Re-draw for the Clarity stamp!

Yep, the winner didnt come forward so I have to pick another!

Drumroll.

.........

......

New winner is....

Jacqui B

Get in touch Jacqui!

I will let you know about this weeks giveaway in the morning (Wednesday).

I still have goodies to post out, I havent forgotten you I promise.

A Heartfelt Cardinal

Happy Tuesday! - well its one day closer to the weekend than Monday...

More prep for me today, I have 2 all-day Clarity workshops this week and a couple of Creative Expressions shows on Create & Craft on Friday.  Things are not as crazy this week so Im a bit more on the ball!

Im trying to mix up what I show you at the moment, there are tons of cards yet to be seen.

This one is using the Cardinal Family stamp set & Cutting dies from Heartfelt Creations-part of the Spellbinder possie no less!

The mottled background was created using distress ink and Cosmic Shimmer paints-not just for painting you know..

I also used the Ornate Window die also from HC.  I turned the autumn leaves around back to front for a different embossing look.

Roses are made from Vintage ribbon and then edged with Cosmic Shimmer paint.

The Cardinal is embossed with Black Cosmic Shimmer powder & coloured with Bleach, in a ventilated room.

Some tuille, pins, twine, a dotty mask & plenty of pearly dots!

Hope you like him!

 

Its JustRite in Paris!

Hello folks!

Todays card is an 8x8 using the Greetings from Paris & Shabby Chic labels Justrite Stamp sets & Spellbinders Labels 4. I had to sneak in the Moroccan Spellbinder set too...
All goodies are available through Creative Expressions.

The 'metal' Postage Stamp was made by stamping into melted Cosmic Shimmer Ultra Thick Embossing Powder in Arctic Black.

I added just a little colour to the images with Tea Dye stain and a paintbrush.

I also used some Black Vintage ribbon, Screw top brads, and a Zipper rose.

The Tan cardstock is Creative Expressions Foundation card-Im liking that a lot!

Have a good one!



Giveaway winner.

Its that time of the week again...

when I tease you..

with a long drumroll...

to see if you have won the giveaway....

The winner of this weeks giveaway is

Papercraft by Carole

Well done!

Email me your snail mail.

I will announce next weeks giveaway on or around Tuesday.



More Pink Clarity girlyness!

Good Morning gang, its Sunday so you have my permission to take it easy today!

As promised yesterday, here is another of the Pink Girly Clarity cards I made for the Beginners guide to Resist technique.

I had to be very restrained about embellishing this batch of cards!

I used the Corset Montage stamp and the Feminine sentiment, we are using these stamps in next weeks Clarity workshops but different colours/designs.

 I love doing resist pieces with graduated colour so its really pale in the centre.

If you would like full instructions for this and the other cards you need to get your hands on Creative Cardmaking issue 37.

Last chance today to put your name on the Clarity Leafy Swirl stamp before I pick a winner tonight, scroll down a couple of posts to find it.

Have a good one!



Playing with the new toy & a camera shy bunny wabbit!

I thought I would share the first practise pics with the new camera, I still need to play and get it just right but there is a definite improvement already!

This is an 8x8 card using the Morrocan Spellbinders- have I mentioned that I love these??

I inked Faded Jeans Distress ink through the Fretwork mask, dark in the corner and lighter toward the centre.

Do you recognise the Foliage, of course you do- I banged on about it enough on telly, I love love love the Foliage, oops said it again!

The sentiment is from the Thoughtful Sentiments set, it actually says "you make life a beautiful thing" so I masked the rest of it so only inked the beautiful thing.

Teal & Black Vintage ribbon, Spiral blossom and some black Pearly dots to finish. oh and i put some Cosmic Shimmer Iced Crystal in the centre of the blossom for a little twinkle.

All goodies available through Creative Expressions.

I was trying to get a nice pic of Milly posh paws to practice (the kids are out) but she is a bit camera shy unless she has just had her mane brushed.

Incase you dont recognise the breed, she is a Dwarf  Lion Head bunny- but dont tell her that, she thinks she is a cat!

See you tomorrow for a Clarity card.



Could this be the last bad picture from me!!!!

Maybe, maybe not!

The super cool new camera arrived, so all I need now is an SD card and to work out 

A, where the SD card goes

B, how to switch it on

C, how to take photos

D, how to load them onto my laptop

and if you think thats easy, please remember its ME we are talking about, Queen of technology never to be!!

Today though I have another impressive example of how not to photograph a card.

This is one of the cards I made for the JustRite shows I did yesterday

Its an 8x8 card, the background is done using an A4 Mica Mask at the bottom and some lilac patterned paper at the top.

Centre piece is using the same mask to emboss a Lilac Grand blossom circle cut to size and edged with a Grand edgy die (my fave biggy). Next layer is a Label 20 embossed with Basket Weave mask, couple of screw top brads in Silver. Then top layer is one of the Ribbon tags stamped with the Forever Friends JustRite set. Some lovely Violet Vintage ribbon, a zipper rose, a couple of accents and some pearly dots to finish.

All goodies are available from Creative Expressions of course.

Why not come back tomorrow and see if that new camera is in action yet....

A Clarity Giveaway

Good Morning!

Its manic in Casa Maria again today, I am just finishing demo's for Tomorrows Create & Craft shows at 11am & 4pm (something nice to show you thanks to Creative Expressions), then got to pack the car, see to Milly & the garden bunnies, clean up the aftermath of Amber's Fudge making session last night, Check the oil & water and fuel up, drop Amber to her Dad, and drive down to Peterborough....

So, very quickly here is this weeks giveaway..

Its a lovely Leafy Swirl stamp from Claritystamp

As always no silly rules, just leave a comment on this post and I will pick a winner at the weekend.

If you dont have a google account/profile, it only takes a minute to set one up, then you can comment on any blog.

A Girly Clarity card

Good morning!

ooh dont I sound chirpy, Im not really, when this goes live I will be running around the house with one leg in my pants, a slice of toast hanging out of my mouth while screeching at Amber to get a move on and feeding the fish with my spare hand as I stagger past-not to mention breakfast for Milly posh paws and the garden bunnies and the regular morning ritual of the 'elusive hair bobbles'....

Anyway, today might be a good day, Im hoping Postman Pat will bring my new super fantastic Camera from Amazon-yeah, decent photos & tutorials are imminent!!

Right I have waffled on for long enough, time for a card!

This is one I did for Creative Cardmaking, Beginners guide to 'Resist'

I used the Corset Montage stamp from Claritystamp and Pink Sherbert & Pitch Black Adirondack ink, Versamark, clear embossing powder.

I decoupaged the Corset.

I like to graduate the colour when doing a resist, it adds more drama I think.

I did have to keep this quite simple for a beginner but I like it just the same.

If you would like to see the instructions for this & the other projects, issue 37 of Creative Cardmaking is still available.

Have a good one.

See you tomorrow for this weeks giveaway!

Blog not been deleted, just acting silly i hope!

Just a very quick post, There seems to be an issue with blogger at the moment, lots of you contacted me to say my blog had been deleted, this is very strange because I have not deleted it-im posting on it now! But when i first checked it there was no apparent problem but then 5 mins later i was getting the same message as everybody else, another 5 mins later and im logged in and writing this,  I am hoping this is a temporary glitch but if there is a more permanent problem i will have to start a new blog and let everybody know on Facebook and Twitter.... really hope its not neccesary as i dont have the time to mess about!!!!

Moroccan paper folding & an investigation!

Hello all, and welcome to my new followers!

I arrived home safely last night to lots of hugs from Amber, as predicted, & chocolates!

 Teenage indifference from Steve, as predicted.

And a full and indepth investigation from Milly posh paws! She has not stopped sniffing me and rubbing herself all over me to re-scent her 'property', she clearly doesnt like being away from mummy for such a long time, and she has watched my every move so far today.

Thank you to all the people who watched the shows, ordered, emailed and generally helped make it a great Blockbuster, I hope the guys at Creative Expressions are pleased with the job I did and hopefully let me do another 'big gig' at some piont!

In the meantime, I am back on screen on Thursday with a couple of shows with the excellent JustRite range.

Time for a card, this one of my faves from the Blockbuster shows.

This is using the stunning Moroccan Motif Spellbinders, Large labels, Foliage, Spiral Blossom. I cut 8 of the smaller 5 sided motif and scored on my Hougie 1cm apart then glued them at one end with Cosmic Shimmer dries clear, then glued them all together behind the stamped label. The Stamps are from the Rambling Rose & Thoughtful Sentiments set.

I do have a couple of close ups but computer isnt playing nice at the moment and Milly keeps walking over the keypad trying to get my attention, so I will add them later with a little more detail.

Over & out!

Rambling Rose winner!

Im in the garden centre again in between shows and I thought I better sort out a winner, otherwise it wont happen until tomorrow because Im off home straight after the 2pm show (after I clean up of course)

 Cant wait to see my babies-all 6 of them,

 Milly posh paws will either be sulking and ignore me or she will do cartwheels around my feet with excitement! 

Amber will hug me like crazy,

 and Stevie wont have noticed me gone-unless the power to his xbox has been interupted!

So, winner, actually I thought id have 2- coz I can!

The Creative Expressions Rambling Rose stamp set goes to

Carol

Not sure what prize im giving to.........

Bernie

Will find you something Bernie.

I need addresses please ladies, can you message me please.

If you didnt win then there will be another giveaway in a couple of days.

Gotta go!

x

Show times for Creative Expressions next week.

Please Scroll down for regular blog posts!

My Creative Expressions shows for next weeks Blockbuster are as follows

(subject to change)

Hope you can join me!

Tuesday 17 Jan 

10pm Ideal World

Midnight Ideal World

Wednesday 18 Jan

11am Ideal World
1pm

4pm Create & Craft

6pm Ideal World

8pm Ideal World

Thursday 19 Jan

9am Ideal World

1pm
4pm

8pm Ideal World

Saturday 21 Jan

12 noon  Create & Craft

6pm Create & Craft

Sunday 22 Jan

9am  Create & Craft

2pm Create & Craft

I will try to update any changes as quickly as possible.



Dusky Pink/Brown Moroccan

I thought I would blog while sat in the Garden Centre, Im back in the studio in an hour to prep for the 6pm show but I thought a bit of fresh air would be nice!

This is another of my Moroccan samples

I wanted to show how I gave the corners some height but its the usual excuse-Maria's legendary 'camera phone' photography!!!

I have good news though...

My Sister showed me her new camera yesterday, it was awesome!!!! so I ordered the same one and it will transform my photography, no really it will, I cant wait for it to arrive so I can do proper close ups and actually be able to do decent tutorials!!!!!!  Im getting excited again now, calm down woman! 

Anyway, todays card shows how you can change the shape of the Moroccan pieces simply by playing with them a little!  You will be seeing more of this for sure-especially when my new camera arrives.

While im at it, last chance to put your name down for a chance to win the Creative Expressions Rambling Rose Stamp plate, just scroll down for details.

Hope you can join me at 6pm on Create & Craft.

x



A little bit Spellbound!

Good Morning gang, and welcome to my new followers!

Im having a day off today, Im sat in bed in my hotel with my coffee!

Im still getting over the excitement of talking last night to Stacey Caron of Spellbinders, what a nice lady!  I really wanted to thank her for her amazing ideas- I bet she has enriched your crafty life as much as mine hasnt she?

Anyways,I planned to start photographing my show samples for the blog but in my rush to get packed up last night I forgot to bring them with me, so they are still in the studio!  Luckily though I did get 2 pics earlier in the day so that will be ok for today and tomorrow.

I love Black & White, to make this card I used a mica mask, Foliage dies,Moroccan dies, Labels, Fanciful Flight all Spellbinders of course,Organza roses, crinkle edge Organza ribbon, bakers twine, Cosmic Shimmer pearly glue.

The plan for today is to go and stay with my little sis for the night- really looking forward to surprising the girls. Then drive back to Peterborough early in the morning ready for my 12 noon show!

Dont forget to put your name down for the beautiful Rambling Roses stamp plate giveaway- its a couple of posts down.

This weeks giveaway

Good morning!

This is gonna be yet another quick post because Im getting ready to head back to the studio for more Grand Calibur Blockbuster shows- have you seen those stunning new dies yet?? If not, check the schedules on Ideal World and Create & Craft for show times.

Anyways, this weeks giveaway has been kindly donated by

 Creative Expressions

And the giveaway is this lovely A5 stamp sheet called Rambling Rose.

As usual there are no silly rules to be in with a chance of winning, just leave me a comment and I will pick a random winner at the end of the week.

Good luck!

Re-draw for unclaimed giveaway.

Ok I said I would re-draw for the Distress Stains if they were not claimed by 8pm tonight, so new winner is Karmakrafts. Please get in touch to claim your goodies!

Back to my prep for the Blockbuster, getting nervous now!

Next months Clarity NW class dates!

Just a quick post again as Im crazy busy preparing for the Grand Calibur Blockbuster!

The dates for February Clarity NW classes are

Thursday 2nd Feb

Sunday 5th Feb

Birkenhead, Wirral (near Liverpool)

They are both filling up very fast!

Give me a shout if you would like a place.

Unclaimed Giveaway, is it yours???

Just quickly to let you know this weeks giveaway (4 Distress Stains) has not been claimed by the winner yet!!!

Here is the blog post with the winner and how to claim.

If it isnt claimed by Monday 8pm I will re-draw.

Also keep watching for details of next weeks giveaway donated by Creative Expressions.

Giveaway winner.

Good morning, I nearly forgot to sort out a winner for this weeks giveaway- I think I might have been having a few blonde & senior moments all wrapped up together!

Anyway, you want to know if you won dont you...

drumroll

number 59

which is

Shelley

Well done to you!

Email me your address Shelley

simms (dot) maria (@) hotmail (dot) co (dot) uk

I write it like that so the spambots cant find it easily, but you know what to do with it right?

Next weeks giveaway is generously donated by Creative Expressions, watch out for it.

Speaking of Creative Expressions, Tomorrow I will blog my show times for next weeks Blockbuster- dont miss it gang!

Got to dash, samples to make/demo's to prep!

Time is Key

This is the last card from the Resist cards I did for Creative Stamping issue 2. I have the same excuse for the extra bad pic, I was in the car trying to make the last post so not to miss the deadline and had to just grab what pics i could.

I love the Die cut sprocket over the watch face on the tag, it looks a bit like there is a tiny watch embedded!

As with the other cards in this batch, all stamps used are from Claritystamp and cutting dies are Spellbinders.

A quickie again today, sorry!

Im hopefully eating homemade cake while you read this, unless Rae burnt it-let you know later!



WOYWW

Well its been absolutely ages since I had the time to join in over at Stamping Ground, sorry Julia....

and to be honest I dont actually have time this week either, its all gone a bit mental here-2 full Clarity workshops between now and Sunday, Creative Expressions shows next week, etc etc (not complaining honest!)

Anyway, I thought I would make the time-who needs sleep anyway!

So whats on my desk, well which one? it all spread from the Craft room to the Dining room this week, inky upstairs/papercrafty downstairs.

 The inky control centre....

Yes I know its a sh*t tip, but its my sh*t tip and I love it!

There are some Clarity stamps waiting to go for a wash, 2 brayers coz im greedy, couple of coloured Magnolia's, some lovely Heartfelt Creation goodies.

And just to show its not all messy...

This is just above my desk.

Check out the 2 snails on the left, Amber made them for me from clay stuff.

Ok, your turn, lets see whats on your workdesk, jump over to Stamping Ground and link up so we can all come and snoop at what ya got!

Another giveaway!

I thought it might be nice to start having more regular candy, and this week I have a yummy inky giveaway for you!

How would you like the chance to win 4 Distress Stains donated by Tracey from Oyster Stamps!

I have found some cool goodies at Oyster that I have'nt found anywhere else and its free P&P! 

 Im particularly loving the paper selection, Bo Bunny/K & Company/DCWV, I especially want to get my hands on some of the Simple Stories papers for sure.

So, how can you win?

Just leave me a comment on this post or mention it in the chat box over on the right and I will pick a random winner at the weekend, you dont need to sign up to anything or be a follower -love you to though if you wanted to!

Good luck!

See you soon.

Newsprint Resist

Good Morning, todays card is another of the magazine cards using Resist technique.

All stamps used are Claritystamps, also used are Donna Salazar Spellbinders, and some Velum from Hunkydory.

Just a quick post again today!



A bit of shimmer and Clarity.

Happy Sunday folks!

Todays card is one of my Clarity samples for todays Clarity shows.
I had great difficulty getting pictures again, it was dark outside and my lightbulbs are mainly those dim energy savers, very frustrating because the whole batch look off-colour, glary or shadowy!

This uses the Mardigras Masks.

I silver embossed onto velum and coloured with Cosmic Shimmer paints.

The background is sprayed with Cosmic Shimmer and then stamped in Archival Black, I also coloured the roses with the spray.

I really tried to catch all the swirly detail in the picture but it was an epic fail!

Ok im off, tons to do!

Its Time

Hello gang, hope all is well with you.

Im scheduling a handful of posts so I can concentrate on some work, I have a fair bit to keep me busy for the next couple of weeks including some tv shows on Create & Craft.

This card is another of the designs I did for Creative Stamping issue 2.

The photography for this batch of cards is poor-even by my standards!  I was rushing to get pics on my phone in the car outside the Post Office before I posted these last minute.

Claritystamps used are Fob Watchs in 3 sizes, Magnifying Glass, Scrabble Set.

Thats all for today, see you soon.



We have a winner!

I know its a little late, but its still Friday!

I said we have a winner, I counted up the comments including those in the chat box and I randomly picked number 26,

so the winner is

Drumroll (just a short one)

Andrea

Well done, email me with your address.

simms(dot)maria(at)hotmail(dot)co(dot)uk

Apparently if you write your email this way the spambots cant find it easily, so if your a spammer, bog off and get a life! lol

For those of you who didnt win, I have a great giveaway for next week, watch out for it!

See you tomorrow for a card.

Posy patch flowers in Faded Jeans.

Good afternoon, this should have gone live this morning but I was too busy with storm damage to press the button, Im sending a hug to all my friends in Scotland because I know they are having a horrific time with the stormy weather, I hope everybody stays safe.

This is an 8x8 card using Heartfelt Creations Stamps & Cutting Dies, Creative Expressions embossing folder and some Spellbinders, A4 Mica Mask & Centura Pearl card.

I also used some embellies from Creative Expressions, Faded Jeans Distress ink to colour the ribbon and the stamped flowers.

I adore the Heartfelt Creations goodies, I am still using them a lot!  Another real fave is the A4 Mica Mask from Stamps Away, I love being able to emboss larger pieces of card as well as small pieces.

Thats it for today, dont forget I have a giveaway in my previous post-no fussy rules involved so go have a look.

See you soon!

A little Giveaway!

Just a quick post today folks to let you know I have a stamp to giveaway.

If you would like this, all you need to do is leave me a comment and I will randomly pick a winner on Friday.

See you tomorrow for a card!

What do you wish for?

Happy 2012!

I would like to wish everybody whatever you wish for yourselves for the coming year,whatever that may be!

So, what do I wish for this year...

Another year of good health and personal development for Stevie & Amber.

Amber to pass the 11+ late in the year so she can go to the School of her choice next year.

Improved health for my Mum and Sister.

My health to continue to remain stable so I can keep working the job that I absolutely adore.

Would it be pushing things if I also wished for this to be the year to meet a nice man to share life with?? 

He needs to be kind, loving, loyal, patient, and NOT touch my craft stuff!!! lol

So what do you wish for this year???

leave me a comment and spill the beans.