My Last Card for 2010...Sugar Bowl Challenge ~ 50

I've managed to venture into my craft room today, the first time I've set foot in there in almost a month. But what a lovely time I've had playing and how much I've missed it.
I've been taking a little break from the Sugar Bowl so hadn't submitted a card for yesterdays challenge. So I thought I would follow the sketch for this card instead.

The image is another beautiful Sugar Nellie Simply Sassy, available to purchase HERE. The papers are Basic Grey Marjolaine, and the sentiment stamp is from LOTV.
The option is embossing, either dry or heat embossing but.....I forgot!

I rotated the sketch as my image was vertical and not horizontal.
Because it's the Sugar Bowls 2nd Birthday there are 2 prizes to be won this time. Each prize consists of Nestabilities and Sugar Nellie stamps with each prize worth over £50!

Before I go I would like to wish each and every one of you a very Happy and Healthy 2011, and to thank you all for your lovely comments since I started my blog back in April. I have met the most lovely people and made lots of new friends.

Thanks for looking and for any comments you may leave.
Love Elaine xxx

My Fave Top 10 of 2010 and a Little News.

All over blogland I've seen peeps showing their favourite top 10 makes of the year, so I thought I'd join in.
I'll start off with this one.....

My most recent addiction to Sugar Nellies Simply Sassy range, and this little lady was the first image I coloured. I just love her face, she's so beautiful.

I love this Country Cousins Fairy, used here for a Christmas card but I'll be using her for birthday cards too. And I love the colour combo of red, pink and pale blue.

This was the Sugar Bowls sketch 39, and I used an old Elisabeth Bell image that had never seen any ink.
The sketch was by Lilian, and at first I really didn't like the sketch as there was little room left for adding any embellies, but once I'd finished the card I fell in love with Lils sketch which really makes the image the focal point. Clever Lils!

Another Simply Sassy called Bella Bunting. I love how my colouring came out on this one, and the gorgeous Websters Pages papers from my buddy Amanda.

I needed a wedding card and quickly! The only wedding image I possess is this LOTV stamp. Very quick and easy to colour and teamed with another of this years fave papers, Ella Blue.

"It's your Birthday, whether you like it or not!"
This was hubbys birthday card. I find making mens cards so difficult, but Phil loved my silly card.

Another Country Cousins image. This little girl is a really sweetie and I sent this Christmas card to a sweet friend in Norway.

My favourite stamp for Christmas 2009 and favourite papers too, so I dug them out and used them for the Sugar Nellie blog hop in September.

A much older stamp this time. One of the engineers who worked with us asked me to make a card for his Mums birthday. She loved it and he got extra brownie points.

Lastly, another Country Cousins image. I just love the sweet image and another set of my fave papers.
What I have learnt over the course of this year is that my cards are pretty simple and that's what I like doing best.
Now on to the bits of news: My Mum had a lovely Birthday. I sent a link to my blog to my Dad, and Mum read the comments. I did get a bit of a telling off for putting her photo on, but she was so grateful for all your good wishes and lovely comments. She said 'You do know some really lovely people', and I agree.

I have stepped down from my position on the Sugar Nellie DT, amid floods of tears! But things have been so busy here that my crafting time has been radically reduced to almost zero, and I don't have the time to make all the samples that I am supposed to make. The last thing I want to do is let Karen down after all that she has done for me, so I felt the only option was to leave. I will be forever grateful to you Karen for this wonderful opportunity and for all the fun I've had, and I know I will miss it.
I have stayed on at the Sugar Bowl (thank you Sugar Mama) but taken a little break. I'll be back again soon.
Lastly, I hope everyone has had a lovely Christmas and I hope Santa brought you lots of lovely goodies.

Thanks for looking and for any comments you may leave.
Love Elaine xxx

Happy Birthday Mum!

Christmas is nearly upon us but today I thought I'd post a photo of my Mum as it's her birthday.
It's such a good job that Mum doesn't read my blog or else I'd be getting a telling off! She will not be at all pleased that I've popped a picture on for all to see ha!

Now a lady never likes to have her age revealed so I've been a good and dutiful daughter and NOT told anyone that it's her 79th Birthday. Darn it, that just slipped out!
Happy Birthday Mum, hope you have a lovely day.

I would also like to wish all my lovely blogging buddies a very Merry Christmas. Whatever you are wishing for I hope that Santa brings it for you.
Take care and wrap up warm.
Love Elaine xx

OH NO! It's nearly Christmas.......

How did that happen? I really don't know how Christmas has managed to creep up on me so quickly this year. I am usually quite organised but somethings gone terribly wrong. This time last week I hadn't bought a single gift but I've managed to get some shopping done now. I still have gifts to buy yet so I think I'm in for a busy week.
I hope the snow isn't too bad in your part of the world. We had another drop of the white stuff on Friday but nothing like the amounts in Scotland and Ireland.

I thought I'd better post something in case everyone thought I'd gone into hibernation for the winter. I wish!
I've not had the time nor energy to venture into my craft room for the past fortnight so in the absence of anything new to post I thought I'd show the card I made way back in September. It's a VERY simple card, no colouring at all and not what I would normally make. I made it to give to my hubby last Wednesday. It was the anniversary of when we first met, 20 years ago. Oh my goodness, that makes me feel so old!

Yep, very simples. The words are from Paper Makeup, and the DP is Memory Box and that's it!

My little Christmas candy's have now all finished. One lady has mentioned that she thought she had seen a photo of kit 2 when I first wrote about the candy's?
Yes indeed, I did have kit 2 earmarked for a candy but time is passing so quickly, so after the winner for No4 candy was picked I parcelled up the remaining hAnglar kit 2 and sent it off into blogland. I hope it will be a nice surprise for someone when they receive the parcel.
Thanks for looking and for any comments you may leave.
Love Elaine xx

hAnglar and stAnglar Christmas Candy Number 4 WINNER

Oooo I'm running late again today, so apologies for the delay in announcing the winner of the Christmas candy number 4. Without any further delay........

......Many congratulations go to Erika (Snappycrafts) if you can please EMAIL ME with your full postal address and I'll get these little babies in the post to you. Mind you, I think I'll put some snow boots and thick winter coats on them first! The weather up in Scotland has been really dreadful and I don't know if it's improved any?
A big 'Thank you' to everyone who took the time to enter.
Love Elaine xx

hAnglar and stAnglar Christmas Candy Number 4

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Ok, so as promised I'm back with candy number 4. I believe this kit was marketed as Christmas stamps, but I don't think the girl and boy are particularly Christmassy and since they are holding a heart I would use them for anything vaguely romantic eg Valentines day, anniversary, just to say I love you etc.

                                                            Kit 18

There is only one rule in order to enter the candy, you must be a follower.
You can post my candy on your blog if you so wish, but it's not a requirement in order to enter. I know some peeps don't like to fill their sidebars up with candy.
Candy is open worldwide, I will mark as a gift but I am not liable for any customs/duties that some countries impose.
To enter, please click on the blue froggy.
Thanks for looking and good luck!
Love Elaine xx

hAnglar and stAnglar Christmas Candy Number 3 WINNER

Before I get back to the doing the jobs I'm supposed to be doing (cleaning) I thought I'd get the winner drawn for the Christmas candy number 3. So without any further waffling.........

........Many congratulations go to Yvonne (Yvonne's card corner). If you can please EMAIL ME with your full postal address and I'll get these little babies shipped to you.
I'm not exactly sure where Yvonne lives, is it the Netherlands? It would be nice if I'm right, then one set has gone to the USA, one has stayed in the UK and one to the Netherlands. I wonder where the 4th set will end up?
I'll be back again tomorrow with the 4th Christmas candy - I dare not post three times in one day, people will be fainting from the shock!
Thank you to everyone who entered.
Love Elaine xx

Sugar Nellie Simply Sassy Blog Hop.

A big welcome to my contribution for the Sugar Nellie Simply Sassy blog hop.
I LOVE blog hops! They are one of my favourite ways to while away a little time and garner some inspiration.
"If you never did, you should. These hops are fun and fun is good!"  I love Dr Seuss too.

So I hope you've all grabbed a cuppa and snuggled down ready for some fun.
You should have arrived here from the gorgeous delights on Judy's Blog to be on the right track, but if not - or if you get a little lost along the way - then please head on over to the Sugar Nellie Blog where Karen will have a list of all the DT members and the order they go in.
I absolutely ADORE all the Sassy stamps and I can never wait to see what the next release will bring. They are just so beautiful and very sassy and set 3 is no exception. And there's......BOYS in this one too!
These stamps are being sold in sets of 2, one girl and one boy in each, for a very sweet price.

For my card I've used Number 1 fan stamp and Fit and Flirty, available to buy HERE. See, I told you they are fabulous! As always they've been coloured with DI's. The DP's are a very old set of Cloud 9 called baby boy and the sentiment is from Paper Makeup.
Because I've not been very well for the last few weeks I hadn't joined in with the current Sugar Bowl Challenge and it is such a lovely sketch so I used it for this card instead.

I hope you've enjoyed your visit today and the next step is to hop on over to Donalda's Blog where there will be another fabulous feast for your eyes.
Now I'm going to grab myself a cuppa, snuggle down in bed for an extra hour and go and follow the hop myself.
Thanks for looking and for any comments you may leave.
Have a great weekend, love Elaine xx

hAnglar and stAnglar Christmas Candy Number 3

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Ok, so I'm back with candy number 3.
For no particular reason whatsoever, the next candy is.......

                                        

                                                                        Kit 14

There's a couple of sentiments in this kit that hAnglar didn't show on the picture, I think they are 'Skateboard' and 'Hiphop'.
In order to enter you must be a follower, the only exception is for my regular non blogging buddies - yep Sandra, that's you again, and my regular emailers - yep Pamela that's you!
You can post my candy on your blog if you so wish, but it's not a requirement in order to enter. I know some peeps don't like to fill their sidebars up with candy.
Candy is open worldwide, I will mark as a gift but I am not liable for any customs/duties that some countries impose.
To enter, please click on the blue froggy.
Thanks for looking and good luck!
Love Elaine xx

You really don't want to miss.....

...this! Over on the Sugar Nellie blog Karen will soon be holding a competition. The prize is a Spellbinder Grand Caliber and a position on the Simply Sassy DT. Go and take a look  HERE and keep your eyes peeled for the competition rules of entry, after all who wouldn't want a prize like that! I know I certainly would but apparently I'm NOT allowed to enter - humph! I'm a-sulking now!

Also, on Saturday 4th December starting at 9am UK time, the Sugar Nellie DT will be having a blog hop.
I love blog hops, they're such a fun way to while away a little time. The hop is to showcase the Simply Sassy set 3 stamps so I hope you'll stop by and join in the fun. These stamps are amazing and I know you're going to love them as much as I do.

Another card I made a while ago and haven't posted duh!

This stamp is called 'Circle of Love' and available to buy HERE. This is such a cute image and can easily be used for a baby girl or boy. Donalda made a gorgeous birthday card for a boy with this image which you can see HERE. Papers are Memory Box, I love these papers but they look so wishy washy in the photo, much nicer in real life.

I'm still full of this blasted cold! I feel like it's never going to end, it's been almost 4 weeks now, and if anyone else says 'pig-flu' to me then I shall be forced to grunt and squeal at them!
Thanks for looking and for any comments you may leave.
Love Elaine xx

hAnglar and stAnglar Christmas Candy Number 2 WINNER

Before I head on up to bed I thought I'd better post the winner of the Christmas candy Number 2, so without any further waffle....

.....Congratulations Carol (My little piece of heaven) if you can please EMAIL ME with your full postal address then I will get your stamps posted out to you on Monday.

Thank you to everybody who entered, I'll be back with the next candy over the weekend.

Apologies again for my absence, I just cannot get rid of this cold. I'm not as snotty but now I have a dreadful cough. If I'm no better by Monday then I shall have to bite the bullet and go visit the doctors!

Thanks again folks

Love Elaine xx

hAnglar and stAnglar Christmas Candy Number 2

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I've heard from Patty which kit she would like, and I must say that Patty has exceptionally good taste and has chosen kit number 7, the chubby fairies.
So I can now get the second candy posted here. I've chosen to put kit 17 on next, only because they are Christmas stamps and it is getting rather close to Christmas. With a bit of luck whoever wins them will get them in time to have a little play before the season is upon us.

As always, this is a brand new set of unmounted stamps.

In order to enter you must be a follower, the only exception is for my regular non blogging buddies - yep Sandra, that's you again, and my regular emailers - yep Pamela that's you!
You can post my candy on your blog if you so wish, but it's not a requirement in order to enter. I know some peeps don't like to fill their sidebars up with candy.
Candy is open worldwide, I will mark as a gift but I am not liable for any customs/duties that some countries impose.
To enter, please click on the blue froggy (if I have worked out how to do it!) I'm not sure how you can use the froggy if you don't have a blog. I read somewhere that you can still add your name, but leave your email address in place of your blog address? Please let me know if you have any problems at all.

Thanks for looking and good luck everyone.
Love Elaine xx

Sugar Nellie Country Cousins

I made this card a couple of weeks ago and I've only just realised that I haven't yet posted it on my blog.
It is of course a Sugar Nellie stamp, from the Home Grown Country Cousins range and she's available to buy HERE and she's called Outdoor Adventures.

She's coloured with the usual DI's, the papers are Dream Street, a Doo Hickey swirl and a couple of flowers.
Very simples.
I know this is very short by my usual standards but I'm off to bed now. I'm still full of this horrible snotty cold and I don't feel at all well. I think this blasted cold has got squatters rights!
Thanks for looking and for any comments you may leave.
Love Elaine xx

Sugar Bowl Challenge ~ 48

It's Thursday and time for the new Sugar Bowl Challenge. This sketch has been done by the gorgeous Sweetie Marlene. It's a beautiful sketch and I really haven't done it justice. The theme for this one is black, white and one other colour, so a nice and easy option too.

I've gone for the additional colour of mint green, but no matter how many photographs I took, and I took a lot of them, the papers still look blue and really washed out. I have to say that the card looks considerably better in real life. I don't know whether it's because by the time I get home from work I'm taking photos when it's dark? I also tried out a different range of inks, like the Tim Holtz re-inkers but a different manufacturer, and I found them much more difficult to blend.
Anyhow, this lovely image is from the Home Grown Country Cousins range and is called Going Places, available to buy HERE. DP is Memory box, punched flowers, a butterfly and a bit of cord.

I rotated the sketch as my image was vertical and not horizontal.

The prize for the winner of this challenge is a set of Spellbinders classic scalloped Square Nesties AND a sheet of Leanne Ellis 'Alice in Wonderland' stamps. These are as yet unreleased!!!
All the details can be found on the Sugar Bowl Blog and there's always lots of inspiration to be found on all the other Sweeties blogs.

Thank you for all your advice with the linky thing, it's much appreciated. I'll try and get the next candy on tonight if I've time, but failing that it will be the weekend as I'm out all day tomorrow.
Thanks for looking and for any comments you may leave.
Love Elaine xx

hAnglar and stAnglar Christmas Candy Number 1 WINNER!

Apologies for the delay. My boy, the candy picker, refused to do his job until he had been fed! Anyone with a hungry teenager and particularly a boy will understand and sympathise with me!
All names were written on papers, folded, placed in a jar which the boy then shook vigorously whilst dancing strangely around the room and.......

...yes I know the photo's blurred, but to re-take it means doing it again which to me defeats the object of me showing you the draw as it happens.. And it looks like the first winners prize will be travelling Stateside......

.......Congratulations Patty, no need to ask you if you like them, yes I do read the comments everyone kindly leaves for me. If you could please let me know which set you would like and just for your information, kit 14 has some sentiment stamps in that hAnglar didn't show in their picture, I think they are 'skateboard' and 'hiphop'  and kit 17 has a snowflake stamp in that also wasn't in the photo.
I'm so pleased for you Patty, but I would've been happy whoever won, you are all lovely ladies and I truly appreciate you.
I am also truly sorry to the people who didn't like the way I did this first candy. I was NOT trying to be sneaky, I was giving first choice to the more regular commenter's but that does not mean that I don't appreciate all my visitors. One point made was "If I'd have known before that you would pick a winner from a particular post then I would've left a comment"...... well yes, you and a 100 others. Sorry if I've pi**ed anyone off!

The remainder of the candy's.....my intention was to post one kit a week over 3 weeks so that everyone who wishes to enter has at least 3 chances of winning, and they will be open worldwide to any of my followers (and also the regulars who don't have a blog). Please drop me a line if you object!
I need to find out which kit Patty wants before I can put the next one on, I also need to find out how to put a Mr Linky/froggy thingy on. I've never done it before but I guess I need to try it out sometime?

So before I leave you all in peace I just want to let you know that one of my blogging buddies Sarah has some gorgeous candy up for grabs right now. Sarah will soon be celebrating her first year living in blogland. Sarah is a real sweetheart and she makes the most beautiful cards. You can find all the details HERE so bob over and get your entry in.

I'll be back soon with the 2nd candy, thanks for looking and just for being there.
Love Elaine xx

hAnglar and stAnglar Christmas Candy Number 1

Sorry to be a pest and post twice on one day but this is just a little add-on to the post below.
Since the other kit hasn't turned up and I really wanted to offer a reasonable choice, I have another alternative.
If you're a regular reader you will know that I don't really like hAnglar stamps that much except for the 'Chubby Baby Fairies' as I call them.
So when I saw the kit on Ebay I had to buy it and actually keep this kit myself. Unbeknown to me at the time, St. Phil had bought me a kit too. So Phil has a spare kit.
He's working away this week up in Edinburgh, I so wish I could've gone with him, I love Edinburgh! I needed to ask him first if I could nick his kit and add it onto my candy.
So.....
                                                  Kit 7

.... this is also up as a prize.
For full details please see the post below.
Thanks for looking.
Love Elaine xx

hAnglar and stAnglar Christmas Candy No1.

Hmmmmm....anybody out there like hAnglar rubber stamps? Anyone fancy a peak at my Christmas blog candy? It's taken a while to work out how to do this candy. Hubby made an excellent suggestion, but when I really thought about it, it would've been a lot of work for me and at this time of year I really don't have much time to spare. I want to start the candy early so that whoever gets picked as winners will have their prizes before the mad Christmas rush starts.
Also, I've been hanging on as there should be 4 kits but the last one hasn't turned up, it appears to have gone missing in the post which is a bit of a bu**er as hAnglar won't replace them if lost in the post.
If it turns up in the meantime I'll add the photo and the kit into the candy.

Kit 14

Kit 17

Kit 18

So, this will be run in stages and here is the first one:

For this first part, the name picked out of the hat can choose whichever ONE of the above sets they would like to receive as their prize but before I get down to how to enter I want to say:

Starting my blog has been an amazing experience, I've met so many lovely people - bloggers and non-bloggers alike - and made so many new friends. In such a short time I've been asked to be a  Sugar Bowl Sweetie - Thank you Gayle for having faith in me and seeing something I surely couldn't see - and the honour of a position on the Sugar Nellie DT - Thank you too Karen, the honour is all mine. It was Sugar Nellie that set me off on the road to rubber addiction! (Though I don't think my hubby or my bank thank you much!)

Candy is my way of saying Thank You.

Thank you to the followers and the non-followers, those who leave comments and those who lurk!

Particularly those who leave comments when I don't always have the time to return the gesture.

So the first draw is now closed as the winner will be picked only from all the names who have already commented on my last post - Fairytale - I hope you like hAnglars but if you get picked and don't like hAnglars then please let me know! 

Just because I'm a witch and a tease, I'll be back tomorrow with the winners name and details of how to enter the other candy's.

Apologies too for my absence over the weekend, I'm full of a snotty cold and feel like poo!

Thanks for looking.

Love Elaine xx

Simply Sassy Fairytale

Oh I do so love these Simply Sassy stamps - even though they do have a lot of hair! I know they're going to be available to buy very soon from Funky Kits and I'm quite sure that Karen will be offering a sweet deal on these.
This one is called Fairytale...

Ain't she sweet? I followed an old Sugar Bowl sketch, as I quite often do. This was sketch number 39 from Lilian and I love this sketch. It really makes the image the focal point and requires little else in my opinion.
I tried to colour her in more delicate shades to go with the pastel papers. DP's are another set of Dream Street Papers from Jill at The Hobby House. 


Blimey, hasn't the weather turned cold? Today I have been chilled to the bone!
The building my office is in is an old church, and I'm upstairs at the side of what was the chapel, so it's a cold building anyway, but I love my little office, there's only me works in there and the temperature is hot, hot, hot! Someone says my office is the temperature of Barbados, and that's the way I like it. But not today.
(For those who don't know, modern aircon heats as well as cools, except in my office where I only ever have it on heat)
Today the aircon wouldn't work and it was freezing cold. I only took my coat off to put on a cardigan and a body warmer then put my coat back on top! Anyone know any good aircon engineers? Cos the sods I work for wouldn't come in and sort it out! So I've told them that tomorrow I shall bring in a flask...of hot gluhwein and Amaretto, I might not get much work done but I'll be warm (and happy). Well, 'tis the season for it...almost!

Hope you're all warm and happy wherever you are!
Thanks for looking and for any comments you may leave.
Love Elaine xx

An award

I've got a lovely award off two of my lovely blogging buddies, Patty and Christine. Thank you ladies for thinking of me!

This is an award I've not seen before and it comes with a $5 gift certificate to spend at Digi's With Attitude store. Firstly I have to tell you 3 unknown facts about me/things that make me different from others.
Gosh this was hard!
1. I'm a very tidy crafter (unlike most of you! Don't deny it, I've seen your WOYWW photos!) In fact, I'm very tidy full stop. My mottos are : There's a place for everything and everything in it's place AND cleanliness is next to Godliness. If that last bit was true then I would be up there with Saint Phil!
I tidy up every day when I get home from work, I hoover up, load the washer and do the ironing.
If only I was a little less anally retentive about housework I would maybe spend more time crafting!

2. Although I often come across as being self assured and confident, I am actually rather shy until I get to know people. And if there's any trouble I'm the one looking guilty even though I've done nothing! You can ask my darling hubby about that. Who gets stopped and searched every single time we go through passport control.....me!

3. It would seem I plod through life slowly and steadily. But I'm really a duck! Whilst I'm calmly glided along seemingly effortlessly below the water my feet are going like the clappers! Deep down inside I'm never really quite sure what I'm doing and if I'm doing it right!

Next I have to pass this on to 5 other bloggers.

Lorraine

Sian

SusieLou

SuzieQ

Kerry

I'll be back hopefully this week with my Christmas candy, I know it's early but I'd really like to get it drawn and winnings sent out before the real Christmas postal rush starts.

Thanks for looking.
Love Elaine xx

Sugar Nellie Simply Sassy Candy Winner

Sorry for the lateness. My boy, who likes to pick the winners name out of a jar/bin/hat etc had been to a bonfire so I had to wait until he returned. Apologies also for the photos, it is rather late and dark!

So without further delay it goes like this.....

My boys hand getting ready to pick out a paper......

.....and the winner is:

Sarah said...

Hi Elaine, glad to hear that all is on the way to recovery with the p.c. Your cards with these Sassy chics on have really inspired me. You know I wasn't so sure of these at first but now just love them so to win your candy would be awesome. At least I can hold my hand up that I was wrong not to like them!!!! Hugs Sarah x

30 October 2010 21:20 

Congratulations Sarah, if you can EMAIL me with your address and I will pop in the post.

Thank you to everyone that entered, I will be doing one more candy this year, my Christmas candy. I hope you will like what I have picked for this candy, although they're not to my taste! So if you're a regular then you'll probably be able to guess what it's going to be.

Thanks again everyone.

Love Elaine xx

Sugar Nellie Simply Sassy Candy

Candy Now Closed .
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It's almost Halloween and everybody lurves a little candy. What could be better than Scotland's finest sugar free candy in the form of Sugar Nellie's Simply Sassy stamps.

I so love these images and they have quickly become my favourite range of stamps. They colour so beautifully and I've had such fun playing with them. They have also cured my hair phobia!

As I said earlier, my photos are all on Phil's hard drive, but I'm quite sure that the next set of Sassy stamps will be being previewed shortly, so I thought I'd better get my candy posted now.

Since I can't get at my photos yet, here are the samples I made with the stamps. I hope you are all suitably impressed with me because I realised I can upload photos off my blog! I've only just found that out. I know, I know, everyone else has probably known that fact for ages.

You will of course get brand spanking new and unmounted stamps, not the ones I've used here.

Rules of entry:

In order to enter you must be a follower, but you can still enter if you don't have a blog but leave comments.

*That's you Sandra* hahahaha!

To enter please leave a comment on this post.

I will post worldwide, but please note that I am not responsible for any customs/duties that some countries charge. I will mark the parcel as a gift.

Candy will close on Saturday 6th November at 9pm GMT.

Thanks for looking

Love Elaine xx

Sugar Nellie Simply Sassy Set 2

I've been playing with the delicious 2nd release of Simply Sassy stamps, and now Karen has shown them on the Sugar Nellie blog I can post them here.

First off is.......

...this little beauty Bella Bunting, available to pre-order very soon from Funky Kits. I just had to colour this sweetie up first as she SO reminds me of my niece Rhi. It's that smirk on her face!

She's coloured with DI's, and the beautiful papers are Websters Pages from my lovely buddy Amanda over in the good 'ole US of A. *Thank you Amanda, I love them*. Another simple card, a few pearls, a flower and a Doo Hickey swirl.

Then I've got.....

..... Luv a latte. I LOVE this image too! I used the gorgeous Ella Blue papers but they always look so wishywashy in my photos. They are so beautiful in real life. I followed the sketch from Friday sketchers (I think!) but forgot to get it uploaded in time, ho hum. A few pearls and a little punched flower.

Thanks for looking and for any comments you may leave.

Love Elaine xx

Sugar Bowl Challenge ~ 47

The sketch for challenge 47 has been provided by the very Sweet Maria Therese, and it's another fabulous sketch. Nice 'n' easy, just the way I like them. The option, if you choose to follow it, being ribbon.

My card just didn't turn out the way I planned at all!

This sweet little girl is called Erin from the Home Grown range of stamps, available to purchase HERE.
For some reason she always makes me think of corn fields and harvest time, so I wanted to colour her in more autumnal colours. The DP I chose to use with Erin is from Dream Street Papers and the Sam range, which I bought at the last Harrogate show from the lovely Jill at The Hobby House. 
She's coloured with DI's as is the norm. The problem I had was I wanted to use a doily, but because the DP's are quite dark the doily stuck out like a sore thumb even though I did distress the edges.
So then I used a Marianne D's die to make the doily, I thought it was much better but it had a huge amount of bare space in the middle. Out came the felt and a button.
*Big waves to my lovely friend PATTY who sent me the biggest and loveliest bag of buttons you've ever seen, Thank you Patty*
So thinking of harvest time, I wanted a sentiment that said Thankful, or Give Thanks or something along those lines, which of course I haven't got. I couldn't knock one up on the computer as it wasn't working then, so I had to go with the Cherished Friend. Although it's not what I envisioned I do quite like this one.

The prize for one lucky winner is a Winter themed prize....a selection of 6 'Winter' Sugar Nellie stamps AND 
 a set of Snowflake Nesties. Amazing huh? Well you all know you've got to be in it to win it, so get your Sugar Nellies out and get creating!
All the details are on the Sugar Bowl Blog and don't forget to visit all the other Sweeties.

I was going to fill you in on the damage I've caused this week, but I think I've waffled on enough, I shall save that little treat for another day!

Thanks for looking and for any comments you may leave.
Love Elaine xx

Sweet As Candy

Well I'm back.....almost!
My laptop is alive and well. Saint Phil has loaded the majority of my files back on it, he still needs to load the software for the printers, Microsoft Word and I-Tunes needs loading as a matter of urgency! I use my I-pod on a daily basis, I'm always plugged into to it when I'm in my craft room. Singing merrily (badly) away at full volume.
The only problem I've found so far, is that I can't get on about half of the blogs I follow. I've always used Internet Explorer simply because it's what I'm used to but I think I need to change browser.
Oh My Oh My, you know what happened last time I pressed a button. So I thought I'd better post this first!

Although I made this card weeks ago I couldn't post it at the time because I'd followed a Sugar Bowl sketch, the current sketch to be exact. I'd made my card for the challenge and loved the sketch and so made another card with it, so I had to wait until the current sketch was posted. Then I'd had the problems with my laptop.

The image is from the Home Grown Country Cousins range and called 'Sweet as Candy' available to buy HERE, the gorgeous DP is from Norway and a gift from the lovely Maria Therese (who's blog I also cannot get on!) *Thank you Sweetie, I love these papers* She's coloured with DI's. A few pearls, a bit of twine and 2 snowflakes that were a gift last year from Katy which I've been hoarding ever since.

A little question: Does anyone know a good place to buy Distress Re-inkers cheaply in the UK? I've got all the ink pads, but I now need to buy the re-inkers. I've seen them at roughly £4 each, but I need all 36 of them.
Right, I'm going to get off and TRY to change my browser. Wish me luck!

Thanks for looking and for any comments you may leave.
Love Elaine xx

Saint Phil the Patient has Prevailed.....almost!

Thank you to all of you who asked if I'm still alive, or if there's a large "Elaine" size mound in the back garden. I'm still here and almost back in action.
My DH can have the patience of a saint. This trait is most evident when in the presence of small children and troublesome wives! This week has been a true test of his patience. The short version of the laptop story is that Phil ended up copying the files down to his hard drive and completely wiping all the data off my laptop.
At last my laptop is functioning and Phil just needs to re-load all the programmes and my files back onto it, which I hope he will do over the weekend.
Then I can get back to blogging and commenting and replying to all the emails sitting in my inbox!
I have still got my Simply Sassy candy to post, but the photos are......yes, on my laptop.
Thanks for looking and I'll be back with the candy.
Love Elaine xx

PEBCAK Fault

I'm frantically tapping away on hubby's work laptop whilst he's in the shower. Actually, he's probably trying to drown himself as I type! I thought I'd better explain my MIA status, and my total lack of blogging since last week.
My laptop is poorly. Very, very poorly. My husband is slowly losing patience with said laptop and wife!
"All I did".....that's how I started to explain to hubby what I'd done, he's rolling his eyes and praying for strength already, and I've not even got to the good bit! All I did was to click on the 'Download Now' button for the latest AVG anti-virus software. Now in my defense, I have done this before and it worked a treat. Not this time. My laptop is completely, utterly bug****d and won't do a blasted thing! This started on Friday night, so I've been 'puterless all weekend.
Saint Phil had to work over the weekend, then couldn't wait to come home to his adoring wife and her dead laptop. He's uninstalled AVG, tried re-installing, uninstalled, re-installed, you get the picture? He's restored the data to last Thursday before I even pressed that fatal button. He's restored to factory settings.
But the good news is we know what the fault is. Apparently it's fault code PEBCAK.
So if you're as dumb as me, which I seriously doubt that anyone could be, that means Problem Exists Between Chair And Keyboard, that would be me then huh?

There's been a lot of sighing, a fair bit of swearing, and a "If you touch one more bl***y button without my express written permission, I shall chop your chubby fingers off !" Charming, but in this instance justified.

The biggest problem I have is that all my photos and such are on......yep, my laptop.
Note to self : Remember to back up laptop to external hard drive. That is, after all, the reason you have one!

Saint Phil is working relentlessly to try and rectify the problem and repair the havoc I've caused. I will be back as soon as is possible.
If I shouldn't come back, please can someone call around to my house and check that Saint Phil hasn't buried me in the back garden?

My little blog will be 6 months old tomorrow, and I was thinking how I was starting to really get into the swing of things and feeling relatively confident HA! Serves me right I guess.
I'll be back.......

Love Elaine AKA The Technophobe and general trouble maker extraordinaire xx

Sugar Bowl Challenge ~ 46

The sketch for challenge 46 has been provided by the multi-talented Marlene and it's another fabulous sketch. The option, should you choose to follow it, is 'One for the Boys'.
Now I ALWAYS like to include the option.

So now you're thinking hmmmmm, it's a Christmas card, it's pink and sparkly, but is it 'One for the Boys'?
I can assure you it is! I've made this Christmas card for........my hairdresser Damian, and I can assure you that it's right up his street and he will love it! Maybe I'm pushing the boundaries here, but I do not like making men's/boys cards. I like pink and glitter and flowers!
This gorgeous image is from the Home Grown Country Cousins range and she's called Make a Wish, available to buy HERE. She's perfect not just for Christmas cards, I've got this little fairy earmarked for my nieces birthday too. DP's are Dream Street Wonderland, a Nellie Snellen punched flower, a few pearls and a charm. As always she's coloured with DI's.

Another fabulous prize is on offer for the lucky winner of this challenge, a set of Nestabilities dies and a pick 'n mix set of 6 Sugar Nellie stamps of the winners choosing.
All the details are available on the Sugar Bowl Blog, and please pop by the other sweeties blogs for some inspiration, and don't forget we have all the new Sweeties taking part now, I can't wait to see what they've all made!

Thanks for looking and for any comments you may leave.
Love Elaine xx

Sugar Nellie Latest Release.

Good morning everyone and welcome to a little fun blog hop that the lovely Dena asked me if I'd like to take part in along with some of the other Sugar Nellie DT ladies.
Sarah sadly couldn't join in the little hop as she'd been whisked away by her husband for the weekend. Hope you had a fantastic time away Sarah and were thoroughly spoiled xx

We are going to showcase some stamps from the latest release from Sugar Nellie.

This little beauty is Goosey Gander from the Country Cousins range of Home Grown stamps, available to buy HERE.  Another very simple card from me, seems to be what I enjoy making the most. DP is MME I Believe range and she's coloured with Distress Inks.
Have a little hop by the rest of the DT and check out what these extremely talented ladies have made with their Sugar Nellie images.

* DENA *

* DONALDA *

* JUDY *

Thanks for stopping by this morning, and for any comments you may leave.
Love Elaine xx