Saturday 29 May 2010

Wedding Day

No my card has nothing to do with weddings, but when this pops up courtesy of Mr Blogger, we should be readying ourselves on the west coast of France for this afternoons wedding of our second eldest son.

It's likely to be a long day as they do weddings a bit different in France. First the Town Hall for the formalities, then the Church for the wedding ceremony - which is apparently about an hour long service, then a cocktail party and at 7pm the wedding breakfast. And that's not the end of it because after a night of music and entertainment, Sunday lunchtime everyone reconvenes for a brunch party.

The day has seemed forever coming, hours of making wedding stationery, dress fittings and all nature of arrangements then suddenly here we are. Hopefully the weather will be lovely and the happy couple will have a wonderful day.

Now I had better just tell you about the new challenge at Allsorts where the lovely Debs has set us the theme of Black and White plus one.

An old favourite style and sentiment which is Penny Black 2695K Dance very simply stamped with versafine black and embossed with detail clear onto a background distressed with Tim Holtz Victorian Velvet. The mat was cut with a Nestie though the Big Shot and the edges stamped with flowers from Magenta CS043 and embossed with detail clear before distressing with the TH ink.

The writing down the side is another well used favourite Hero Arts H2354 and the corner flourish Penny Black 3857H Footnote. A border punched with Martha Stewart doily lace from Fancy Pants DP which I also used to make the roses, a stick pin, bead and cord to finish.

Friday 28 May 2010

Funky fairy


A scheduled post and all going to plan we are in France and tomorrow is the wedding........our second eldest son and his French fiancee are getting married in the beautiful surroundings of the French coastal fishing village of Saint-Gilles Croix-de-Vie.

Although she had lived in the UK for many years, her Mother still lives in the French village, her Father in Paris, so it was decided they would return there for the wedding. I think the fact that the surf is good on that part of the coast might have played just a tiny part in our boys decision to suggest that as the venue. I have visions of him arriving at the Church still in his wetsuit and board under his arm. And of course the honeymoon venue of Barbados is also well known for it's good surf, so you decide what swayed the decisions ! More about it all in my post tomorrow.

Today is Polkadoodle day and for this weeks challenge Lou has set us the theme of "Sew & Sew". Not my hot point, but I did managed a line of stitching round the edge of my backing paper which is from the new All Around CD. The fairy is Grace, one of the Fairy Flutterfy stamps, which I coloured with Copics and decoupaged. Her winds are stamped onto the same paper then again on acetate and glittered. Martha Steward double loop border and Magnolia flower plus a couple of others and some glittered leaves.

Sunday 23 May 2010

Wedding indulgence

Morning everyone, isn't the weather glorious and how lovely to be able to spend time outdoors without needing to wrap up warm. Needless to say the dogs are fed up with it already and puffing and panting and lolloping wherever they can find a cool spot, but it didn't spoil their appetites when we had a barbie last night and all four sat drooling as they always do.

I thought I would share two of the cards I made for the wedding couple, well I did actually show the wedding cake a couple of weeks ago, but have just made the box so now it's complete.

The word book of their initials was created in Cricut design studio welding various elements together, covering with Best Creations DP, some decoupaging, ribbons, Magnolia flowers, gems a bit of stamping with Penny Black 3851E Blessing and all in all total over indulgence, but I think it's rather pretty. And I made a box with an acetate lid, added yet more ribbon and an edge using Martha Stewart doily lace.


I am entering the work book for The Crafty Pad challenge which would like to see "Over the Edge" so I am hoping the ribbon will count here, Charisma Cardz who would like to see something 3D so the flowers and butterflies fit nicely and Flutterby Wednesday would like "Flowers" with our butterflies or fairies. Also the card below is for this weeks Penny Black challenge which is "Lots of Dots" where I have used Penny Black 4037K mixed media and 3857H footnote, memento inks, Swiss dots Cuttlebug folder and spotty MME DP.

And finally another bit of over indulgence on the box for the Polkadoodle wedding cake card, lace, Martha Stewart embossed hears punch, flowers, pearls and a computer generated sentiment.
I will see all you lovely peeps when I get back, but I have scheduled a post with a little something for you which should pop up tomorrow evening courtesy of Mr Blogger.

Saturday 22 May 2010

Poppies and flutterbys

Over at Allsorts Helene has set our new challenge and would like to see a tag or label on our artwork.

But before I tell you about my artwork for this week, I need to annouce that the winner of my part of our Birthday blog hop is Keryn. I am so pleased for you Keryn please mail me brenda@ibas.co.uk so I can get you prize off to you. Do go pay her a visit and see her adorable Jack Russel's and her great work of course.

I've gone all pink and Hero for my card using one of the shadow stamps that I so love working with. This one is Hero Arts CO140 Poppy Background. First I stamped a piece of dusky pink cardstock all over with the butterfly plate from Hero Arts CG300 using Tim Holtz worn lipstick - if I am going to bleach I usually stick to the TH inks because they always bleach out fine, whereas some inks can be a bit iffy and fade but won't bleach out completely. Of course it depends of the cardstock and it's always worth having a little test run first.

I then stamped the poppy stamp over the butterflies using versamark and heat embossing with detail clear, then bleaching out the flowers. I like this technique as it gives a subtle image through the embossed solid elements of the stamped image.

I used the same butterfly plate to stamp the card itself again with versamark and detail clear embossing powder to achieve a subtle finish. The border is Martha Stewart embossed butterflies and the sentiment on the tag is from a Rubber Tapestry set, no code though I'm afraid.

Friday 21 May 2010

A day playing Sizzix

Hello everyone, Friday and only just getting round to posting what I planned to do yesterday and tell you about a bonus day at Stampalot yesterday.

Wednesday just as we were off to hospital my beloved MX5 went AWAL on me, no power, no nothing, so we used hubby's car and it was evening before I could call the RAC. But the good news is they could find nothing sinister in the tests and what they did find can be dealt with OK (won't go into gories). So a huge, huge relief, it's seemed forever waiting.

Mr RAC could not fathom the problem with my car so ended up having to take it to the main dealer yesterday. Apparently the battery was not holding a charge so they replaced it........I only had it new at Christmas, so what that's all about I have no idea. I just hope it's fixed because we are taking it to France......really fancy the journey across France with the top down.

So what did I do whilst it was in the garage, well Sir Andy Stampalot was a gem and collected me and I idled the day away at the shop and just by chance Chris and the gang (Mel and Judith) were in so we took over the classroom and did a bit of crafting.......well that's a fib really, I talked mostly and played with the new Sizzix Pro and dies, it's a wowser piece of equipment.

In full wedding plan mode this weekend, the bride and groom left for France last evening to arrange all the final bits and pieces, we go early Tuesday and the rest of the family follow in dribs and drabs during the week. The missing dress never showed so that one's still a bit in the air and the Matron of Honor might end up as a guest because matching a suitable dress is proving almost impossible, leaving only white, but that's not a real option with the bride in that colour. So the chief bridesmaid might be our girl on crutches.....who said my family did anything by the book ?

A quick card, not for anything specific, just a share of a Stampalot sample. A bit tardy of me but hope you will forgive all the details other than Hero Arts CG181 bird in a circle, Tim Holt rusty hinge and bundled sage, Martha Stewart woodland branch around the page and Basic Grey DP.

Thursday 20 May 2010

£200 Tim Holtz goodies up for grabs

This is a sticky so please scroll down for newer posts.

Hello peeps, just a quick reminder that all these fabulous Tim Holtz goodies are up for grabs in this months Stamplaot Challenge and includes an original signed copy of Tim's book A Compendium of Curiosities.

Our theme this month is Butterflies and Blossoms, so a nice easy one and don't forget you can enter twice with different types of projects, such as a card and a scrapbook l/o for example. So what you waiting for, remember you have to be in it to win it.

Wednesday 19 May 2010

Bird in a circle and messy Muts

Good morning all, this one is scheduled so everything crossed it will pop up on time whilst I am at hospital having the dreaded camera tests.

One card, three challenges, the first Everybody Art challenges who have a sketch this week.......I was going to pass as it's circles and we know about my crafty phobia of them, but decided a challenge is a challenge. So one in the bin, the second completed, although not convinced I like the end product. I hope the flowers fit in with A Spoonful of Sugar challenge who are going Cute and Girly and finally Papertake Weekly who want to see "Shiny Sparkly and Special" and there's a good bit of sparkle to be had on this one.

The image Hero Arts CG181 Bird in a Circle dropped through my letterbox this morning from Sir Stamaplot, it's a cling stamp from the new releases but didn't not come in with the first deliveries so I have been patiently waiting for it to arrive. I think it is so cute.

The image is actually a square one, but I cut it into a circle with a Nestie through the Big Shot and layered it several times. I stamped the image three times and decoupaged after colouring the flowers and bird with Marvy pens and spritzing with Glimmer Mist pearl. The little birdie in the corner is punched with my new Martha Stewart woodland branch and flower patch set.

The sentiment is Hero Arts CL278, manipulated a bit to achieve more of a circle shape. The large flower is another of the beautiful Magnolia ones with some glitter added to the edges and I did the same with the smaller ones which are from my stash. The swirls are cut from glitter card with a Sizzix die. The final bit of bling is the gemstone brad.

Just had to share this one of Bernie and George

Monday 17 May 2010

Altered art wedding hat ?

Morning peeps, hope you all had a good weekend. Apols I have not been round to visit for a few days, but time seem in short supply at the mo with so much activity and wedding preparation plus trying to get ahead with my DT work before I go.

So, where to start, an award from Lina, thank you so much Lina you are a great blog buddy, Top 5 place with this at ABC, thanks to you girls, a wedding fascinator with a crafty influence and a card for challenges.

First a special share for you today........'the' wedding hat, or to be precise fascinator........I love big hats but with waist length hair that I wear up most of the time, hats don't really sit atop too well. But I love feathers, so these top nots are right up my street and so elegant.

But you know me, there has to be a bit of crafting involved, oh yes, I do mean in the fascinator..... call it altered art. I did exactly the same with this wedding as our eldest son's last year, bought one outfit and then saw another.......I know, logic says take one back, but well I love silk which they both are plus the bolero jacket with the first is lovely so you know what happened........yes I now have two outfits.

This little number which I bought with the first outfit matched the second one as well, but I thought it needed a touch of lilac to match the hint running through the fabric of the second outfit so embarked on a bit of titivating. Some lilac feathers, silicone and dries clear glue from my craft room, and there you have it ready to go.

Lots of you have asked about the Matron of Honor's dress. Still missing four weeks on I'm afraid and with the wedding next week we have all accepted it's unlikely to turn up. So she has offered to try and find a replacement in Paris this week, but easier said than done as far as matching colour goes as the other four girls dresses are with us. On a positive note, my shoes are wearing in nicely and the bride and groom seem to have passed the stress barrier and come out the other side.

Now a card for this weeks Penny Black challenge which has the theme "Flowers" and Cupcake whose theme is "Blooming Charming" and Secret Crafter which would like to see "Metal" on projects (butterfly charm).

It gave the perfect chance to indulge in the new Kaiser DP freshly arrived at Stampalot this week along with some more Magnolia flowers which just happened to match perfectly. My main image is Penny Black 3976K acrobat, coloured with Copics and decoupaged with three layers. The sentiment is Hero Arts A4981. I punched the borders with Fiskars threading water and added lace, a butterfly charm, punched leaves, glitter and some cord.

Saturday 15 May 2010

Birthday fun


It's our Birthday !!

Here we are a yEar on and Allsorts Challenge has become so popular and exceeded all our expectations. So we want to say thanks to you lovely blogErs who keep coming back week after week.

Of coursE we have some special Birthday celebrations planned as you might expect. Our challenge theme is Birthdays leaving you scope to create anything you wish and we also have a fabulous Blog Hop which starts at the challenge site and takEs you on a trip round all the Design Teams blogs whEre each are offering a prize in addition to the challengE and Blog Hop prizes. All the details arE the on the Allsorts Challenge blog. And our very first sponsor Sir Stampalot have provided a fab Heritage Glimmer Kit for the challenge winnEr and as this is a special week we also havE a second prize from another of our regular sponsors Digi Stamp Boutique

For our Birthday I have crEated an easel card and matching gift box. The main image is Hero Arts S5362 Dogwood which I stamped out several times, cutting some out to decoupage and colouring all with a mixturE of Copics and Marvy pens, inked with versamark frost and spritzed with Glimmer Mist pearl to help the colours blEnd and give a nice sheen.

The Basic GrEy DP is one of their lovely new designs courtesy of Stampalot of course and the borders Martha Stewart eyElet lace, ribbon, pearls and punched leaves added to Embellish.

Now on to the blog hop, you should havE arrived here from Emma's blog and after collecting your letter from here.........no I'm not giving it away that easily, but there arE lots of subtle hints in this post which are not typos.......and you need to move on to Kirsten.

Here's what I'm offering the winner at this stop on the Blog Hop


Don't forgEt you must leave me a comment below to be in with a chance of winning my candy and to make life a bit easier for me visiting all of you I have sEt up Mr Linky.


Good luck everyone and havE fun.

Friday 14 May 2010

Wedding bells

Enfys would like to see dimension and texture on our work this week at Polkadoodles, so a perfect opportunity to have a go at this fab wedding cake on the Paper Boutique CD.

I was amazed how quick and easy it was to cut out and assemble and here I have gone with a real whopper A4 card. Six layers in total, liberal helpings of glitter which I added to the scrolls and patterns on the design using a quickie glue pen, glitter card plus some butterflies and the sentiment cut with a sizzix die through the Big Shot.

Wednesday 12 May 2010

Jack and Jill went up the hill

Where's this week going ? All those jobs I was going to do 'tomorrow' remain undone and suddenly the wedding is the week after next......scary or what when I think what's to be done, not least wearing in my new shoes that still sit in the box.

But that's the least of our problems.........the Matron of Honours dress is somewhere between here and Paris where she lives. She came over for fittings twice and as there is already so much to take over for the wedding including the four girls bridesmaid dresses, they said they would send hers on when the final adjustments were made. Initially they said it was delayed because of the Volcanic Cloud.....lame excuse it seems because now they have no idea where it is other than "in France". So panic is just beginning to set on as her dress and the other four have been made in identical material so no way we could match it up at this late stage. Another call to the dressmaker shortly as she promised faithfully to track it down today.

Crafting, well just a bit and a card for some challenges. ABC challenge who are up to "U for Unused Stash - a stamp that I 'had' to have when I saw it forever ago and never inked it up, Cupcake challenge who want to see "Buttons", Tuesday Taggers who want us to go "Outside the Comfort Zone"........as I said in my last post working with circles is something I avoid like the plague. And I have followed the sketch from Creative Card Crew for the layout of my easel card. And finally The Crafty Pad would like us to "Give it a Punch".

The stamp is from Stampabilities KR1042 Jack and Jill which I stamped with versafine black and embossed with detail clear and coloured with Prismacolor pencils and Marvy pens. The plain circles is cut with a Nestie thorough the Big Shot and the scalloped one is a Marianne stencil. The gorgeous double sided Crate Paper DP is one of the new designs and the middle panel of the front of the card is a plain piece of linen card embossed with Swiss Dots folder then lightly inked with a chalk eye pad. The border and corners are Martha Stewart are doily lace trim, the largest flower yet another of the new ones from Magnolia and a couple of smaller ones from my stash. And finally tiny buttons across the bottom border strip.

Sunday 9 May 2010

Golden roses

Hope everyone is having a good Sunday, here in the Fens the rain has stopped at last and the suns making a reasonable effort, but judging by the clouds it won't be around too long.

And it's the last day of the Premiership, I'll miss my footie like crazy, but we do have the world cup coming up.......not sure if that is good or not, but we can but hope for positive things. An yesterdays 20/20 match was exciting so more of that to come this week.

A card to share for this weeks Penny Black challenge where they have a sketch......and a perfect chance to use some of the new goodies from Sir Sampalot on one of my sample cards. As usual when I saw the circles I freaked, I always struggle with them, heavens knows why. Also a couple of new ones for me, well at least it's a long while since I entered so thought it was time. They are Flutterby Wednesday, plus two both celebrating their Birthday and have that the, Stamp Something and Simon Says.

I drew my colour inspiration from this pretty Cosmo Cricket DP and coloured my main image Penny Black PB40-021 For Goodness Sake with Copics. I stamped the image three times and decoupages and masked the base image to stamp the fence which is from Magnolia Tilda collection. The cobbles, flowers and grasses and Art Impressions. The large rose is one of the scummy new ones from Magnolia........have you seen the colours, how to choose.......well you can't really, so it's probably no surprise I have a bag of them sitting in my craft room along with the lovely matching beady leaves.

The sentiment is Hobby Art GR435. I cut the second circle on the sketch from a doily with a Nestie, the middle panel was run through the Big Shot with a Cuttlebug folder and the border are Martha Stewart doily lace. Some lace, ribbon, gems and pounced butterflies to finish.

Saturday 8 May 2010

Lilac blossoms

First things first, on behalf of Louise who I wrote about yesterday, thank you for all your kind comments and also the lovely mails I received from so many of you. I saw Louise yesterday and she is naturally very upset by this whole incident, but I know she will rise above it and share more of her splendid work with us all.

Some of you feel the guilty party should be "named and shamed", however as it was not my work I don't feel that's my call, but I will say her activity in the crafting community is such that this incident makes it doubly appalling and I sincerely hope that the crafters she repeatedly claims to know through her appearances on Create and Craft do not condone her conduct.

Now onto a new challenge and it's Amanda's turn to host Allsorts challenge this week and she has come up with a lovely balanced sketch.

And we are so excited as we have the very talented Elizabeth Allan who designs for Penny Black over in the States as our Guest Designer this month. I was lucky enough to meet Elizabeth earlier this year and spend an afternoon crafting with her, so having her join us for May really is very special for me.

Another easel card........I'm still hooked on them and have used one of the new Sarah Kay stamps my hubby picked up for me at Stampalot recently........is this a hint that I need to spend more on crafting and he thinks I've not enough I wonder......if only. But she is rather cute, just a shame about her name - Fanny's Cuddles. The gate/fence is one of the new Easter collection from Magnolia.......just because I can't bring myself to use Tilda does not mean I don't like the accessories. The tree and butterflies are from Penny Black 30-304 and the cobbles and grass art impression stamps. I used a combination of Copics and Prismacolor to colour and added Liquid Pearls here and there. The DP is Kaiser.

And finally a reminder to put a note in your diaries for 15th May........a very special week coming up at Allsorts with lots of fun and prizes. You won't want to miss out I can assure you.

Friday 7 May 2010

Floral Frenzy

Good Morning peeps, Friday again. Not been too much creativity or posting from me this week as it's been a bit of a funny few days due to a rather horrid event crafty wise.

Something I though none of us could or would stoop to, became reality when we discovered this week that somebody had photographed a display card and passed it off publicly as their own DT work. The true artiste of that work is naturally devastated and I am sure the rest of blogland join me in sending you huge, huge hugs. As I said to you yesterday, the plagiariser recognised excellent work, but small consolation I know to be treated so dreadfully.

Addendum to original post of this morning:
Louise has just contacted me again and asked that I reveal that it was her card here (second on post) that was used. As a friend I am happy to do this for her and as you can see it was published on her blog last September, also here at about the same time and has been on display on the Tilda stand since that time.

Now today's new Polkadoodle challenge and this weeks it's my turn to host the challenge and surprise surprise there are flowers involved.......the theme is.........Summer Blossoms.

I'm still so enjoying playing with the new All Around and Everywhere CD and have used the blossom tree from the Floral Frenzy section, enlarging it slightly before printing off and cutting with a Nestie, then painting with Crackle Glaze. I made roses with paper from the Floral Fantasy section of the same CD and cut some swirls with a Sizzix die through the Big Shot.

Tuesday 4 May 2010

Marks and Spencer gets crafty

Hope everyone had a good long weekend, despite the typical UK bank holiday weather which left a lot to be desired. Nothing too exciting happened here, but I did manage to get well ahead with sample cards for Sir Stampalot and DT work which is mega important with the wedding now less than three weeks away.

I have two very quick cards to share with you, the first is for this weeks weeks Everybody Art challenge which would like to see Pastel Colours and the second for Tuesday Taggers which is Recycling.

So what did I do, well as I said both were fairly simple and quick cards. The first is a Stampalot sample using one of the new release Hero stamps K5373 Flower Trio which I stamped with versafine black and embossed with detail clear, coloured with Tim Holtz mustard seed and tumbled glass adding Diamond Glaze then Stickles to the centres whilst still wet. I created a narrow border round the edge of the main piece of card by masking over the stamped image and stamping with Hero H3317 woven fabric and Hero F5042 leafy swirl with the same TH inks. The sentiment is Penny Black 3940F Life.


The second card is where my friend Mark Spencer lent a helping hand. When I took the packaging off some lemon sole fillets a couple of weeks ago and saw the reverse of the packing with news print I stashed it away and today it got an airing. I distressed it with Tim Holtz worn lipstick, rounded the edges and used it as my background. I made three punched flowers from the offcuts, shaded them with the same ink and spritzed with Glimmer mist vintage pink and dazzling diamonds. The main image is from a Magenta set CS043.

That's about it, other to remind you all about the new Stampalot Challenge where there are oodles of Tim Holtz products up for grabs.

Sunday 2 May 2010

Blogger threw a Hissy Fit

Looks like all the scheduled activity on my blog this weekend was all too much to cope with for Mr Blogger and he threw a real hissy fit. My first scheduled post for Stampaot popped up OK Saturday, but the other three were going nowhere it seems and I only just realised, so for speed I have combined them all into this one post, which cover this weeks Allsorts challenge, the new May challenge at By the Cute and Girly and this fornights one from Rosie D's. I also reckon two (above and bottom of post) fit this weeks Penny Black challenge Lets Get Punchy so here goes with that as well.


You might remember that I told you last week I had got my projects a bit muddled for Allsorts, but now I can share the one I had prepared which I said would fit Kirsten Animal theme just perfectly. The clock is a kit from Kaiser Craft courtesy of Sir Stampalot and includes the template and clock workings so you end up with a project that actually works......how cool is that.

The wooden clock template has two pre cut apertures, in one I put a picture and the other Penny Black 2685J Dance onto a piece of textured cardstock to go into the other. I used Kasier DP to cover the clock, drawing my colour choice from the photograph of Anysia taking part in Strictly Come Showjumping last December. I was actually so pleased when I saw the picture she had chosen because whilst I would normally have used one with a horse, I thought in view of her accident I would let her select a picture and half expected a holiday one, but no horses are still first priority with her. The stamping is from Magenta CS-043 and Roman numerals cut with a Sizzix die with pearls for the other hours.

Next the May challenge at By the Cute and Girly and this month Jenny has chosen the theme Celebrations, lots of scope there for whatever might be going on in your cardmaking calendar. As I have a list of Wedding card orders and not forgetting those I will be needing for the wedding of one of our sons at the end of this month, that's the celebration I am going with.

My first card (at the top of this post) follows the colours scheme for our sons wedding of white and burgundy. I punched the leading edge of the card with Martha Stewart eyelet lace, distressed with Tim Holtz fired brick then stamped with Hobby Art GR1341F Shakespeare Sonnet using the same TH ink. The main image is Penny Black 4035K letters and Flowers stamped with black versafine and embossed with detail clear over a background if the same TH ink and spritzed with Glimmer Mist iridescent gold. The swirl is JudiKins 3347F and the sentiment which I think is lovely for a romantic card is Penny Black 4070F Dreams. Roses made from paper, pearl stamens and more pearls and cord tied around the card.

My second card is more traditional, roses again embossed round the edges with detail gold embossing powder and borders and corner punched with Martha Stewart embossed heart. The sentiment is Art Impression J3398 stamped with versamark and embossed with detail gold and cut with Nesties through the Big Shot. Some ribbon across the card and a pin with a pearl added. Oh yes and the DP is Magnolia.

And finally but by no means last, at Rosie D's Saskia is hosting the challenges this month and has come up with the theme So Yummy - cupcakes, chocolates etc. I've had this stamp since it came out as a cling back in January so thought it was time to give it it's first inking up. It is Penny Black 30-016 Hedgehogs Birthday which I stamped with versafine back and embossed with detail clear and coloured with Copics giving the cake a liberal coating of glitter.

The DP is Magnolia, the punch Martha Stewart doily lace and the sentiment is Penny Black 4070F Dream which I thought was perfect to go with Hedgie blowing out his candles. I bought the ribbon with the row of cupcake ages ago and knew the occasion would eventually come when I found a use for it, so thanks Saskia.

Saturday 1 May 2010

Rapunzels Castle

What a wonderful start to our Stamaplot challenge we had with so many of you joining in with some truly spectacular Fantasy projects.

And we have a fabulous new theme for you this month - Butterflies and Blossoms........I know I am so transparent and you might have guessed it would not be too long before this one crept in. But there is so much scope with this one and I am really looking forward to seeing your take on the theme.

For my project I have created Rapunzel's Castle. Now I know fantasy was last month, but I had this project in mind and there are certainly plenty of butterflies and blossoms - I lost count of how many roses I made and believe me the tiny ones made with a 1/2" punch test the patience.

The castle is a ready cut chipboard kit from Kaiser Craft and the DP's which I used to cover the pages are the same make. Not too many instructions to give out here, just lots of time and fiddling really, but it was great fun to make. All materials from Sir Stampalot.

The main ingredients apart from the DP are Martha Stewart garden trellis which I used for the turrets, Sizzix dies for the trailing leaves, Stampevia image for Rapunzel, silk thread for her plait, pearls, glitter, ribbons and punched butterflies.