Happy as a bear in berries....

Image- Beary Messy 

from The Beary Busy set.

Morning everyone!

I'm in for you today with a bearaliciously sweet card featuring Beary Messy from The Beary Busy set. It's an older set from all the way back in 2009 but I can't believe I haven't used one until now!

There are 6 bears to choose from in the set and boy oh boy did I have a tough time choosing!! but in the end, I was feeling a little hungry so I could identify with Beary Messy and the berry eating...plus blueberries are now a speed food at Slimming World so double celebration time!! he he!!

And the best thing is...You can get ALL of these pawsitively cute bears for just $10!!

There's soooooo cute!! I know you neeeeed them!!! I can't wait to use a couple more this week because I've got that Beary feeling this week after playing with this!! but for now, I need to get a cuppa and a bit of breakfast before I turn into an actual bear!!

Thank you so much for popping in, Huge Hugs Lou xx

Tiddly Inks spring blog hop!

Image- Light up my Life.

Papers- Bo Bunny Camp Out.

Hi everyone!!

Ooooooooh!! it's that exciting time for the Tiddly Inks Spring Blog Hop to start!! wahooooooo!!! and if you haven't already read Christy's blog about it, here is the info on how it's working.....

"WHAT TO DO:

1) Make your card ahead of time and post it your blog (I plan to schedule mine for 4/28/2018 at 4 PM CST). I will also have an InLinkz box at the bottom of the post so that you can add yours on 4/28 starting at 4 PM.

2) After your post is live on your blog at 4 PM, come back and paste your URL/blog address in the Inlinkz box on blog hop post. (our blog post will be up at 4 PM CST-noon).

3) Wait until 6 PM when we close the Inlinkz list, and then come back here and visit all the entries in the Inlinkz list. When you click on each entry, it should open a new window with the blogger’s card and entry…kinda cool, huh? It means we don’t have to direct you to the next blog…. just stay on my blog to keep “hopping” around the entries.
Hop around and visit the cards. The DT members will have their amazing cards listed at 4 PM CST too and I will have a link to their blogs, but the full blog hop STARTS AT 6 PM CST after everyone has a chance to list their cards. The hop ends April 29, and we have planned a party on the Facebook page from 6 PM until 10 PM on April 29, so please stop by.

PRIZES:
Two random blogger participant winners will be announced April 29 and highlighted on my blog. Each will receive a $10 gift voucher.
Two random commenters will be selected from amongst the blogs to receive a $5 gift voucher.

EXTRA PRIZE:
We will be offering one lucky participant a spot on the Tiddly Inks design team (if they want it) for the month of May. This comes with the shopping perks and the ability to be part of the weekly challenges for the month of May."

Now, I have to level up here peeps...I will be fast asleep whilst the hop and party are going on!! Since my chemo last year I struggle to stay awake past 9pm and I am in the UK, but as soon as I wake up tomorrow I will be hopping around all the gorgeous linkies!!

I used the super sweet Light up my Life for my make. I just loved her little jar of fireflies and can quite happily imagine myself doing that now the warmer spring nights are rolling in. Sadly we don't have fireflies here in the UK but I'm pretty sure I could catch some mosquitoes and moths and paint their wings with some glow in the dark paint for the same effect....bwah ha ha ha ha!!!

Happy Hopping everyone!! huge hugs Lou xxx

Little Wishes and Tiddly Inks Spring Blog Hop info....

Image- Little Wishes.

Sentiment- Magical Friend Clear stamp set.

 Papers- Bugging out.

Morning peeps!!

Wahoooooo!!! it's Friday!!! I am so pleased because I am super ready for some family bubble time tomorrow! 

And I am so super excited to share the details of the super fun Tiddly Inks spring blog hop tomorrow. It's going to be such a fun way to hop around and see some gorgeous Tiddly Inks inspiration from the Tiddly Inkers and Tiddly peeps all in one place!! so, here are some deets from Christy on how to join in...

"WHAT TO DO:

1) Make your card ahead of time and post it your blog (I plan to schedule mine for 4/28/2018 at 4 PM CST). I will also have an InLinkz box at the bottom of the post so that you can add yours on 4/28 starting at 4 PM.

2) After your post is live on your blog at 4 PM, come back and paste your URL/blog address in the Inlinkz box on blog hop post. (our blog post will be up at 4 PM CST-noon).

3) Wait until 6 PM when we close the Inlinkz list, and then come back here and visit all the entries in the Inlinkz list. When you click on each entry, it should open a new window with the blogger’s card and entry…kinda cool, huh? It means we don’t have to direct you to the next blog…. just stay on my blog to keep “hopping” around the entries.
Hop around and visit the cards. The DT members will have their amazing cards listed at 4 PM CST too and I will have a link to their blogs, but the full blog hop STARTS AT 6 PM CST after everyone has a chance to list their cards. The hop ends April 29, and we have planned a party on the Facebook page from 6 PM until 10 PM on April 29, so please stop by.

PRIZES:
Two random blogger participant winners will be announced April 29 and highlighted on my blog. Each will receive a $10 gift voucher.
Two random commenters will be selected from amongst the blogs to receive a $5 gift voucher.

EXTRA PRIZE:
We will be offering one lucky participant a spot on the Tiddly Inks design team (if they want it) for the month of May. This comes with the shopping perks and the ability to be part of the weekly challenges for the month of May."

Please pop in on THIS BLOG POST by Christy to ask any questions in the comments on her blog if you need to clarify anything.

And onto my make for today!! he he!! I went all out Tiddly-ness on this one!! image, sentiment, papers....ooooh the Tiddly Inks cuteness ( all linked for you under the photo). and boy oh boy did I have fun making it.

I even added a teeny bit of fine glitter to my little pom pom trim to make them look like little dandelion heads. It looks so much more glittery IRL.

Right, I need to get school run ready!! Mo has a celebration breakfast this morning for his team winning the Physics Bowl competition at school. There were 3 of them in the team and 4 in all the others so he was super excited to win!!

Have a wonderful day everyone, huge hugs Lou xxx

Breathe in Inspiration.........

Stamps-Magnolia Fixer Upper Hammer Tilda.

Magnolia Fixer Upper Breathe text & background brush.

Die-Magnolia Fixer Upper Paintbrush die

Papers- Bo Bunny Camp Out.

Morning peeps!

It's my Swedish House Crafts DT posting day today and I couldn't wait to share this one! 

I have really tried sitting on my hands...taping my hands with gaffa tape..... losing the keys to the craft room door.....but in the end, the temptation to make something with the stunning new Magnolia stamps Fixer Upper collection got too much for me to bear and I just had to dive into a make!!!

But really!!! look how super cute the little  Paintbrush die is!! oh my!!! To make it 3D I cut the 'brush' part out 5 times and gave them a good bend through my fingers to get them 'fluffed' out. I cut the handle part twice and then coloured it with my promarkers to get the wood and steel effect.

Then for extra fun to get that 'wet paint' look I splodged it down in the ink I was going to use for my background brush stamp and then popped it in some clear embossing powder. A little heat gun treatment later, wet paint on my brush! it really does look so sweet.

Then it was time to work on that awesome little sign Hammer Tilda is so busy making!! I stamped the green background brush first and then stamped the  Breathe text over the top of the green once it had dried a little.

Then, of course, for the gorgeous star of the card, Hammer Tilda. I stamped her in memento rich cocoa ink for a more gentle effect with the lines on her then coloured her in. I fussy cut her out and then made sure that she was positioned so her little nail in her hand was all ready to be tapped into the hole she has drilled in the sign!! he he!! so sweet!!

I carefully placed her facedown in the palm of my hand and rolled one of my promarkers along the back of her lengthways to 'curl' her back a little for a dimensional 'pop'! Then using hot glue, I adhered her to the card front so she stands out from the rest of her little scene.

Oh, the cuteness!!  Right, time to scoot!! a nice hot cuppa has my name on it!!! Have a wonderful day everyone, thank you for popping in on me, Hugs Lou xxx

Be Hoppy.......

Image- Be Hoppy.

Morning all! 

I'm in with my normal Monday posting of Mo's Digital Pencil cuteness! and today is no exception! oh my, she is just super cute!

I love this new image, Be Hoppy so much. I am 100% complete sucker for a bunny image! I adore bunnies but I decided to 'hop' right outta the Lou colour comfort zone and try to use the purples like her image in the shop!

Phew! now I got to be honest, I do not like stepping away from my pinks, Blues and Browns safe zone colour combo's because...well...I suck!!! but I am over the moon with my efforts at purples today!!

And a good old dot around with my blender pen after colouring the bunny of cuteness up means that she looks fluffy and cute!! win-win in Lou world!! 

Saturday marked a year since my first chemo and my charity head shave! oh, my!! I cannot believe a year has whizzed by and I am pootling along to getting my pre-steroid, chemo and rad'd Lou self back!! I also finished my Herceptin injections on Wednesday so it really is onwards and upwards from here on in!! I have lost 1 1/2 stone and have 1 1/2 stone to go until I get to my target weight I have set myself. My hair, albeit completely crazy and curly, is growing and I am hoping that once the effects of my latest injection wear off I will get back my energy and lovely nails! I so miss my lovely healthy long nails!!! I will get there though! and I can't wait!!! and as the bunny above says...Don't worry, be hoppy!!!!!

Thank you so much for popping in, huge hugs Lou xx

Wish Upon A Star...

Image- Wish Upon A Star from Tiddly Inks.

Papers- Studio Calico 'Dear Darling'.

Dies- Magnolia Starlight Doo Hickey Tag and Border.

Morning Peeps!!

It's that Tiddly Inkers Fab Friday time of the month again and I have so been sitting on my hands with this one trying not to share it early with you all!! It's just the sweetest image ever!! 

I coloured it up and made this card a couple of weeks ago! before I printed her out, I merged her onto the Grunge Star Tiddly Inks paper that was a freebie many years ago! I loved it then and I still love it now!!!

I can never resist a bit of Magnolia Doo Hickey action too so the little Starlight tag and border seemed the perfect little fun fillers for this card. I  cut out one of the sentiments from the sentiment sheet in my Dear Darling paper pad, popped a little nestied circle of black under it and popped it out onto the tag with some foam. I love how that bit came out.

Right, I have waffled on enough! I had better get my bum into school run gear really!! have a wonderful day everyone, thank you for popping in on me, huge hugs Lou xxx

Celebrate b......

Image- Celebrate b.

Papers- Bo Bunny Block Party.

Morning everyone!

I'm in with my normal Monday morning Dream Team make for you today and .....well...you all know by now I cannot resist me a boy make so I get super excited whenever there are new ones in the shop!! and when I saw Celebrate b I just knew he had to be the one for my DT make this week!!

It's such a funny thing because I used to be terrified of making 'boy' cards or cards for the male variety of humans but now I LOVE it!! and well, he is just such a darling.

Of course, the next real clincher just has to be the little appearance of Bronte in there blowing the party horn!! soooo cute!!!

Because he is a .png image I was able to merge him right onto some cool digital papers! wahoooooo!!! 

I, however, don't feel so celebratory today. Little Mo is back to school today and Scott and I are still fairly unsettled in our feelings about him going back and having his options meeting with a teacher this week. Mo has filled out his little form and popped 3 choices down. There were 2 subjects that he was really looking excitedly forward to choosing but the teachers in both of those subjects have told us that they do not feel Mo would cope with picking them as options. Luckily, he had a favourite one, Food Tech, to put first and he has chosen another 2 subjects that he enjoys as his 2 and 3. He very honestly wrote how he felt about choosing the 3 and not choosing 5 and as parents, we applaud him for that.

We feel it is important for him to be able to write down his honest opinions and feelings so people can begin to understand how things work in his mind.

Right, time for a cuppa and brekkie to get me going this morning, the hungry bear inside me is screaming 'give me food already!!!!!'. Thank you for popping in, hugs Lou xx

Tilda with dotted boots....

Paper-Maja Designs Vintage spring basics 10th of March 

Stamps- Magnolia Tilda with dotted boots.

Magnolia It's springtime Cute Chickens.

Dies- Magnolia Bon Voyage Dragonflies.

Gummiapan Old paper dies

Gummiapan Hen's Net die.

Gummiapan Heart Button die.

Magnolia Doily Flowers dies.

Morning everyone,

I'm with my Swedish Housecrafts DT post for you today. I was in a wonderful playing mood when I sat down to create this so I decided to alter a little plain kraft gift bag instead of making a card. It's such a lovely way to send off a little gift to a friend.
I love the Gummiapan Hen's Net die tucked in behind the matting layers and the super cute little Gummiapan Heart Button die to 'tie' the twine together.It just creates a little bit more interest in the whole fun scene coming together with the little chick!! sooo cute!!

I used 2 stamps from the Magnolia stamps It's Springtime' release, they really are just totally too cute!! I went for Tilda with dotted boots and one of the chicks from the Cute Chickens set. The littlest chick was just a perfect size to keep Tilda company while she collects her flowers!! Let's take a closer look at them!!....

Awwwwwwwwwww right?!!! I paper pieced Tilda's clothing so she would match into the papers I had chosen to decorate the bag with. Luckily, the fabulous 12x12 Maja Designs Vintage spring basics 10th of March paper gave me plenty of playroom to paper piece and cut out all the little extra flowers too! and look at Tilda's little boots!! I coloured those in yellow with little green dots and then added some glossy accents to make them shine.

I cut the stamped image 'mat' out with the Gummiapan Old paper dies.(..sadly they are out of stock at the minute but hopefully back soon so pop them on your wishlist for when they come back in!).

Then I had some fun die cutting some Magnolia flower Doo hickeys from my stash. These ones are the Magnolia Doily Flowers and they are just a dream to play with. I cut them out, gave them a good spray of glimmer mist, squished them up and then dried them out with my heat gun before unscrewing them.

I gathered 2 together and popped a mini brad in to hold them together and make the flower middle.

And mixed in this one below are the teeny little flowers from the Doo Hickey 14 set.They just finished off the corner arrangement with being so teeny and cute! Oooooh I do love a good play with my flower dies now and again!! you honestly do forget how nicely they come together.

I also used the absolutely stunning Magnolia Bon Voyage Dragonflies.They are one of my all-time favourite Doo Hickey buys!! This is the smaller dragonfly of the 2 and so sweet. I cut it twice and layered it up for some dimension in the wings, and the used a little scrap of the Hen's Net die cut I had leftover from my matting to make the handle of the bag look a little less boring. it looks so sweet.

Corrrrrrrrrrrrrr!! I've spammed you with piccies a bit today!! lol!!! but there were just so many fun bits to altering that little boring kraft bag I couldn't help myself!! I'm going to leave you all in peace from my waffling on now and go and get a cuppa!!

Huge hugs and thank you's for popping in, Lou xxxx

Wanna Scream....

Image- Wanna Scream.

Morning everyone!

I'm in with a post for you today and today I am sharing a gorgeously CAS make with Wanna Scream.

She is seriously the cutest lil grump I have ever seen and I can totally identify with her (....mostly when I've used up all my slimming world syns and am feeling nibbly or when my promarker runs out mid colouring session!! lol!!!).

And in awesome Maurie style, she comes in 2 versions...Y'all can click on each one to be magically pinged to her place in the store!!

Scott has the day off today so we are indulging in a little geocaching time I think. Hopefully, the weather will hold out for us nicely because a good walk around and a few little geo finds is always a super fun Daubney kind of day....and I need to walk off the cake I used my syns for on Sunday in the garden centre with my Aunty!!! lol!!!! 

I've made sandwiches for the men of the house and a little ham salad for me and we have some bottles of water (...and maybe hopes of a cafe being open for a nice hot drink!!!) to keep us going while we search.

I absolutely adore school holidays. There is something magical about planning days out together instead of planning the school run!! Right, I need to go and walk the pawsy peeps before we go.Thank you for popping in, Hugs Lou xxx

Tiddly Inks challenge #212.....Let's Go Around...

Image-  Narly Birthday.

Morning all!!

It's time for a super fun new challenge over on the Tiddly Inks challenge blog and this month it's...

'Let's Go Around'

So let's have some fun and get some circular makes done!

Think paper lollipops, circle cards, hanging decorations etc and
circular makes only please, no corners, squares or rectangle matting allowed!

 (**remember...We love to see any new creation, a card, 3D project, journal page etc 

but you must use a Tiddly Inks stamp or image **)

I knew exactly what I wanted to do. You see April is Autism Awareness Month and I wanted to make something special for my Little Mo. He is such a unique and funny little guy so I wanted to pop that in in a super fun way!

I decided to go with a decorated bauble and the gorgeous Narly Birthday I adore this set so much!! just look at the cute variations you get in there...

A little bit of colouring, fussy cutting and splodging stuff in a bauble later, I had this super cute gift for my little man!! I love how the little bubbles worked!! too cute!!

ASD Awareness is so important for all people to understand. This little guy has a whole lot to contend with every single day before we even get onto the 'normal' things that people do every day. Scott and I have worked tirelessly over the 13 years to pootle our lives along in a way that makes things so much easier for Mo to cope and pootle along in his Little Mo way. There are a few people who know and understand how we work for that. It's not easy to miss out on things we would love to be a part of or plan them quite meticulously making sure we account for every little thing that could set him off balance but we do it with great gusto hoping that we will make it easier for him. It gets hard and we get tired...a lot!! but it's also worth it because lots of people often look at Mo and forget everything he is going through because of the work mummy and daddy put in. We are happy to do it because he is our little guy, we are ALWAYS learning and ALWAYS looking for the best way.So my plea to you all today is just so simple...just be aware and remember.

As parents, Scott and I help his school in the best ways we can, they don't always get it but then, how could they when it's a world for Mo that changes constantly and he's constantly working to work it all out? it's a struggle most weeks. We help them by helping Mo with meds for his ADHD which complicates his Autism and his rare gene gain is still proving to be extremely rare as the gene organisation he is registered with try to find others with the same large gain (...nothing yet peeps, he is still the only one in the world on their records with it, but we keep hopeful!!).

Don't write off the struggles of parents whose children look 'just fine'....you all know the saying 'Never judge a book by it's cover' right?!!! Now I am lucky. I have the best friends around me who ALL understand Mo, but a lot of that is because I am happy to be completely transparent and open about how Mo and our life is. I do not believe in hiding it, or sugar coating it or making it out to be more than it is. Our life is just what it is and we are living with Autism.

I am entering this little bauble into the Stamping for Autism Awareness Blog Hop. I cannot tell you how beautiful a thing it is when you are a crafter and you see stamps/images you can really identify with and there is a whole tonne of amazing sponsors who have produced them.

I also wanted to share a link to the Awareness images Christy from Tiddly Inks made for me last year. I cannot tell you how much they touched my heart and I wanted to share them again in case anyone new to my blog hasn't seen them.

Phewsh!! I've waffled on a lot!! but y'all know it's something very close to my heart so I know you'll forgive me!! and...

Be aware and show you care!

Thank you for popping in, huge hugs Lou xxx

Lydia...

Image - Lydia.

Morning everyone!

I'm in today for you with my make for the week using the super sweet Lydia, which is also linked to our fabulous April Showcase Challenge over at Mo's Digital Pencil Challenges on Facebook.

Isn't she just the cutest little fairy?!! and she is just $2! I had so much fun colouring her up in yellow. I don't often use yellow but I am braving using it more and more in bigger areas!! 

I added a little sparkle to her wings with my sakura clear star gel pen, it looks so delicate IRL but getting a photo of it is super tricksy!!

Entering is easy peasy!! You can make anything you wish, as long as it features Lydia in your project. Once you have purchased Lydia and had some fun creating with her, add you Lydia make to the Lydia facebook challenge link in the comments. 

Throughout the month of April, the Dream Team girls will be adding their makes in the comments too to inspire you.

**Remember you MUST use the 'Lydia' image for your make**

**All entries must be newly made from the date of the challenge start please**

**ONE ENTRY ONLY, please 

**THIS CHALLENGE WILL CLOSE ON SATURDAY 28th APRIL AT 10PM GMT**

The winner will receive a $5 store credit.

Thank you for popping in. I'm off to pop the kettle on and enjoy the rest of this rainy icky day in the warm!!, huge hugs Lou xxx