I knew I had to have it in my collection! I've kept the card quite simple in the back ground, letting the over sized sentiment and pants do the talking! My image has been coloured with my Promarkers and is attached to the card with 3D sticky pads to give the card some dimension.

For more Christmas in August inspiration pop by the Sweet Stampin challenge blog and take a peek at the fab DT cards that have been made this week. While you're there you can also take a peek at our fab sponsors.....

Thanks for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx

Gifts Galore

Hello there,

Happy Hump Day! The weekend is in sight! Woo hoo!

Today we have a fab new challenge for you over at Christmas at Sweet Stampin, our theme this month is "gifts galore" and the DT have been given a fabulous digi image to play with. Thank you All Dressed Up for the fab image!

Isn't it a cute image?

I also love the contemporary blue and red snowflake paper and have used this as inspiration for my colour scheme of red and blue. I've coloured my image with my trusty Promarkers and have added a little sparkle to my tree with my Stickles.

And what do you see under my tree...my pile of gifts...gifts galore!

For more inspiration pop by the Christmas at Sweet Stampin challenge blog and take a peek at the fab DT cards. While you are there you can also take a peek at our fab sponsor this month....

Thanks for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx

Bingo!

Hello there!

I hope you are well and have had a lovely week! Mine has been wonderful  as I have been on annual leave with Joe. We haven't gone away this year, but we have relaxed a lot and made our little garden is a little bit more beautiful with a new bed of plants and a small BBQ area!

Today at Sweet Stampin we have a lovely Bingo challenge for you! Here is the board for you to pick from.....

What a lovely collection of crafty items to pick from! I went for straight down the middle - ribbon, buttons and spots......

I've made this card for Joe as on Friday we celebrated seven years together. We may not be married, but we do still like to celebrate!

I have gone with a blue and pink colour combo, featuring a lovely teacup digi stamp which I think suits us perfectly! I've included some blue and pink ribbon, blue and pink buttons and of course my spots feature on both my buttons and ribbon!

This year we are celebrating our anniversary by nipping over to the Isle of Wight for a mini break. I have also arranged for Joe to meet some Marmosets at one of the zoos!

For more bingo board inspiration pop by the Sweet Stampin challenge blog, while you are there you can also take a peek at the prize offered by our fab sponsor this week.....

Thanks for popping by today, 

Wedgie xxx

My Favourite Stamp.....

Hello there!

I hope you are having a fab week!

I have another challenge for you this week from Sweet Stampin....and this one is a tricky one as you'll need to make a decision! We want to see your projects featuring your favourite stamp!

Now I had to think long and hard about this challenge as I have quite a few "favourites"! In the end though I decided to opt for something I thoroughly enjoy in life....

Yep - it had to be a cake!

Now out of all my cake stamps...and believe me I own loads....this is my favourite! It's a brilliant size, great for making an impact on the front of a card without being too big. I also love those swirls - it's just so pretty! It's great to colour with Promarkers (as I have done here) but it also works well when paper piecing too.

As you can see I have created this Birthday card for one of my friends - Alex also enjoys a spot of afternoon tea! 

For more favourite stamp inspiration pop by the Sweet Stampin challenge blog and take a peek at all the gorgeous DT cards that have been created. While you are there you can also take a peek at our fab sponsor this week....

Thanks for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx

Krafty Christmas

Hello there!

Welcome back to my little card blog! This time I am back with a new Christmas challenge for you from Christmas at Sweet Stampin. 

This month we are wishing you a krafty Christmas - yes we want to see your Christmas creations that feature a little bit of kraft paper.

I love the colour of kraft paper and think it works really well with blues and also with greens, as demonstrated in my Christmas card....

I've used a lovely holly image and sentiment which has been coloured with my Promarkers. I then made the berries pop by adding a sparkle with my red Stickles.

I've used some gorgeous holly backing paper, along with some plain green paper and also my kraft paper. Finally I have added a little detail with some white faux stitching.

For more krafty inspiration pop by the Christmas at Sweet Stampin challenge blog and take a peek at the gorgeous DT cards that have been created. While you are there you can also take a peek at the fab sponsor who has joined us this month....

Thanks for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx

Pink, pink, lot's of pink!

Hello there!

I hope you're well and have had a lovely week!

I'm back with a new challenge from Sweet Stampin - and this week we have a fab colour challenge for you. We want to see your "perfect in pink" projects!

If you've popped by my blog before you'll know how much I love a girlie card - give me a spot of pink or purple and some sparkles and I'm a happy crafter!

I've coupled all that pink with a girlie bath....some bubbles and lots of polka dots! The perfect birthday card I think....the only thing missing is a bit of cake!

I have printed my Digi Stamp Boutique image with my Promarkers, and I added a bit of sparkle to the bubbles with my Stickles. I have then used a combination of pink plain and patterned papers for the background, along with a printed sentiment.

For more pink inspiration pop by the Sweet Stampin challenge blog and take a peek at the perfect DT cards created by Team Abi. While you're there you can also take a peek at our fab sponsor this week....

Thank you for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx

PS - if you enjoy a spot of afternoon tea - you might like my other blog too!

Tea With Me and Friends

A little bit of paper piecing

Hello there,

I hope you are well and have had a good week.

As some of you know I have been here, there and everywhere with work recently. Just this week I have managed a trip to Cheltenham and Manchester, as well as time spent in our head office in Epsom. I've been really busy and exhausted a lot of the time, but I am pleased to report that I've had some brilliant news from work recently. I have been promoted! I am so proud of myself and I just wanted to share with everyone!

Anyway, enough of that...onto this week's challenge from Sweet Stampin. This week we would like to see your paper piecing skills....so grab your favourite stamp and papers and get crafting!

I've kept it nice and simple for this card, letting my images do the talking.....

I've taken two of my favourite stamps and a selection of pretty patterned papers. I have used my Promarkers to add a little details, as well as a little sparkle on the cherry with my Stickles.

I have finished the card with some faux stitching around the edge.

I'm really pleased with how this card has turned out and will probably make some more to send to family.

For more inspiration pop by the Sweet Stampin challenge blog and take a peek at what Team Abi have created. While you're there you can also read all about our fab sponsor this week:

There is also still a little time left to enter my fab afternoon tea competition over on my other blog. To find out more take a peek at Tea With Me and Friends!

Thanks for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx

Babies!

Hello there,

Well, I don't know what is happening in my office at the moment...but all the ladies who sit at desks in my area are either getting engaged, getting a new job or having babies! Honestly....if we are not talking about wedding dresses we seem to be comparing baby bumps! I'll be clear that none of these things apply to me...although everyone keeps suggesting that I need to fit into one of the groups!!

This week's Sweet Stampin challenge fits in nicely with this theme however as this week we want to see your projects featuring babies!

Here is my card....featuring some rather cute little images.....

I bought these images as a set about five months ago when Joe's little niece Isabelle was born and I wanted to make a card for her. I think they are so sweet! I've coloured my images with my Promarkers and have gone with a really girly pink colour scheme!

I can't quite believe that five months have flown by so quickly already! 

For more "baby" inspiration pop by the Sweet Stampin challenge blog and take a peek at Team Abi's cute cards! While you are there you can also read all about our fab sponsor this week....

If there are any UK based afternoon tea fans out there you might want to pop over to my little afternoon tea blog too....as this month we are celebrating a year of afternoon tea posts at Tea With Me and Friends! In the last year we've featured over 60 afternoon teas and have met so many wonderful people, we are delighted to be able to celebrate with an afternoon tea competition! Take a peek at the blog for more information!

Thanks for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx

Sparkle and Shine

Hello there,

Happy Saturday! I hope you're well and had a lovely week!

Today I'm back with a lovely new challenge for you from Sweet Stampin - this week we would like to see your cards sparkle and shine! See - I told you it's a lovely challenge!

Those of you that know me won't be surprised to hear that I went down the girly route for this card...featuring two of my favourite things....

I have combined two image for this card - the cute little cocktail, along with the plate of cakes (two things that should be enjoyed on your Birthday!). My image has been coloured with my Promarkers and I have added some sparkle to the cocktail and the cakes with my Stickles. 

I've opted for a purple and green colour combo, one that I really like. I've added some shine to the patterned papers by highlighting some of the stars and polka dots with my glossy accents.

For more inspiration pop by the Sweet Stampin challenge blog and take a peek at what the lovely Team Abi have created this week. While you're there you can read all about our fab sponsor this week....

If you also fancy drooling over some lovely afternoon tea photos you should take a peek at my other blog - Tea With Me and Friends. I promise lots of scrummy photos and afternoon chat - with none of the calories!

Thanks for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx