Hee hee

One post a week, that s shocking!! Hello my lovely blog readers, well I won't say nothing as I feel so bad about being quiet but I live in hope that things will get better, lets face it they can't get any worst!! I am still crafting and I have also been busy finalising details for the Stamp With Us first ever Retreat I am soo excited for this, there are only 11 days left woohooo!!> By the way registrations closes today so skip over and book your place now if you want to come. I have 2 cards to show you today I have followed the same sketch for both as I really liked it, is the sketch posted for this week challenge over at SWUS.

I adore circles, balls, spheres, polka dots in fact everything that's round I love, so this suited me down to the ground, it came together in minutes. The trees from Lovely as a Tree were embossed in black powder (I love how embossing looks on cards, you get this wonderful dimension on your image while still keeping the effect subtle), then I sponged using a dauber Certainly Celery in, and a bit of Old Olive on the lower part and Bashful Blue and a bit of Tempting Turquoise for the top part. Then circle was cut with the Coluzzle system and the scallop edge was made with SU straight edge punch from a piece of Old Olive card. Oval All provided the sentiment this was again sponged on the edges before it was layered onto a old olive scalloped mat. Designer paper used was Bashful Blue and Celery, wide Old Olive grosgrain ribbon and basic black card blank. I really love this set and I hope it never, ever retires. So why not have a go yourself at the challenge this week? We have some free giveaway places to our next round on Stamp With Us Online starting on the 1st of August. Each week for the whole month of July we will pick one lucky entrant to join us for FREE. I am looking forward to lots of lovely entries and good luck!!

Then I got carried away with the sketch and did another, this time with an oval center piece instead of the circle.

I love this year's key colours, they are everywhere!! Rich shades of berry like colours paired with yellowy mustards and deep purples they suit me very nicely. So I settled on a combo of Rose red, Elegant Eggplant and Summer Sun overstamped with More Mustard. And yes I have used a Martha Stewart lattice punch, I must be the only person in the land that only just got this punch but in my defense I did order it at the beginning of March and only took delivery of it last week . Soft Summer is such a gorgeous set and I wanted to have a play at an old technique cracked glass, I love techniques and don't use some of them too often.

I stamped on whisper white CS then I have embossed several layers of clear embossing powder over the surface, I think all in all I did about 5 layers. I could have gone on and on but I got bored of it in the end LOL, the thicker you do it the nicer the effect, now beware do not do it too thick either. On the last layer I have sprinkled some dazzling diamonds before heating so it added a bit more interest to the whole image.

I have a close up here for you and while you might not be able to see the diamonds you can hopefully see the cracked lines, very pretty. You could also rub some ink with a sponge dauber over the cracked lines to emphasise them. Have a great rest of the week and I will see you later on this week for sure as I have a few birthdays to announce. Lots of big hugs and thank you for still visiting me and leaving me those lovely comments. Monica xxx

One of the best weeks..

... of my life!!! Truly!!! I took a bit of time off recently( you probably noticed as I went quiet) and I had two people that mean the world to me here for a full week. My beautiful sis and the oh so gorgeous Luca. And what a week it was, we visited more parks that I can count

at some stupid ungodly hours, check this photo he was on the wonky donky at blimmen 7.30 am, jeeez!!! Not even Nico was impressed being dragged out the house at that time LOL.However seeing that big smile on his face made me forget I would have rather still be under my goose down Summer duvet.
We've been making new friends
We played, discovered and learned more new things ( check that hair out!!! it has been chopped off since) We bathed in the paddling pool till our toes went all crinkly, then when it got too hot we found ways of cooling off


Hmm, lovely background in this photo, well we needed the orange bucket to fill the paddling pool.
And we celebrated mummy's 32 Birthday!!!!!
I love this picture of them both, looking at their happy faces makes me go all warm inside. I loved having them and I am extremely grateful to my brother in law for being so lovely about them spending all this time with us, even though I know he missed them both terribly. He is the best and I truly love him for it. I did managed to get a bit of crafting done late at night and here is the card I have made for Laura s birthday.

Laura loves greens and turquoise so I have based my scheme around her faves. Certainly Celery, Night of Navy and Tempting Turquoise card stock, Celery designer paper( retired but still in stock), Tempting Turquoise grosgrain ribbon, Blooming with Beauty and Occasional Greetings for the sentiment but I have replaced the friend word with the word sister which was stamped using the Short order alpha, the hydrangea pot was embossed in black and watercoloured using the ink refills from SU, I love how vibrant the whole image ended up. I have also made another card for her from Luca. Is a surprise slider card.

Combo is Old Olive, Regal Rose and More Mustard. I have designed this as an extra class for our Stamp With Us site, we had a live chat on Friday and I posted a full tutorial on this type of card, so if you missed the chat logg onto the site and download the full instructions.
Here s the inside
Again the word mami was stamped using the short order alpha, then the following stamp sets were used:
Happy everything, All in the family and Live Your Dream. I know I kinda went to town here LOl. Laura loved seeing her precious little boy walking into the kitchen to hand her this birthday card.
Thank you for putting up with my rather long post today, hugs Monica xxx

I Scrap you know..

..... occasionally!! LOL
Hello here are a few of my Gogo Retreat layouts. Of course my little curly top is my main scrapping subject now a days and I am like a trillion of pictures behind.You are probably reading this title and wonder what it means, well is Luca's word for grapes in Romanian. Grapes are his absolute favorite fruit and I wanted to document this. I have used Bashful Blue textured card stock, Haiku patterned papers from Stampin'Up! and some yummy looking Scenic Route stickers, this layout was a sketch challenge and I love how it turned up.

Then made two more using the sketches provided, similar colourways as they will be in an album side by side but didn't want to have it as a double layout as the album is a D ring.

His

and HersIs amazing to see how much Luca has changed. Those photos were taken last August and the one on the first layout last month. Growing up FAST!! I have tons more but I don't want to overwhelm you with all this layouts in one post, so will post some more soon.

I have a card I want to show you as well, it was made for the StampWithUs challenge blog

Click here to see the inspiration image. I love this colour combo, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise and Regal Rose. I have used the Simply Said stamp set, only because I have not used it for such a long time and is one of those sets that I absolutely love. Do you like the colours? if you do why not have a go yourself at this challenge? oh and check what the rest of the DT team have come up with, lovely as ever!!!! I also need to tell you that there are just 2 weeks left to join us for the First StampWithUs Retreat in Guildford this July. I am so looking forward to it, having just been on the Gogo Retreat recently, I am only to keen to experience the same level of fun mixed with a lot of laughter and some really cool classes again, and trust me it will be all of this and more, I cannot wait!!!. So if you would like to spend a few fun days stamping (or even one day) then please get in touch and reserve your place while we still have some left and come and Stamp With Us. Find more info here or just email for more details. See you again very soon with a cool mini album I have made for someone very special. Hugs Monica xxx

I have been GOGO getawaying

Yay!!! I had such a fabulous time at Scrapagogo's scrapbooking Getaway. The accommodation was very comfortable, the classes inspirational, the shopping extremely good for the soul and the company was the best thing ever. As always Lorraine, Janice and the entire Gogo team have put together the perfect event. I've met with some old friends made new ones and scrapped until the early hours of the morning both nights (3.30 and 3.40 to be precise), boy was I exhausted after this whole weekend!!! I have been very productive and scrapped even more than last year which is a good thing as I only managed 2 layouts since the last Gogo Getaway, and I will share them as soon as I can get unpacked and photograph it all. And of course you cannot have a scrapping weekend without taking tons of photos for more scrapbooking. We tried to get creative and the best we could do was to scribble our names on our palms LOL. And next my table neighbours.Sue, Erika, myself and Liz

Jackie and SamFrom the back left
Sam, Jackie, Marlene, Erika, Tracy, Jane Helen (gogo DT member) and Liz who is showing off the lovely tote bag we each got from Scrapagogo

Diane(who bought out the entire shop I am sure), sweet Cath and Sally Ann The lovely Helen a fellow SU demonstartor.
And I am very sad to have missed getting a photo of the other DT members on my table Lisa, Nicola and Karen, oh and lovely Bee is missing as well, sorry ladies.

Of course after our arty shots we moved onto some action shots thinking we will have better luck, well here s a few. Not sure who snapped this one on my camera but I Love it!!! me and crazy Helen. Love that girl she is just the best


And then my favorite shot of the weekend, not a brilliant photo but definitely hilarious. My dear blog readers I give you SPIDERANN....This girl is positively crackers, she made me laugh so much my jaws still hurt, she is also a very talented scrapper. And I love Karen's expression.. so funny!!


And this next picture reflects my mood for the entire weekend, HAPPY!!





So while I am catching up again, I will leave you with the card I made for the Stamp With Us challenge blog.The theme was Congratulations, and I have made a baby card. The elephant from the Wild About You set was mounted onto a nestie frame, embossed in heat and stick powder and then drenched in dazzling diamonds , Circle Of Friendship stamp set for the sentiment layered on 1", 1 1/4"and 1 3/8" circle punches, Paisley background stamp, So Saffron designer paper, Regal rose card stock, Certainly Celery and So Saffron grosgrain ribbon.

Phew!! Sorry for the mega post see you all soon Hugs Monica xxx

Birthday Passionette !!!

Helloooooo, how are you? Well after 5 days of nice and hot Summer days we are back to dull and chilly, got to love our english weather still the ironing is all done and I am so glad I am not the only one, Hanna confessed of ironing while catching a sun tan too. Yay, I am not that odd after all.



Today is Jo's Happy Birthday!! Jo is one of my newest Passionettes. She is such a funny and lovely, lovely girl and her favorite colour is dusky pink, ermm I had a bit of a challenge here as I didn't find a single piece of card/paper in dusky pink in my entire stash mountain . So I thought about it and then the light bulb moment came to me. Here s the card I made for Jo

In an effort to end up with a dusky pink colour I have added a layer of card stock vellum to my Pretty in pink card blank, and would you know it, *it worked !!!!* Is not perfect but is definitely dusky. Card stock vellum is fabulous to work with, and I know I talked about it on my blog before but honestly until you try the fabulous weight and quality of it you won't really appreciate why I'm banging on about it. Is also perfect for boxes and packaging (vellum packaging looks so stylish) because is heavier and behaves much better when heat embossed like I did here. The fresh cuts stamp image was embossed in white powder on the vellum and colour was added on the reverse using the markers, this is a wonderful technique that looks so effective. A simple layer of Choc Chip then a smaller one of Pretty in pink frame the main image and make it stand out. The sentiment was also embossed in white and small white pearls complete the soft feminine look. I just hope Jo will like it and if you're reading this Jo I hope you had a fabulous day my darling. Hugs xx

I thought I would also let you know about my next class on Sunday 14Th June at 2pm.

The Venue:

Wesley Place Comunity Centre, Snaith (behind the Methodist Church)

Cowick Road, Snaith, Goole, DN14 9JF

Click here for a map

The Projects

We will be making this hinged box with 5 decorated fresh cut notes. This is a longer class than normal expect 3-4 hours, nibbles and refreshments will be provided. The class costs £25.99 and included in this price is the following

One new and unmounted Fresh Cuts stamp set

10 meters of assorted grosgrain ribbon

5 fresh cut notes and envelopes

Brads and buttons

All the card stock and designer paper needed in order to construct the box and line the notes.

Printed sheet with step by step instructions and photos showing you how to complete the project.

No extra class fee as this is included in the price, as well as home baked goodies and refreshments .

Book early to avoid disappointment as places are limited, I already have 14 people signed up for this class so you will need to be quick as the maximum number is 20. Email me for more details at telemech01@aol.com and book before 7 Th June, this is the cut off date in order to give me enough time to order the supplies needed.

Don't live close enough to attend in person but you would still like the chance of making this beautiful box and take advantage on this fabulous deal? Well you still can, for an extra £2.00 towards postage charges you can have this kit sent to your home complete with instructions, email me for more details.

Hope you can make it would love to see you there, hugs Monica xxx

SUMMER is well and truly here!!

Gordon Bennett we have summer!!! and I have been soaking every single ray gratefully those last few days. So much has been happening since I last blogged, caught up on lots of jobs all my baskets and tubs are planted and in situ ready to reward me with tons of colour, providing I keep watering and feeding them ( what a job that is).
It was my good friends Julie 40Th Birthday last Friday so on Saturday myself and another 2 friends of Julies have clubbed together and treat her to a day at a gorgeous and decadently decorated SPA, Oulton Hall. The plan was for us all to be there on the day but unfortunately the other two girlies couldn't make it so it was me and Jules. We had the most amazing treatments and the relaxation room was FAB, in fact the whole day was a very very pleasant one, an experience we will repeat for sure. Then out for a fabulous Italian meal on the Sat. night, truly a fabulous day and we ( me and hubs) always enjoy our friendly get togethers. Here s the card I have made for Julie

Soft Summer stamp set and a combo that looks like the Neapolitan ice cream. So Saffron, Pretty in pink, Certainly Celery and Choc chip. Used some nesties( not sure what labels they are) and a CB embossing folder out of all of them this is my absolute fave.

Yesterday another challenge was launched over at Stamp With Us, and this time is a sketch if you like sketches why don't you play along? Here s my sample

I took the sketch literally and I have used various scraps of coordinating designer paper and punched out various sizes circles, scrunched them up and secured them together with a brad. Is a fun card and I love how it turned out. Regal Rose card base and Old Olive card stock layer, Striped so saffron grosgrain ribbon, Spring Solitude stamp set. Why don't you pop over and check out what the other lovely DT members have come up with, there are some fabulous examples on the blog.

Normal service is resumed hopefully so i will see you again very soon. Hugs M xx

Oh by the way today I caught up on 2 weeks ironing while catching a sun tan at the same time.

Hee hee please tell me I am not the only one that does this. xxx