The Path to a Friend's house is never long

I'm sharing my creation today for this weeks challenge over at PolkaDoodles and I was pretty excited about this weeks challenge as I love anything pretty and girly. 

The challenge has been set by the very wonderful Daniele.

'Shabby chic/Vintage'

 I have used the newly released SugarPlum Daisy CD and I love everything on it from the sentiments to the  papers and wonderful selection of digis.

 I created the scene with the flower garden background, Toadstool, hedgehog and deer in Photoshop and then merged the layers together. The card base I created myself in my Silhouette studio and I will see if If I can upload it here to share.

I printed the sentiment on Kraft card stock and distressed the edges using Vintage photo.

Thank you for visiting and don't forget to check out the ladies projects they are all super ;)

The Cutting Cafe' blog hop and giveaway!

Welcome to The Cutting Cafe' Blog Hop. If you are just popping by and you would like to participate all you need to do is hop back to the beginning of the line. Here is a list of the Cafe' designers who are taking part.

Regina Easter
Iris Benkel-Sommer
Lori Warner
Paula Riley
Leah Schaeffer
Carolyn Wolff
Jessica Esch
Dawn Mercedes
Jeri Thomas
Lana Clarke - (Here)

Each designer has created a project with a file of their choice and the lucky winner will receive that set.

Here is my card and I have used the beautiful 'Fun with Dress Forms' set.

The cotton reel border was a freebie from the fabulous Mel Stampz and the scissors are also a freebie from the Graphics Fairy which can be found here. I'm trying to find where the background was from if it comes to me I will add ;)

Think of all the options you have with this very versatile and elegant set.

All you need to do is leave me a comment and I will pick out a winner on Sunday Evening ;)

Good Luck and don't forget to drop by all the designers and you might be lucky enough to win more than one set.

Hugs

So sorry for my absence but here's why.......

Since just before Christmas my middle son Harvey who is 6 started to wake during the night seeming very distresses and disorientated and his eyes very glazed with his arms and legs erratically moving. We assumed at first it was night terrors but after this happening for a couple of weeks we was getting very concerned. At the same time we noticed a decline in his school work with reading and writing he was having to go over and over the things he had already learnt. We mentioned it to school and they agreed they had also noticed the decline. They asked if they could allow the senco teacher to work with Harvey for a few days and we thought this would be a good help. 

In the mean time we took Harvey to the GP and he referred him to a Pediatrician immediately and got an appointment within that week. The pediatrician decided to send Harvey for an EEG the following day.

We were unsure what the EEG was really looking for and the clinical physician explained it was to check for Epilepsy.........well never for one minute did we assume it could be Epilepsy. The results would be ready in 3 weeks but during that time Harvey had a couple of really bad episodes lasting for 5 minutes.

I called the hospital and the results was faxed through to the Pediatrician straight away and I received a call to say they had found an abnormality on the EEG and they wanted to do another one this time a 24 hr one. Harvey had the EEG fitted on Tuesday afternoon and removed the following day. He was quite excited to show his friends his 'cool' wires which was good as the hospital wanted to monitor Harvey in an ordinary day. Here is my little chappy all wired up, 25 in total!

We had an appointment on Thursday with the Pediatrician and our worse fears were confirmed and Harvey has been diagnosed with Epilepsy. The results from the 1st EEG  are pointing toward Temporal Lobal Epilepsy but this is yet to be confirmed. We are now waiting for the results from the 24 hr EEG and he is being sent for an MRI. We have also been left with the decision whether or not to put him on Meds but after speaking to the pediatrician in more detail he strongly recommends we do. This has obviously pushed our final decision into deciding to go ahead and start the meds but it's such a hard one when it's your child and they are so young :( I'm hoping and praying that he won't suffer anymore seizures when he's on the meds but until the right dose is found it's a case of trial and error and finding the right dose to keep him seizure free. They have told us the side affects to expect which are tiredness, grumpiness, and vomiting....not good but anything is better than seeing him have a seizure. They may also help with his memory over a period of time which explains why he has been struggling at school. He has been having very brief seizures during the day for just a couple of seconds and then he is totally confused what he's been learning about.

As if this isn't bad enough our oldest son Owen was also diagnosed a few weeks back with being on the Autistic spectrum but a high Functioning child with Autism. He is such a character with a great sense of humour and a very big heart but when it comes to change he finds it really difficult.  

I know with the right guidance and support Owen will do well in life as when he puts his mind to anything he is interested in he really excels. 

If you could kindly keep me and my family in your thoughts and prayers it would be greatly appreciated ;)

Hugs

Happy Easter

Have a blessed and happy Easter Friends ;)

Free Hugs & Kisses

It's Inspiration time again over at The Cutting Cafe' and this week It's yet another groovy set you will adore.

I love the versatility of Fun with Jars and Jar shaped cards because you can create anything that takes your fancy ;)

  Usually I'm a big fan of shaped cards but I wanted to make my candy jar really pop with lot's of bright colour so I decided to paper piece and cut out the jar using my Silhouette instead.

I layered bright card onto a 6x4" base and finished it off with a nice big bright bow ;)

Thank you for dropping by

Polka Doodles Easter Blog Hop ;)

 Hi Guys and welcome to this weeks Polka Doodle Challenge.

This week its going to be a bit different - we still have our regular challenge but we also have a blog hop which is also part of the challenge!! And you know what that means - LOADS of candy!!

CHALLENGE STAGE 1: Now, we know not everyone like to do a hop for whatever reason, so we still have our normal challenge for the week which is EASTER themed - you must make a card or project which is Easter themed.

But that's not all...

CHALLENGE STAGE 2: Our second challenge is the blog hop - if you hop along with us this week you will find that the Easter Bunny has arrived early and left some hidden goodies on some of the Design Teams blogs - but you have to hop though the whole list to find who the Easter Bunny has visited!

Here is my Easter themed card I have made using the gorgeous  new 'Sugarplum Daisy' CD.

If you've never taken part in a blog hop before it's easy peasy...all you need to do is visit each blog in turn and for this hop each Polkadoodler will give you a LETTER (be careful - some of the Polkadoodlers may have more than one!) Now add all the letters together, unscramble them and leave a comment on the Polkadoodle Challenge Blog (comments will be moderated!) with what the word is. 

  If you have arrived at my blog from the lovely Daniele's  then you are on the right track! The letter you require from me is M - keep it safe and now jump to the lovely Ruth's. Good luck! If you get stuck, please go back to the Polkadoodle Challenge blog where you will find the full list of Polkadoodlers.

You will need to complete both the Easter themed challenge and the blog hop to be in with a chance of winning one of the fantastic prizes on offer! You need to go to the challenge blog to see what is on offer but it is fabulous! There will be one grand prize winner and two second place winners!

Good Luck ;)

I will also be entering my card into the following challenges:

4 Crafty Chicks -  Easter

Charisma Cards - Easter

Cute Card Thursday - Easter

Paperplay Challenges - Easter

Fab N Funky - Easter

Scrapbook Sisters - Easter

Crafty Sentiments - Easter
Try It On Tuesday - Easter

 

Happy Birthday Little Lady

Hello guys!

Sorry I've not posted for a few days but it was George's 1st birthday last Tuesday.....I really can't believe how fast the time has gone! We celebrated at the Weekend with a little tea party for family and he really enjoyed himself ;)

I will post some pics later.

Here is a simple but cute card I made using Cute Critters set from The Cutting Cafe'.

 

 I coloured the images in my Silhouette Studio, printed and then cut them out and attached them to kraft coloured card for a simple but cute card.

The sentiment is also part of the set.

Hugs

 

 

Flower Child Blog Hop

Welcome to the Sparkle N Sprinkle Flower Child Blog hop ;)

If you dropped by here from Charlene's blog then you are right on track.

If not and you want to be in with a chance of winning 5 Great Prizes then start back at the beginning here at the Sparkle N Sprinkle blog ;)

Here are my 2 cards which represent 'Flower Child' to me.

I decided to make a swing card for the one above as I think the sweet little Brooke bundle of joy is perfect for this. The frame is hearts circles nestabilities and the stamp is coloured using copics.

I just love the sweet little sentiment too.

 My second card uses the sweet little booties which I  embossed with 'Princess Rose' embossing powder and versamark ink pad. The frame is Lacey doily squares nestabilities. .

Thank you so much stopping by and now your next stop is is Karin's blog. To be eligible for the prizes don't forget to leave a comment on each blog on the hop.

There are 2 'grand' prizes and 3 'random' prizes attached to 3 of the blogs.

Thank you once again

Hugs

 

Happy Mothers Day!

Well I had a lovely relaxing day yesterday with my 4 favourite people in the world...hubby and my 3 boys ;)

I  had some lovely choccies and also a craft voucher which I'm hoping to buy the Crop-adile corner chomper.

After a delicious roast followed by sticky toffee pudding and cream we visited my Mum and then on to my Mil's.

Here is the card I made for my Mum and made it using my silhouette Cameo.

The paper is from a free set called Angel Mother by Summer Driggs and can be found here.

Thanks for visiting.

  

 

Buddies

Good Morning Bloggers,

I'm here this morning to share my card for this weeks Polka Doodles Challenge which is 

"Animal Or Bird'.

Here is my take which uses papers and images from one of the newly released CD's 'Pretty Tuff'.

I used Labels 1 Grand Nestabilities for the shape of the card and used ready coloured digis which are great for a quick card.

This week Nikky is offering 3 copies of the brand new 'Candy Doodles' and also be sure to check out Enfy's blog as she is also giving away a copy too ;)

Thanks for dropping by

 

 

Easter Bunny Treat Box using Silhouette Cameo

Can you believe the Easter Bunny is only 3.5 weeks away? 

I couldn't believe it when I realised so when Regina asked the team to make something using the adorable new Easter sets from The Cutting Cafe' I decided to make George a little basket ready for his egg ;)

This little treat box is ideal to put your own special treats inside for that special someone. I used the silhouette with the fabulous print and cut again......did I mention I lurve this feature? lol

Here is another view of the box to give you a better idea of the size it's just prefect for a medium sized egg.

I used my Martha Stewart doily punch to make the handle but you do get one with the set.

You can find this treat box and many more fab cut files at The Cutting Cafe'.

Thank you for visiting

Hugs

 

Just Clowning Around

Just look at the huge smile on this little guys face you just can't help but smile yourself :) I adore this super happy and fun set from Sparkle N Sprinkle called 'Clowns'. I believe this set is also on offer right now :)

I wanted to make this card as colourful and bright as possible. I made the little banners using the Pennants nestabilities dies out of patterned paper and stuck them to the ric rac.

The sentiment is also part of the set. I added some glitter called Laser Blue also from Sparkle N Sprinkle.

Hugs

So Lucky to have a friend like you - Silhouette Cameo

Hello ;)

Today I would like to share another card I have made using my silhouette cameo...(I'm in love) with this machine!

The cut file can be purchased from The Cutting Cafe' and can be found here.

For the top layer (spotty pattern) I opened it up in the silhouette software, highlighted the shape and filled it with a pattern a feature I love. I have imported all my digital papers into the software studio so I can choose the perfect match for my image ;)

I then did a print and cut again another top feature for me as it saves me so much time cutting around intricate shapes.

The rainbow was found from google images (free clipart) and layered on the top layer.

I will be back later with more projects

Thank you for visiting

Hugs

 

 

1st Birthday card & 1st Silhouette Cameo project

Hello guys,

Hope you are having a lovely lazy Sunday and/or doing something you enjoy ;)

I have been spending time getting to know my latest purchase the Silhouette Cameo! After a long hard think I decided my beloved Pazzle was being neglected  largely due to the fact that it was too much hassle to set up and run on my Mac. One big downside for me was that even though I loved everything about the capabilities of the Pazzle one thing they didn't get right was not making the software Mac compatible.

Of course you could run boot camp  I used VM fusion but I found every time I opened it up it would freeze.

Anyway I now have the silhouette and even though it can't cut as many materials as the pazzle it does have an optical eye for print and cutting, it's Mac compatible and it can now take a 12 x 24" mat. I also read somewhere that a new blade is in the making enabling the cameo to cut thicker materials ;)

Here is my 1st card using the silhouette and a new cutting file from The Cutting Cafe' - 0 - 9 shaped card sets and templates.

I made this for my friend's baby girl who turned 1 on Saturday. The file was an SVG which I can use in my silhouette software as I upgraded to the Designer Edition.

The image was free clipart which I found on Google images and and the silhouette did a print and cut perfectly. I chose to have the larger white border around the image but you can have as little or as much as you like another great feature.

I will be back with more projects to share soon 

Hugs

 

Happy Birthday Koala

Hello Friends,

Thank you for stopping by for a visit ;)

Today I'm sharing a card I made for Sparkle N Sprinkle and I have used Birthday Cassie.

You can also purchase the full set available here called Cassie's Adventures.

I coloured him with copics and then added some green flock for the grass which can also be purchased here.

The window was cut using Rectangle nesties and the Happy Birthday embossing was made using a cuttlebug embossing folder. 

Hugs