Shaped Card - Delicious Doodles Cutie Bear!

I needed a card for a little one and knew I wanted to do something with Teri's Baby Bear - so after a little fiddling around and Jin's wonderful tutorials.....here we are!  Really pleased with the way this one came out!  If you would like to have a play around why not pop over to Delicious Doodles and grab this little one - he works wonderfully!

Just a quick one from me today - gotta go and do the shopping (have just done the ironing!), then off down the dump (garden rubbish!) and then an afternoon doing lots of Valentine-type decorations!  

Hope you have a great day too!

Ruthiex

Not crafting - but you might want to read if you renew your breakdown cover with AA

Just thought I would post this quickly.  Have just saved myself over £100 in an 11 minute phonecall!  Ha ha - I sound like one of those dodgy salesmen!


Ok got renewal of AA breakdown cover through on Weds evening.  It was due for renewal yesterday!  So, they happily took the £163.54 out of my account yesterday.  Unfortunately I was working all day yesterday - and into the evening as I had to go and speak at a group...so had no time to check t'internet for deals etc.

Got on there a little while ago to find the same deal (with the AA!) for only £99.  Not very happy methinks!  So I go and check out Green Flag....same deal (no restriction on callouts per year that I could spot, so possibly better!) and its showing at £57.24. 

Went through the phone number on my renewal information and after traversing the various options a little voice came up and said they were dealing with a high number of emergency phonecalls and to call back later - it then cut me off!  So - back to the website and found another number.  Lovely lady answered and said she would transfer me internally - she came back and said they didnt pick up but she could deal with it for me.  SO - explained why I was cancelling and said that I knew it wasnt her that set the prices but that I was cancelling due to finding a cheaper price.  Lovely lady said that the web price was a slightly different package - ie they have fewer callout opportunities - I explained that I hadnt called them out in the last two years, so that didnt really help.  Nice lady appreciated what I said (we were both very civilised!) and said she would sort the cancellation but it would cost £20!  Apparently this was admin because I hadnt cancelled before the renewal date.  I explained re not getting letter until Weds and she checked and said they would refund me in full.

PLEASE if you are with any breakdown companies - check your renewal notice against the web price - the lady told me that she could match the deal on the web for me (but Green Flag was cheaper anyway). 

I get very cross about this sort of thing (same with car insurance etc) - if you stay with the same company you get a higher premium than people who switch each year.  Now how is that right?  Surely its about retaining customers not keep getting new ones.  Green Flag give a "no callout" discount - they will surely get more retention!  I get really fed up when I think of all the people who just renew - my dad always stuck with the same insurance company as they "knew him there"...never mind the fact that they were loading his premium so that they could discount new joiners! 

I just thought it was time to spread this gem of information and encourage people to move car insurance and breakdown cover annually if they want the best deal!  I have spent about 45 mins on this in total - thats from picking up the letter, googling alternatives, talking to nice lady, confirming new cover and paying and posting this blog. £106 for 45 mins "work" sounds good to me!

I hope this helps someone save some pennies - hmmmmm wonder if hobbycraft are still open...I mean, I've just come into some money!!!!

Rx

Quick Make the Cut File

A bit more playing with the ecraft again.  Very funny, designed it cut it, showed it off to my hubby "look look, I did it all myself" ---- hubby "Errmmm, are you meant to be showing that to me?"  Oh bum! 

I layered the inside with some of that thin, handmade papery stuff...will think of the name, any minute.....nope!! 

Oh well, thanks for popping over!

Rx

Ecraft and MTC

Oh wow - so pleased that craftwell have decided to let MTC and SCAL work with the ecraft!  Thanks guys! 

I am working through the tutorials on the yahoo group and thought I would post these two quickly!  If you would like the cutting files just leave me a message.   

The ones above are all different views of my LOVE cupcake wrapper!  Should actually have taken a photo of it with a cupcake in - but I didnt have one - so thought you could add your own flour, sugar and butter to the egg!

And the ones above were my Happy Birthday design.  I just love using MTC with the ecraft - its working really weel and really takes advantage of the mat-less cutting! 

As I said, if you want the MTC file then just leave me a message with your email - happy to share because so many have shared their designs with me!

Rx

Don't eat my chocolate!

Its my day to post over at Delicious Doodles today!  I am going to make a few bags for work friends etc to add a bit of choc for Easter - and this is one of them!

I used Teri's Voodoo lady and just thought she would be perfect for this!  I think Teri's "ladies" are just so gorgeous - stunning!  Why dont I look like this????

Have a great Sunday!  Enjoy whatever you get up to......and don't touch my chocolate!

Rx

Delicious Doodles and Smeared Ink are hopping together!

Wow - this is fun!  Some of the DT of Delicious Doodles and Smeared Ink DT are having a joint blog hop.  I am taking a week off from this one - the images are a little dark for my tastes - although, if you like vintage there are some great new images just released!

Anyway, I am now going to insert the blog hop code into this post and something will happen!!!!

Teri

Anita Marie

Pascale

Allison

Ildiko

Alex

Claire

Terra

Tori

Alison

Kelli

Black Dragon

Lady Brayton

Meredith

Kapree

Lisa
Jane

Oh my word - it did!!! All the links miraculously appeared in my post - how cool is that?

Go on then peeps - dont spend time reading this - hop hop hop!

Rx

Aud Sentiments - Valentines Quote

"Love is in the air, everywhere I look around!"

....now, who is gonna be singing that song all day?  Sorry!

Bet you can't even begin to imagine what the sentiment is for the challenge over at Aud Sentiments!  Oh, you can?  Ahhhhaaaaa, yep you are right - its a corny valentine's quote - the cornier the better! Not sure I quite nailed the corny! 

For this next challenge we are lucky enough to have Inktegrity as our sponsor. They are giving the winner a $10 Gift Certificate to use in their store. 

Here is a little bit about them...

"My name is Joni Wilson, I am the sole designer of Inktegrity's images. Inktegrity was started out of my love for card making; my designs are fun for all ages and can be resized to fit your crafting needs. All of my images are inspired by upcoming holidays, everyday life, and friends' requests. Please visit the store site at: Inktegrity and browse through the different categories. Happy crafting to you, thank you for creating with Inktegrity!"

The DT were given a few images to use, so I chose this cute cupid -  just keep laughing at his socks!

And, of course, I needed to put a bit of a quirky spin on that romantic quote!  

AND (yep another AND) I cant get these bloomin italics off again!

 

AND (!!!!) I just spotted the closing date for the challenge - 15th Feb, so you could (if you ran quickly) avoid posting your special person's card on your blog until the day and STILL get to join in the challenge!

Hope you have a great day and get the chance to join in the fun!

Rx

Gamer Card for a teen boy

This is one of those last minute cards you need!  I did this just before we were going to see the family of the birthday boy!  Hence, its quite plain - but actually, I think he preferred it like that!

Bit of a tale behind this one....you know when you put money in the envelope (to buy a game etc)...well, I was just sealing the one for his sister up (with cash) when I realised I hadn't put anything in his...and the envelope was already sealed....eeeeeek!  If it had just been me, I would have ripped open the envelope and then just used another one...but hubby offered to steam it open, over the kettle.  Off he went and did the deed.  Here's a question...what happens to home-made cards when you expose them to steam?.....Yep - the paper curls and the glue comes unstuck!  EEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkk!  

Amazingly, I did salvage it....but let my mistake be your lesson....just use a new envelope!

Thanks for popping by today

Rx

Recycled Woven Box

I thought I would have a little play around - and this is what I made!

I think there is a recycling challenge out there somewhere that I need to link this up to.....hmmmmm gotta go look!......AND Stacie pointed me in the direction of Allsorts who are having a recycle challenge (thanks hun!)...we needed to state what was recycled....ermmm - well, it was all made of recycled wrapping paper!  Its a woven box and you could use strips of newspaper, magazines, wrapping paper, junk mail etc to do it!

Rx

Delicious Doodles - sponsored by TLC!

oooo - well its not my normal week to do the DD challenge - but this one is sponsored by TLC  so I thought I just had to jump in!  SO that means we will be having TWO winners!

One prize will be the usual FIVE digi's from the Delicious Doodles Shop

And our other prize is

donated by the wonderful Paulette from TLC Creations

And so, our challenge for you this week is

"Spots or Stripes"

You can use either or both if you feel like it!


We were very lucky to be given a free choice to play with...so I thought I would try something a little different...and chose one of the houses!

This is the Valentine Cassa - I chose it because it had both stripes and spots....oh and because its very seasonal!  It comes as two separate images - just print and cut out.  Sooooooo easy to put together!

I left the bottom unsealed as I plan to put some Valentine candy in it - or something of the like!


So - thats it!  Have lots of fun - do take the time to check out the rest of the DT offerings - some real cuties there!

Thanks for popping by!

Rx

Get Well Soon - Delicious Doodles

I really quite like this Delicious Doodles image!  Yeah yeah, I know I am not into the dark and mysterious as much as the cute or quirky!  This one is just so beautifully drawn though, I couldnt resist it!

Delicious Doodles Challenge this week is to create a Get Well or Cheer Up card - inside the sentiment reads "Get Well Soon --- or else!" 

There are some lovely projects over at Delicious Doodles this week so why dont you pop over, take a peek and then make one yourself!

Rx

Bugaboo Birthday - Anything Goes

We did a recycling workshop at work the other day....lots of crafty makes, from recycled paper etc.  One of the things we got shown was how to make a gift bag....it never occurred to me that you didnt need to measure and cut etc - yep, ok!  Its really a wonder I survive!

 Ermmmmm, well, I didnt actually recycle any paper as such....errmmmm the handle was made from a pipecleaner.  Hmmmmm maybe havent quite got the recycling bit sorted....but it does look kinda cute!

This is for the "Anything Goes" challenge for Bugaboo's Birthday celebrations.  Phew, final one of the week.  Its been an absolute blast!

Good luck to everyone else who is entering *she says through gritted teeth*.....why not pop over there and join in the fun!

Rx

Aud Sentiments - Love

I'm LATE!  Well not technically, but later than I normally am!  Today's challenge over at Aud Sentiments is LOVE!  Ooooo think this is going to be popular!


We are so lucky to have Squigglefly  sponsoring the challenge. 
They are giving the winner 3 digital stamps of their choose!


Here is a little bit about them...
"Squigglefly is a digital stamp company that offers quality digital images for the card maker and scrapbooker. There are many artists who design for Squigglefly so the images are very varied in style. The great thing about this is that there is sure to be something there for everyone! Squigglefly has a rewards program that once you sign up for lets you earn a free image for every $15.00 you spend. Another great thing about Squigglefly is that your download links never expire, so if your computer crashes and you lose your images, you can get them back by simply downloading them again! Browse through their Idea Gallery if you're stuck for ideas - there are thousands of cards that will inspire your creativity!"

 WHY CANT I GET THESE ITALICS OFF????? ...ok Ruth, smile and carry on!  The DT were all given images to work with - love this!  This is EXTREMELY pink and cutsie - but I did it!  Oh, gotta add that I cut the butterfly using my ecraft!  Love that machine!


Hmmmmm - can you tell I am rushing this post in my lunch time?  OK - think I should leave, tell you all to take a peek at the other DT stuff and suggest you join in...gonna go drink my horlicks (yes at lunchtime - why not?)


Rx

Bugaboo Birthday!

The challenge today is Birthday!  I wasn't too sure what to do, but was fiddling with a new box design and realised it looked like a vase.  So my mind went ... box.....Hmmmmm VASE.......flowers......birthday?......vase, flowers....BIRTHDAY!

Well, I give flowers for birthdays!  The flowers are from a bugaboo image, the "stems" are kebab sticks painted shimmery green.

Why don't you pop on over to Bugaboo and play along?

Rx

Bugaboo Birthday - Blinged up clown!

Yeah yeah, I got it wrong!  Not completely unheard of (by any means lol).  OK - so today was meant to be using a freebie image and adding lots of bling!  Well, I got there!

Hee hee - just knew these feathers would come in handy ONE DAY!  I had to get Josh to hold the card so that I could get the light to shine off the bling!  And, yes, if you look behind the card, to the right, you will see a smear of tomato sauce - the remains of our meatballs that I made tonight!

Phew, best go and link this up over at the challenge - why not go and check it out?

Rx

Bugaboo Birthday Sketch

OK - you know my feelings about sketches by now!  Not good at them at all!  Too many pieces, not enough space etc etc.

I am determined to play along for the whole week at Bugaboo and Tuesday is sketch day!  Eeeeeek!

But, I made it!  Phew!  I think I just need to do more of them and then maybe, just maybe, I might get used to the idea!

And a closeup of the image.  Can't believe that I have not used this one yet!  It just seemed perfect for the sketch though.


Thanks for popping by today!

Rx

Bugaboo Birthday - Blue and White!

All this week is Bugaboo's Birthday!  Besides the blog hop and the main challenge, they are doing individual challenges for 5 days, but the good thing is that they have given us all the list upfront, so people can work ahead if they choose to.

Today's challenge is to only use blue and white.  I have used Dotty and her cupcake!

Back tomorrow with the next one (if I get it done in time!)

Thanks for popping over today!

Rx

Delicious Doodles - dragon and fairy image!

 Isn't this image just divine?  Love it!  Teri really does dark, mysterious and fantasy very well....but I am not all that good at that style of crafting (but lots of the other dt members are fabby at it - as is Teri!)...so I just thought I would make this cutsie and pretty!

The heart was just cut out of a scrap of paper and glossy accented!  And so much glitter!

Don't forget there is a challenge on this week over on the challenge blog - its to use just 3 colours.... for a moment then I thought I had qualified - red, pink and purple...then I remembered the dragon's green eye!  DOH!

Have a great Sunday and I hope you get time to craft!

Ruthie

Happy Birthday Bugaboo!

I can't believe it, but yes Bugaboo are a year old.  It surprises me because I thought they had been going far longer - they seem to have the air of a much more established company.

Anyway, you know I love their images, so here is my
birthday card for one of my team at work!








Just gotta love that sentiment!  Anyway, link to the bloghop is over
on the sidebar - go have fun!  There is some fabby inspiration!

Rx

Ella's "More is More" card!

Ella is a friend of mine from work...her saying is "More is More" - love that!  So here is her "More is More Birthday Card"....actually, think I could have done MORE!
I cut the butterflies and letters out using my ecraft machine.  It was so quick and easy.

 

 Sorry for the multiple pics but it was so hard to get a good one!

Thanks for calling in - did you notice?  I ironed!

Rx

Frankie's Dream Girl

 Quick card for Josh's friend.  Used this image before, but it just seems so useful for young boys who like gaming...oh, you know what I mean, behave!

 

Have a great evening/night/day tomorrow!

Rx

More DT members at Aud Sentiments

Wow - the DT call over at Aud Sentiments went so well that we ended up with 5 new members instead of 3!

And here they are....

Kim from Kym's Crafty Cards
Paul from Crafty Blogocks
Tammy from Create When I Can
Amy from Amy's Paper Addiction
Denise from I Ink I Can

If you get the chance, why not stop by and check out their blogs - they are so cool!  Cant wait to work with them!

Rx

Delicious Doodles - Something New!

Over at Delicious Doodles, to celebrate the New Year, the challenge is to "something new" - either to try a new technique or use something new!

Oh I did find this hard!  And I went and did something I should never do....I looked at what my other teamies had made.....bad idea!  There are some seriously fabby things over there...which, of course, made me panic!

 I had in mind that I would like to make a set - of some shape or form!  So, in my usual organised way, I chose an image, printed it out in a couple of different sizes and then....stared at it!

 Then I remembered a technique I wanted to try - embossing (yes I know I have done this before) but then using pigment mineral thingies over the top - to make it sheeny shiny!

This is the notepad and pen set. 

The inside of the notepad and pen set - and a little box - the flower has a centre which says "my favourite things" - same on the notepad.  

 And that little lot, with the card - which I didnt take a close-up of but is in the top picture on the right - left me with one image!  Well, waste not want not...I made a little bookmark to complete the set.

This is a closeup of the strip - shiny.

Please do pop over to Delicious Doodles and join in our challenge - you can win some rather nice images!

Thanks for popping over today!

Rx

PS!  Have also entered these in the following challenges who all have either anything goes, something new or 3d gifts!

 http://crazychallenge.blogspot.com/
Craft your passion
Kaboodle Doodles
Creative Card Crew
Fab 'n' funky
Simon Says Stamp
Fussy and Fancy

Aud Sentiments - Two Words!

I think you are really going to enjoy the challenge at Aud Sentiments this time round!  The challenge is to use just two words in your sentiment!  I loved this challenge (can never have enough Get Well cards, especially with this flu stuff!)

 Robyn's Fetish  really kindly offered sponsorship again - they are really great at supporting challenges - thanks so much!   They are giving the winner 5 Robyn's Fetish digital products - the DT also got the chance to play with their images and some of their papers - I already like the images, but the papers were fabby!

Here is a little bit about them...
"Robyn's Fetish Digital Stamps And More is proud to sponsor this challenge. Robyn's Fetish Digital Stamps And More, a division of I Did It Creations, was created and is is owned by Robyn Weinrib. Robyn offers a wonderful variety of digital stamps and digital papers."

Thanks so much!







I really fancied doing a little set for this one! 













A little card....see that paper???  Love it - think I will be using that again!  And the sweet lickle fairy!  Its not clear in the piccies, but (as you would expect!) there is lots of glitter glue on this...her shoes, bow and star are glittered...and, of course, her wings!

 

I used Paul's treat holder design - it was super simple to follow his instructions!  Thanks Paul!















....inside!  Yummy!

Well, thanks for stopping by today!  Please pop over and see the rest of the samples by the DT and why not have a go yourselves...."thank you" - (see two words, get it?)

Rx

Delicious Doodles - fabby box - and a video!

I have no idea what you would call this box!  Its an all-in-one sort of affair!

 I have tried to show what it does in the photos!  .....and failed miserably!

 This is what happens to the top of the box as you lift the "lid"!  So the lift never really comes off, the aperture widens so that you can put things in and take things out of the box!















I got the pattern etc from Splitcoast Stampers!

But I thought that the best way to explain was to show it in action!  Excuse the sideways camera - but I didnt think I would get a retake out of my "demonstrator"!

Ruthiex