Funky Little Christmas...

Three very simple cards using just one of the themes on the lovely 'Funky Little Christmas' download from Funky Hand. The cards virtually made themselves! Aren't those toppers fab? (Also on the download! Even the doodling is done for you!) I love these, and they are just the tip of the iceberg. Plenty more where these came from, when I have a little more time on my hands.

While I am here, I need to thank my Funky Hand DT mate, Ruth of Tip Top Toppers' fame. What a kind, thoughtful person she is.. All the other girls were cracking on with their designs, and I was bewhinging on our DT blog about running out of ink, and couldn't afford to get any more just yet, so she printed off a whole sheaf of papers from the downloads for me, so I wouldn't be left out and sent it to me as a surprise! What a sweetie!! :o)



Papers (incl. trees & toppers): Funky Hand 'Funky Little Christmas' download
Snowflakes: Kaleidopunch (Amethyst & Citrine)
Christmas verse stamp: Penny Black
Snowflake stamp: From a cube of four snowflake stamps.. can't remember whose! Sorry!
Glitter glue: Stickles Crystal
Embossing: Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, swiped with white Versamagic to pick out the dots.

I've been published again! Toot, toot!!

Woohoo! I have not seen it myself, so was unaware until someone told me, but apparently my '50' birthday card has been published in this month's Papercraft Essentials, in their 'On-line Favourite' spot. Have to rush out and buy a copy now!! (It will have to wait until after Anice's Funky Hand show on Create & Craft at 12.00, though!!)

Are you free tomorrow lunchtime?

Tomorrow being Thursday, may I suggest that at about 11.55am, you put the kettle on.....make yourself a nice cuppa......switch on the telly...put your feet up and watch FUNKY HAND on Create & Craft @ 12 noon.

If you don't have SKY (Channel 671), you can also watch on-line. The show features Anice's "Now That's Funky" CD (which is only £14.99 from her web-site, free P&P). But do watch the show, as you'll see some great sample cards from the DT (including MINE!! Woohoo!)

Tomorrow is also the last day to leave your comment on FUNKY HAND'S blog to be in with a chance of winning some fabby blog candy....if you haven't already visited.....get on over there....what are you waiting for??!!

Here are the samples I made using papers from the 'Now That's Funky' CD... a card and an ATC..

Bee-ing Happy..

.. Is what I was yesterday! :o)

Although I was shattered from lack of sleep thanks to the sultry summer night air, I was up and raring to go for my pick-up at 10.30. My 'date' was my new bloggy friend, Debbie, who contacted me after seeing my '50' card on the Inspirational blog, as we are both in the same town.

We have been emailing and leaving bloggy messages back and forth, and Debbie invited me to accompany her on a stash-hunting trip to 'Calico Crafts' and 'Capture The Magic', both located in one small industrial estate on the edge of Soham in Cambridgeshire.. quite a bit south from where we are. I had been to Calico Crafts some years ago, but back then, they were squeezed into a tiny little hut off a dirt track at the back of beyond. They have come on a bit since then!

I told Debbie I had no money to spend, but it was great to go and drool over the Aladdin's Caves that these shops both were. I lived vicariously through Debbie yesterday, and the day was a great success! We got along very well, and I'm sure we will be repeating the exercise sometime soon... although Debbie is a very busy lady! Wife and Mum of five (for goodness' sakes.. didn't they have a telly???), holding down two jobs, and doing a distance-learning diploma in garden design, as well as keeping up an extremely respectable blog and churning out some stunning far-from-five-minute cards, I have to say I am somewhat in awe of this mega woman!!

On top of everything else, she brought tears to my eyes by presenting me with a gorgeous little ATC she had made especially for me, having picked up on a couple of clues that I have a thing for bees!!! Hence 'Bee-ing Happy'! ;o)

Thank you again for my lovely ATC, Debbie (my photo doesn't do it justice, either), and a wonderful day out. I really enjoyed it! (And if anyone's curious about the gorgeous stash Debbie bought, go and visit her blog and take a tour of her lovely creations!)

Wylde Woman Award..

Who? Me? Wylde? Never!!! lol ;D Well, OK, then.. maybe just a bit! Especially in my younger days!

Anyway, I received this gorgeous award from both Dawn and my Funky Hand DT-mate, Kath, and I'm thrilled! Isn't it beautiful? And what an honour to be chosen. I'm touched. (Don't say a word!! lol ;) THANK YOU, Dawn and Kath. :)

Both these ladies are wonderful artists and lovely people. If you haven't visited their blogs before, you will not regret taking a few minutes to go and take a peek. You will be well-rewarded with heaps of inspiration!
There are conditions attached to this award:
1. You can give it to one or one hundred or any number in between - it's up to you. Make sure you link to their site in your post.
2. Link back to this blogsite (http://www.tammyvitale.com/) so Tammy can go visit all these wonderful women.
The Purpose of the Award: To send love and acknowledgment to women who brighten your day, teach you new things and live their lives fully with generosity and joy.
Goodness! How do you choose who to send this award onto, when there are so many women in my 'virtual life' who would fit the bill in spades?
While I'm thinking about that, there are four extra special women in my 3D life who I would nominate if they had blogs, but they deserve a special mention anyway, and I am privileged to be related to them...

• My Mum, Vida. My best friend, without whom I would be lost.


• My daughter, Karen. The very definition of a Wylde Woman! ;D Love her to bits!


• My sister, Lynn. Always there for her family. Very generous with her time.


• My auntie Pauline. Always loving, friendly and supportive of her family.

Now.. back to virtual reality.. There are a few that I would like to nominate for special attention, and they are the two ladies I received the award from in the first place.. Kath and Dawn, but also Gina, Emma and Debbie. These are all women who inspire me in different ways, and whom I have grown to love over the past few months. What a treat it has been getting to know them.

DCM ~ Golden Oldies...

The challenge this morning from Daring Card Makers is:

"...we thought it would be nice to have a look back, and dig out some of our 'old' papers and embellishments and make a card with our 'preloved' treasures. I think the tendency these days is to get on the 'latest must have' band wagon, sometimes, its nice to recognise what we already have- even if it isn't the 'latest' embellishment/paper."

My card is a very quick make. I dug out some hammered cardstock that I haven't used in ages, my deckle-edge scissors, some paper rosebuds, some wire, a sequin heart and some tiny peel-off hearts (although I do still use the rosebuds and the tiny hearts from time to time, so they might be considered current stash, though I've had them for donkeys years!).

Nice to make something that only takes a few minutes for a change! ;o)

Card for Katharina..

This card was made in response to an irresistable Guest Designer Call for the 'Whiff of Joy' stamp producer, Katharina. I'm sorry I missed the original DT call, but the team she has chosen are exemplary! To find links to their blogs, and Katharina's own inspirational site, follow the link HERE which will take you to her 'Guest designer Call' post, and you can explore from there.

You have to make a card to Katharina's cool sketch (on the right), and the call is open until 30th July, so there is time to get your entry in if you fancy your chances! :o)

CS: Bazzill

DP: HOTP

Stamps: Penny Black ~ 'Lace Flower' 3140H

Hero Arts ~ 'Graceful Leaves' F4321

Autumn Leaves ~ Rhonna Farrer's 'Elegant Flourishes'

MSE ~ 'Thank You'

Everything else from stash

Happy Birthday, Funky Hand!!!

Ohhh my word!!! Checkout the wonderful blog candy that Anice at Funky Hand is offering to celebrate Funky Hand's 2nd anniversary! In addition to the goodies in the picture, Anice is offering a choice of TWO CD-Roms from her collection HERE, and a choice of TWO of her fantastic crafty downloads, HERE.

To check out this wonderful offer, go to Anice's blog, Funky Hand Thoughts. (While you're there, take a wander through Anice's inspirational creations. She has a lovely, refreshing style you can't fail to enjoy!)

Friendship is a Work of Heart...

Made for Melissa Phillips wonderful blog challenge, but I think I've missed the deadline! Oh well.. It was fun making it, although it hasn't come out quite how I saw it in my head! :o) Not sure I like it, but what do you think?

Papers: Funky Hand CD-Roms ('V. Funky' and 'Funky Seasons')

Friendship backing paper, large heart, black swirl and doodles by me!

Silver hearts made using X-cut punches

Holographic peel-off butterfly mounted on a piece of pre-moulded plastic packaging for 'wing-lift', and highlighted with some self-adhesive pearls

Stamped flourishes by HOTP.

Bling, brads, flower, lace, heart charm, chain, ribbons from stash.

Daring Card Makers ~ Mid-week Dare ~ Wedding Card

This was easy, as I have used one of the designs from my 'Handcraft Your Own Wedding Stationery' CD-Rom... "Spring Hearts"!! (Bit of a cheat, I know, but it fits the bill!) ;o)

Ooh, Look what I got...

Lookee, lookee, lookee!! A CREDIT CARD!!! Woohoo!! Little does Emma know that a credit card in my hands is NOT a good idea!! lol ;o)

Bless her cotton socks for awarding it to me, though, for being her Blogging Friend. Forever, apparently! bwahahahaha!!! ;o)

There are rules attached to receiving this award, but I'm afraid I have always been a bit of a rebel, and never one to obey rules, so I am going to change them!!! (Hope that's OK, Emma!)

The NEW rules are as follows:

1. This award is hereby awarded to anyone visiting my blog, as you're all my Bloggy Friends, SUBJECT TO having word verification on your blog comments SWITCHED OFF!!! (My pet soapbox... Word Verification is the bane of every blog-hopper's life, and it serves no useful purpose!*)

2. Spend wisely. (Ha! I'm talking to crafters!)

3. Give it to whoever you wish.

4. Enjoy it! :o)

* Serious Note

Obviously, you will want to have comment moderation (which doesn't cause any hindrance to other people), but word verification is a HUGE pain and not necessary. I have had it switched off for three months and only had one spam message to delete, nothing else unsavoury at all, and other bloggers have reported spam volumes in single figures as well.

If you multiply the number of visitors by the amount of time it would take them to apply the word verification code (which very often has to be repeated as it’s so darned difficult to decipher the wretched letters), and compare that with the relatively short amount of time it takes a blog owner to rattle through a few comment notification emails and publish them, removal of the word verification code is a simple courtesy for my visitors who are kind enough to want to leave a comment.

To get a feel for how unpopular it is, if you missed my original anti-WV tirade, see the responses to my 'Life's Too Short for.." post HERE.

Black Prince...

This card was made to Kazan's beautiful sketch this week from 2Sketches4You (see left), but also meets the criteria for this week's Penny Black Saturday Challenge which calls for a 'snow' theme, using at least one PB stamp. The stamp I used is 'Prance'.

Black cardstock was 'Cuttlebugged' with the Swiss Dots folder, and 'distressed' with Cotton White Staz-on, a white gel pen and Versamagic. I tipped fine white Art Institute glitter onto the surface of the ink while the Prance image was still wet.
Silver thread wrapped around to echo the white distress lines.
Snowflakes cut with two different Kaleidopunches.. Amethyst and Citrine. Also added a snowflake brad from stash, and some faux gems.
Frame around stamped image hand-drawn and cut.
Making Memories 'Heidi' alphabet rub-ons

Let me introduce you to Christine...

I have spent quite a bit of time hopping my way around Blogland lately, admiring all the pretty cards from some remarkable artists out there. There is one blog in particular that is emerging as my favourite for glorious cards that never fail to provide a feast for my eyes every day, and today's morsel was just breath-taking! I'm sorry to be unfaithful to my regular heroines (you know who you are!!) ;o) but this lady is exceptional.

For true inspiration, go and visit Christine's blog, Creative Journey, and be prepared to be thoroughly gobsmacked by the beauty of her creations.

ALSO... this stunning card (below) is one of her entries in the Papercrafts Gallery Idol competition, and I would like to help build her on-line fanbase! Please go and vote for her card by visiting HERE.

I am Someone Special! :o)

According to my mate, Jozza, who posted this beautiful card on her blog t'other day, saying it was for 'someone special'. I thought at the time how lucky this special person was to be receiving such a lovely card.. especially as it has a bee on it, and I have a thing about bees! You can imagine my surprise and pleasure when it came through my letterbox this morning!!! :o)

So... I have come to the conclusion that I must be Someone Special! Ahhhhhh!! hehe ;o)

Thank you, Joz!!

Clearly Purple...

This one is for the current sketch challenge on the Penny Black Saturday Challenge blog. I tried to stick to the sketch pretty rigidly, but one of the panels didn't work, so I just left it out. The acetate dragonfly (similar to the butterfly I made for my 50th birthday card in the slideshow above) is a double layer, with two pairs of wings.

Acetate 'card' has been glittered around the edges with transluscent Ixie Dust (that is not a typo! ;o)

Background paper was made using the 'Lace Flower' stamp from Penny Black, firstly using Versamark & clear embossing resist technique, then overstamped in Ultramarine Staz-on. The stamp was also used on the acetate using Cotton White opaque Staz-on.

The vellum panel was Cuttlebugged with the Fantasy Flower embossing folder.

Draonfly stamp is from Elzybells.

Brads and silver thread from stash.

Blue Delft...

A double-header this one, to save time. Based on Laura's fab sketch #5 over at 2 Sketches 4 You, it also meets the criteria for last Friday's Daring Cardmakers challenge to make a card using peel-offs! The photography isn't great, so will have another go tomorrow in daylight.



Delft blue Dutch-style peel-offs, Anita's alphabet peel-offs (coloured with Ultramarine Staz-on).
Blue Stardust Sakura pen.
White Souffle Sakura pen for scallops & doodled dots.
Swarovski crystal
Flower, pearl, lace, rosebud, shell charm & chain from stash

Maria's Blog Candy...

Some scrummy blog candy in that pic!! For a real treat, go and visit Maria's blog HERE. :o)

Rule Britannia..

Again, the eagle-eyed cognoscenti will recognise the layout for this wall-hanging. I was looking for some large buttons for it, but instead found some old, pre-decimal British coins which work a treat! The old penny is Georgian, 1946, and the ha'penny is 1954.. even older than me!!





Wall-hanging using an old CD. Used Crop-A-Dile to punch the hole and set eyelet.
Covered with paper from stash, and used Timber Brown Staz-On to run around the edges, then dark brown Chalk Eyes.
Large brown blossom from stash and black scalloped edge circle spattered with white paint using a cheap toothbrush.
Embossed white circle mounted in centre (uses Cuttlebug folder)
Chalked heart shape decorated with flourish stamp, gold bead spray and old British penny (1946) and ha'penny (1954).
Antique look spiral clip, ball chain and embossed & aged heart charm.
Centre strip of Basic Grey paper mounted on card, inked edges, embossed in gold using Rhonna Farrer Autumn Leaves 'Elegant Flourishes' stamps.
Decorated with cream cotton crocheted lace.
Satin ribbon hanger.

Black Beauty...

The sharp-eyed among you, who are in the know, will recognise this layout!! ;o)



Cardstock: Black matt cardstock, stamped with Fontwerks circles in silver, and punched down the side with a border punch.
Making Memories stitched grosgrain ribbon
Circle dots embellished with Stickles (Stardust) and blinged up a bit with some pink gems.
Doodled dots between punched holes with white Sakura Souffle pen.
Flowers from stash blinged with glitter, pearls and gems.
Sentiment: Making Memories 'Heidi' rub-ons

Lazy blogger!

Me, that is!! Sorry, bloggy friends. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa. I have only posted one (new) card in the past week!

AWARD... My bloggy friend and super-talented Funky Hand design team mate, Kath, has offered this award on her blog, and I liked it, so have whipped it for my Trophy Cabinet!! lol ;o) Cheeky, or what? hehe

Daring card Makers Mid-week challenge

Now, this being Friday and the DCM challenge I am responding to is their mid-week challenge which came and went on Wednesday (!), I may be defeating the object a bit, but I'm only trotting out an old one! lol.. Only about three weeks old, though, it has to be said!

Checkout the Daring Card Makers challenge blog HERE! Some jaw-dropping contributions, not least of all from the Design team.

This mid-week challenge was for a birthday card with a number on it. Done! And by some miracle, this one was honoured with an appearance on the awe-inspiring Inspirational blog! :D

2sketches4you ~ Kazan's Sketch Challenge #4

Here is Kazan's sketch #4 on the wonderfully inspiring 2sketches4you challenge, and my interpretation of it is revealed below. Bit late this week. Hope you like it! :D

Bazzill cardstock

Basic Grey paper

Other rose print paper from stash

Hearts 'Cuttlebugged' with Swiss Dots embossing folder

Rhonna Farrer 'Elegant Flourishes' stamps

K&Co 'Life's Journey' alphabet

Prima flowers

Stickles

Blossom, gold punched hearts, wire, lace, gems, brads and Stickles from stash

Life's too short for...

... WORD VERIFICATION!!!

This is an appeal on behalf of busy bloggers. Please spare a thought for the poor bloggers who work so hard at getting round as many blogs as possible to leave sprinkles of pixie dust and good vibes wherever they go. The terrible proliferation of this awful plague of word verification is a blight on their efforts to make Blogland a cheerier place.

So please (see.. it's a pretty please! lol)... Cancel word verification on your blogs! Have blog owner approval by all means, but word verification is a pain in the proverbial (insert appropriate noun here)!!!

I know it is supposed to prevent spam, but I got rid of it on my blog some time ago, and I have only ever had to reject one single spam message.

OK.. rant over. Thank you for putting up with it, and ~ obviously ~ do what you wish on your blogs, but I had to say SOMETHING!! I love to get around and leave comments, but this is driving me scatty!

Buttons & Bows Ballerina...

For this week's Penny Black Saturday Challenge, which called for the use of brads and/or buttons.


Papers: Laura Ashley paper & Bazzill cardstock, Cuttlebugged with the Birds & Swirls folder
Stamp: Penny Black (of course!)
Scallops achieved using edge of Fiskars shapecutter template
White doodle dots by Sakura Soufflé pen
Buttons, brads, lace and padded star embellishment from stash

Brillante!

I got another award!! Thank you, Andie!! I love getting awards! It's great to have your blog appreciated, so I am delighted!

BUT... I think this award has been doing the rounds for a while now, so ~ rather than select people whose trophy cabinets are already bulging at the seams ~ I hereby award it to the first seven people to leave comments on this post! :o)

Andie has just started her blog, so it would be great if you could pass her way and leave her a friendly, encouraging message. Thanks again, Andie! xx

The Good, the Bad & The Ugly...

EDIT 15.09.08: As most of this post was not craft-related, the contents have been moved to my personal blog. Which makes a nonsense of the title, but I'm too lazy to think up another one! ;o)

The Good #2

Blog Candy!! Received my parcel from Justine this morning, which contained some Fiskars goodies for me to play with! A Hearts border punch, a pack of texture plates and a texture tool, and a gorgeous Tilda card.. Lovely! :o)


I have the border punch already, so this one will be 'paid forward' in my next blog candy offering, but I have never used the texture plates before, so will look forward to having a go with them!

Thank you, Justine!! :o)

Happy 4th July!

To all my American visitors.. I hope you enjoy your Independence Day weekend! :o) Made this for you...

Trophies for the Cabinet!

Have been blessed today with three awards.. Count them.. THREE! All from my blogging mate, Emma, who thinks I am a nutter. (Thank you, Emma! hehe) Go check her blog! Well worth the visit! :o)

Now, you're s'posed to select some other blogs to pass these awards on to, but I think these have pretty much done the rounds now, so the deal is that if you haven't had one yet, and you are feeling deprived, please feel free to snaffle one when I'm not looking. OK? G'wan.. I'm turning away... NOW!!!