Hey,

I wasn't planning on posting today, but last night I was browsing through JT's blog and I saw her entry for the current MAWTT challenge 'Winter Animals'.

I just happened to have the Avery Elle 'Caroling Critters' set on my desk, that I have been meaning to use, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

I stamped and coloured 3 of the stamps from the set and added the sentiment and a couple of musical notes also from the set.

It felt a bit bland, so I added some glitter glue to the critters and lamp post and stenciled in some dots to feel like a snowy background.

I'm pretty pleased with my late night make :)

Have a great Saturday, I am off to meet a Colleague for brunch that is in NYC on vacation. I contemplated the gym, but I opted to do a 20 min online yoga thing and I feel ok with that!

Cx

Hey,

Happy Sunday and welcome to July!!

Today's card is topical, as I am having a playdate with JT today..

I saw JT's DT card for MAWTT this time and I loved it and she is right, we all have a ton of flower stamps.

So I thought I'd play along - their theme is 'June Blooms'.

I used a fave stamp for my flowers it is 'Floral Background' by Pink Fresh Studio.. It's a large stamp and a bit of a beast to ink up and stamp, it takes a few attempts and that is with a stamping platform! All tips are welcome!

I watercoloured it using distress inks and a paintbrush. I trimmed it to fit my card blank, added a sparkly strip and simple sentiment blocks (by Neat & Tangled).

Super simple make, because the stamp is so busy, I wanted to keep all the other elements to a minimum.

Cx

Hey,

I really liked JT's choice of theme over at MAWTT this time and so I thought I'd play along.

Also her card is AMAZING!!

Her theme is black, white + another colour.

I went with red for my other colour.

I kept this card pretty simple and used a new to me (second-hand from Cheiron) Waffle Flower 'Circle Flower' set.

I stamped the stems and flowers and messily coloured the flowers, using Zigs and a paintbrush. I added a few red dots here and there for an added bit of colour and the sentiment is from the same set.

Super simple, but the red makes it all pop and works really well with the set.

Cx

Hey,

So we are in Tampa right now and today we are off to watch the Panthers v Buccs - can't wait!!

I made a TON of Halloween cards before I felt, but I foolishly did not photograph them all!

I thought I would share a couple that I did remember to take a photo of..

Main card today uses a Unity Stamp Co stamp - love the little girl in the dino costume, I would so wear a Dino costume if I did Halloween dressing up! The sentiment is by AMuse Studio.

The next card uses a stamp Cheiron gave me last year -


I love it, I use the ruder b*tch please version ALL the time.

I created a resist with the stamp, using white heat embossing and then I blended Cracked Pistachio and Wilted Violet Distress Oxide inks over the heat embossing (thank you Jenn Shurkus for this technique).

I AM so happy with the end result. I love these manilla tag, blending is a dream on them and I think this makes the perfect entry to the current MAWTT challenge - Tags or Charms.

Cx

Hey,

Today I am doing a twofer...

Playing along with this week's CASology cue card -


And joining in the fun at MAWTT with my old teammates, their theme is Heat Embossing.

I had no idea what I should make my Dad for Father's Day, then I saw the great Dad + Me set by Lawn Fawn and had a genius idea...

I die-cut the t-shirt from the Stampin Up Custom Tee set -


Then, I stamped the Moose from the Lawn Fawn set onto the t-shirt and coloured him. I stamped the t-shirt lines onto the t-shirt, not perfectly, I wanted it to feel slightly off, as my Dad's leisure wear can be..dodgy...

I heat embossed the sentiments directly onto the card - EEK!!! Moment of bravado, that I love, but sadly my photo is a bit blurry and it had to leave before I noticed, The sentiments are from the Lawn Fawn set, perfect for my Dad, the biggest pun master ever!

Super simple card to make, but I think it will make my Dad smile.

Cx

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Moving Along With The Times Challenge..

This time our Hostess is Jan and she wants us to create a Christmas Scene.

The stamp that I used, came from a freebie stamp set that I have had for ages. I have never actually used this stamp, but thought it was perfect for this challenge.

It is the perfect small Christmas scene, I love the little details, boots, presents, snow covered steps, etc. I dream of having a front door with a proper wreath...

It was a lot of fun to colour too and I used distress inks with an aquabrush, seems like this is my default colouring method right now!

I decided that because it is such a tiny scene it needed something to make it pop a bit, so I die-cut one of my newish MFT scalloped stitched rectangle frames in white and smooshed it in distress inks to get the mottled effect that you see. LOVE THIS!!!

I adhered the frame and the white panel to my card blank and then stamped the sentiment (by Recollections) before adding my little scene, which I popped out using foam tape.

I can't wait to see your small scenes, but first hop on over to MAWTT and see what the rest of the DT have been making.

This will be the last MAWTT challenge before Christmas and my last one as part of the DT.

I have been part of MAWTT for over 3 years and it makes me sad to say goodbye, but it is time.

I hope you and all my wonderful teammates have a lovely Christmas, relaxing with your loved ones.

Challenge ends on December 21st at 1pm GMT. You can enter 3 times.

Cx

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Moving Along With The Times Challenge..

This time our Hostess is Judith and she wants us to use die-cut letters or numbers.

I made my card in October when I was at JT's house having a playdate. So none of the items you see on my card are mine - love playing with someone else's stash.

I used a great woodgrain background stamp that JT has and I inked it up with 3 different distress ink blues and spritzed it with water before laying my paper on top.

I love doing this, you always get a great effect and its a total surprise!

I decided that a word banner would work well and rooted through JT's stash and came up with this awesome Die-versions Cheers banner. I die-cut it in a coordinating colour and secured it to the card using mini staples.

It felt a bit bare, so I added some punched stars and some blue bling.

It has already left my desk and is winging its way to a friend.

Show us your creations, but first hop on over to MAWTT and see what the rest of the DT have been making.

Challenge ends on November 23rd at 1pm GMT. You can enter 3 times.

Cx

Hey,

Time for another great challenge from the Moving Along With The Times Team B.

Today our hostess is one of my best friends in the whole wide world JT and she is also my fave craft buddy. Her theme is Leaves and Trees.

I thought this was the perfect time to break out a stamp and die set by Sizzix that I bought way back in 2013 and I think I have only used it once, I've struggled to get it to work for me!

I stamped, coloured and die-cut the tree. The colours I used to colour the tree informed the background I created.

I used Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Picked Raspberry distress inks to create the blended background, then I overlaid a Tim Holtz mini stencil onto it and spritzed it with water. A superb technique that JT and I learnt earlier this year when we went to Jenn Shurkus' Loft Art Retreat.

I added a freebie sentiment by Clearly Besotted that I got from a magazine eons ago and mounted it all onto a kraft card blank.

What will you make? Go to MAWTT and check out all the creations from the rest of Team B.

Challenge ends on October 26th at 6pm GMT. Remember you can enter a maximum of 3 times.

Cx

Hey,

Just a little reminder that there is still time to play along with the current Moving Along With The Times challenge....

I made a little cake card sticking with the current theme...Birthday Cake.

You have until September 28th (6pm GMT) to enter.

Cx

Hey,

Today I am your hostess over at the Moving Along With The Times challenge.

As it is nearly my birthday (well, two weeks away) I thought we would go with a Birthday Cake theme.

Any cake will do, really I'm not fussy :)

I used a fave stamp Brittany the Birthday girl by Stamping Bella, I love her dress, it looks like cake... I coloured her using Promarkers and then masked her off, so I could stencil in the fun background. The stencil is by Dutch Doobadoo.

The sentiment is by Hero Arts for Stamptember two years ago and I thought it worked perfectly here, stamped onto a stray hexagon punch that was on my desk..love it when that happens.

Your turn now to join in the fun, show us your creations, but first hop over to MAWTT and see what the rest of the team have been making.

Challenge ends on Sept 28th (actually my birthday) at 6pm GMT.

Cx

Hey,

Welcome to another fun challenge with the Moving Along With The Times Team.

Our hostess this time is my wonderful friend and teammate Sue B, her theme is CAS (Clean and Simple) - my fave!!!

I really wanted to break out a set by Lawn Fawn that has not seen any ink yet (naughty, naughty) and it seemed a perfect fit for this challenge.

I started by die-cutting the white panel, so that I could create the 'coffee' rings, actually they are ink applied to the bottom of a spray bottle and spritzed. They come out so well though.

I then stamped my sentiment and added my stamped, die-cut, coloured coffee cup, so it looks like the sentiment is coming out of the cup.

To add a bit of interest I added some of the hearts from the stamp set and a couple of blingy stars (from JT) keeping it all very CAS, but fun.

I love CAS cards, they are a really great way to showcase something.

Now it's your turn to show us your CAS makes, but first go over to MAWTT and see what the rest of the team got up to.

Challenge ends on 31st August.

Cx

Hey,

Welcome to another great challenge from the Moving Along With The Times team.

Our hostess this time is Tanja..she has chosen a theme of Monsters and/or Aliens.

I love a Monster / Alien stamp, so I had a hard time choosing what to use here, but I settled on the awesome Monster Morning stamp by Whipper Snapper Designs.

How can you not love a slightly grumpy monster in bunny slippers!!!

I stamped him and then masked him off, so I could add the green distress ink blended background..I wanted to give the illusion of a morning fug :)

I used distress inks and an aquabrush to colour him.

The sentiment was created using two different stamps.

I think he's fab and he actually went in the post to a client that I adore who lives in Portland, Oregon and has had to do a LOT of early morning calls. She always says at the end of the call, I need coffee right now LOL.

Your turn to make something fun with Monsters and/or Aliens, but first go and check out the makes from the rest of the team over at MAWTT.

Challenge ends 3rd August.

Cx

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Moving Along With The Times Challenge..

This time our hostess is Beckie and her theme is New Baby...

Now you know I LOVE New Baby cards...

Friends of mine recently had a baby girl, they are a bit hipster cool (unlike me) so I wanted to make a card that was a bit out there and not very traditionally New Baby.

I made a bunch of distress ink backgrounds and thought this purpley / pinky one would be perfect for a New Baby card.

I have to confess I cut, coloured and stamped at least 20 critters until I got the sentiment looking how I wanted it too..LOL OCD time..

The critter stamps are by Mama Elephant and I love them, they are totally overused and they come a with a wide range of sentiments - except new baby!

The sentiment stamps are a mix of Studio Calico and Simon Says Stamp.

I added a few sequins and a bit of wink of stella here and there to finish off my card.

Your turn to show us your New Baby creations,  but first go over to MAWTT and see what fabulous things my teammates have made.

Challenge ends on July 6th.

Cx

Hey,

So today is a big freakin' deal for me...

It is my 1,000th post.

I actually can't believe it..

I started this blog in 2010 having no idea what I was doing or what I wanted to achieve with it and here we are six years later.

My Husband is a constant source of wisdom and he said a while ago that he thought it was cool that I had a blog that was an outlet for me, my makes and my chitty chat..

This blog has given me so much, that I actually don't know where to begin or how to explain what it means to me, but let's give it a go shall we?

I have met so many wonderful people via my blog, people that I wouldn't have met under 'normal' circumstances, they have become friends and in some cases daily companions (Sue and Cara, I love you guys..).

These are the people that helped and guided me through some tough times - when I was out of work, when we moved to NYC, when my Ma had Cancer.

They also celebrated the joyful times - becoming DT for Moving Along with The Times and Retro Rubber, when I turned 40, when I got a new job, when I won challenges.

There are also the wonderful people that have taught me and subsequently became my friends - Jenn Shurkus and Cheiron Brandon what the hell would I have done without you over the last 2 years!?!

Let's not forget the gift that is WOYWW (What's on your workstation Wednesday) - hosted by Julia on her blog Stamping Ground.  There are no words to express what a wondrous thing a WOYWWer is, you should join us on a Weds sometime and find out for yourself.

I also have to give a big shout out to my Retro Rubber family. What an amazing bunch of ladies they are - I love being teammates with them and our FB exchanges are comedy.

This blog has also given me the chance to constantly express my gratitude for JT.
I mean how on earth can I express how amazing she is?! Seriously though, she's as crazy as a bag of cats and she is my exact mirror image - so I guess that makes me crazy as a bag of cats too!  What I like, she likes, what she loves, I love, what I dislike, she dislikes, it's so weird, she is like an actual real life sister, born 12 years after me LOL.

So much joy has come from this personal piece of blogland and I never knew burping my life onto a blog could be so rewarding.

Anyway, as I wipe away my tears of joy, I want to give you something to say thanks. Send me a message via my contact form in the sidebar and I will send you a card and a little 1,000th post care package - who knows what it will contain, but isn't that part of the fun?

Cx

Hey,

Time for another Moving Along With The Times challenge.

This time Jenny is our hostess and her theme is 'Age Related Sentiment'

I wanted to make a 40th birthday card for a friend and I had the background to my card sitting on my desk and it sparked an idea.

I added some dots and glitter paste to the background. Because the background is quite dark, I used bright distress inks to create the little die-cut ink resist panel that the numbers are on. I love this technique and it looks stunning and has added a pop of colour to the card.

I used a fave Clearly Besotted sentiment and punched it using a Stampin Up label punch.

The whole thing is a bit artsy fartsy and I love it, the background was so easy to create and it's only two different ink colours, but looks like more than that.

Your turn to show us your creations, but first go over to MAWTT and see the things my teammates have made.

Challenge ends on June.8

Cx

Hey,

Welcome to another Moving Along With The Times challenge.

This week our hostess is Lena and her theme is So 80's...

I felt like boom boxes / ghetto blasters really reminded me of my 80's childhood, so I drew one on my computer and made the background that you see in my card.

It also finally gave me a chance to use the Neon Promarkers that my Ma had bought me a couple of years ago.

The sentiment stamps are by CAS-ual Fridays and I love them and use them quite a lot. I stamped them using Hero Arts Neon inks.

Now your turn to get creative, but first go to MAWTT and see the fab creations by my teammates.

Challenge ends on 11th May.

Cx

Hey,

Welcome to another great challenge from the Moving Along With The Times team.

This time our hostess is Hazel and her theme is 'Come Dancing' 

I decided to dig out a fun stamp by Simon Says Stamp and Art Impressions for Stamptember. I love these fun AI stamps. They have a whole range with a group of older ladies having a lot of fun.

I coloured this card using Promarkers - imagining my group of friends and I when we are a bit older..dancing it out!

The sentiment came with the set and I stamped it onto a die-cut banner, that matches the card blank.

Simple and fun.

Now it's your turn, but first go over to MAWTT and check out the creations by my teammates.

Challenge ends on 13th April.

Cx

Hey,

It's time for another great challenge from the Moving Along with The Times team..

This time we are being hosted by Jan and her theme is Purple Haze.

I've been playing along with the current Colouring Challenge over at the wonderful Kathy Rac's blog The Daily Marker.

Colouring always inspires me...I coloured the pretty new mini Gorjuss stamp using Promarkers.

Then I masked it off and created the purple burst using a Clear Scraps stencil. It worked out way better than expected :)

I die-cut the entire panel using a large stitched rounded rectangle die by MFT and added a fussy cut sentiment by Simon Says Stamp with Hero Arts for Stamptember 2014.

I love this card, it's a bit full on, but aren't all the best things?

Now it's your time to show us your fabulous purple creations, first go to MAWTT and see all the fab makes by the rest of the team.

Challenge ends on 16th March.

Cx

Hey,

Welcome to another superb challenge from the Moving Along With The Times.

This challenge is hosted by Judith and she has chosen a theme of Things With Wings...

JT and I had quite a bit of chatter about this one, trying to decide what to use..as we have a lot of the same stamps..

I decided to dig out a newish set that I bought during my Black Friday blow-out at AC Moore -

I think it works really well and just like this card I think the bird looks like he is among the trees.

Obviously no need for a sentiment with the beautiful text in the bird.

Show us your fabulous creations featuring wings and go over to MAWTT have a look at the other inspiring makes by the rest of the DT.

Challenge ends on Feb17th.

Cx

Hey,

It's time for the first 2016 Moving Along With The Times Challenge..

This time around we are hosted by my good friend Jessie - she is asking us to use spots and dots...

Around the time JT posted her theme I got a big batch of new Unity Stamp Co stamps and the 'Sweet Sixteen' stamp was in that batch and I thought would be perfect for this challenge.

I coloured the stamp using Promarkers and used a white chalk marker to add the spots to the girl's dress.

I die cut the whole piece using a Xcut die - I hardly ever use these dies...

The sentiment is by Clearly Besotted and I love that I can mix and match all of the sentiments.

I mounted the image panel onto a spotty American Crafts card blank.

Very simple but fun card to make (I've got a thing about balloons on cards..)

Now it's your turn to join in the fun and show us your creations, but first pop over to MAWTT and see the fab creations by my talented teammates.

Challenge ends Wednesday 20th of January.

Cx