By Lori Designs Challenge 11

It's time for a brand new By Lori Designs Colour Challenge, our 11th already! We have some gorgeous fresh and Springy colours for you this week, two fresh blues, a sunny yellow and white.

I cut a Kraft card using my Grand Calibur as a base for my card and layered up some papers from my scrap box, I have treasured every last scrap of these Cosmo Cricket papers and I think they work really well with the very cool Puddle Jumper Cole. I coloured Cole in with my Promarkers to match the papers and added a resin button and a scrap of turquoise ribbon as a finishing touch. The sentiment stamp is by Jillibean Soup.
I hope you will be able to join us for this Challenge for the chance to win a gorgeous digi.
There is still time to enter my giveaway of a copy of Quick Cards Magazine too.
My post here has all the details.
Jane
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Copy of Quick Cards Made Easy to giveaway...

I have a spare copy of this Month's Quick card Made Easy Magazine to give away which features some of my cards made with lots of gorgeous ribbons! You can see one of them on the cover :-)


Please leave a comment on this post before Friday lunchtime and I will pick a random winner from all the comments to receive the Magazine. I will post Worldwide.
Jane
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Pollycraft Monday Challenge - Friends

It is my week to choose the theme on the Pollycraft Monday Challenge and I have chosen...

'Friends'

I love the Swings and Slides images Paula released recently and tried to find a way to use two of them on a card. I decided to use Cute As A Cupcake who is sitting on a present and Taking A Break who is sitting on a small bench and cut them out after I had coloured them in to sit on the gate which is also available from Pollycraft here.

The papers I used are by My Mind's Eye and I used flowers from my stash to tuck behind the gate.


I really love colouring this little cuties, I gave them matching shoes and coloured them in similar colours. The sentiment I used is by Hero Arts and I stamped it on to some My Favourite Things Dienamics dies.
I hope you will be able to join us for this week's Challenge for the chance to win some of my favourite things! A pack of 5 Promarkers!

Make sure you check out the Challenge blog for lots of inspiration from the DT.
There is still time for you to take advantage of a sale in the Pollycraft shop.

Have a great Monday!
Jane
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Birthday Princess

I have a card to share with you today which I made after being inspired by Vicky's recent Union Jack cards made with this download from Crafts U Print.The backing paper is also from the same designer and is from a lovely vintage style download with some really useful papers.

I used the rubber version of Tiddlyink's Everyday Princess and coloured her in with my Promarkers to match the colours of the flag. I used Whimsy Stamps Postmark stamps for the sentiment and a used stamp on the postcard which was layered on top of a pink doily. As a finishing touch, I added a crown brad, some gems, flowers and a little spotty button.
I hope you are having a good Sunday.
Jane
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CES Challenge #29 - Die Cut Crazy

Good Morning everyone! I hope you had a good week and are looking forward to the weekend. I didn't make it to the NEC as planned but I did have some new which made my day yesterday...I have been chosen for a Guest Design Position for Whiff of Joy for April and May! I am so excited and can't wait to get started!
As today is Saturday, we have a brand new Crafty Emma's Store Challenge for you and this week's theme is

'Die Cut Crazy'

I have recently discovered My Favourite Things Die-namics dies and have already accumulated a little collection so this week's theme was the perfect excuse for me to play with them! I used the kite and flat bottom dies for my card.
I made a little shadow bow for the adorable Twirl Anya to rest on while she is flying her kite. I die cut the aperture with a Nestabilities label shape.


The kite was die cut from lots of lovely My Mind's Eye papers and I also used My Mind's Eye papers to create a little scene in the back of the box.


I coloured Anya with my Promarkers, cut off her windmill and added some Baker's Twine for the string coming from the kite. The clouds are also die cut and I stamped them with a Hero Arts sentiment.
I hope you will be able to join us for this week's Challenge for the chance to win an alterable clock kit.

Emma is having a sale in the shop this weekend, with 10% off everything (exc pre-orders, gift vouchers & digital images) until 8am Monday 28th March. Enter the code MARCHSALE at checkout to receive your discount.
Have a great weekend!
Jane
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Mini Zingy Springy cards

It's my turn to share my Project for this Month's Get Funky Challenge. The theme set by the lovely Lou is Zing into Spring and you can see her wonderful card here. I have made a little bag to hold 5 mini cards. The cards measure 3x3 inches so are really dinky and cute and I had lots of fun decorating them.


I was hugely inspired by the gorgeous springy freebie HERE that Anice created to enable any of you that don't have any springy coloured Funky Hand papers to play along as you do need to use a Funky Hand paper on your entry. The papers match the March colour theme on the Craft the Year away CD so I used lots of these on my Project too.

To make the bag, I used my Nesties to cut two squares measuring 9cmx9cm from white card. I then cut a strip of card measuring 27cm x 7cm, scored 1cm in along the long edges and then every 9cm to make the three sides of the box cutting notches where the score lines intersect to allow it to fold together. Glue the sides to the box and the decorate each side with more Nestie shapes cut from patterned paper and cover the sides with strips of paper measuring 9x5cm. Punch holes in the sides of the box to thread a ribbon handle through and then decorate with flowers.


I decorated each card with more Nesties squares and scalloped squares cut from different papers from the Craft The Year Away CD. I was able to print out all of the images, sentiments and the most of the papers in a smaller format on one page by using the workspace feature. Some of the images were printed directly onto the papers others were cut out and mounted with foam pads. I added lots of glitter, glossy accents and gems to finish the cards off.
Have a great Friday!
Jane
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By Lori Designs Challenge 10

It's time for a new By Lori Designs colour Challenge and this week, team B are showcasing their designs for your inspiration on the Challenge blog. I couldn't resist making a card using the fab colours for this week using the adorable Puddle Jumper Lyla.
I used paper from my scraps file and lots of lovely ribbon, including the gorgeous Gingham Bias binding which is available here from the Ribbon Girl.

I hope you will be able to join in with the Challenge this week for the chance to win a Lori Boyd digi image. Make sure you check out the Challenge blog for lots of inspiration from the DT!
Jane
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Hoppy Easter!

I have a sweet little shaped card to share with you today which I made using the Squiggle stamps 'Hoppy Easter' stamp of the month which is available here for only £1.00. Please ignore my dodgy stitching...I am getting used to my new machine as my old one gave up after 12 years of faithful service this weekend :-(

I coloured the image with Promarkers and then cut it out so I could layer it on to the base card which I had cut with my Nestabilities. I added a little pom pom for her tail and a couple of little pink flowers. I stamped and die cut the sentiment and added a lovely little spotty button threaded with Baker's twine.
There is still time for you to enter the Squiggle stamps March Challenge. The theme is 'Spring' and you can find all the details here.
Have a lovely Wednesday!
Jane
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In the Garden

Whilst searching for a Leanne Ellis stamp online, I was thrilled to discover that Leanne had recently opened an Etsy shop selling digital versions of her stunning images.

I fell in love with this 'In the Garden' image as soon as I saw it and couldn't wait to make it into a card. I used papers from a few different collections by Prima, Pink Paislee and Crate Paper and added gingham bias binding (I love this at the moment!), a lace bow, lots of roses and a sentiment ticket, not forgetting a couple of pearls and a sweet spotty button.
Leanne's images are so quirky and beautifully drawn, will definitely adding more to my collection of digi images soon!

I am also entering this card in this week's Passion for Promarkers challenge as the theme is 'In the Garden'.

Have a good Tuesday!
Jane
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Pollycraft Monday Challenge - Swirls and Pearls

The theme this week on the Pollycraft Monday Challenge is 'Swirls and Pearls' and I instantly thought Weddings! I have used the adorable Cuthbert and Kiki on their Wedding day for my card and have gone to town with lots of pretty embellishments!

The sentiment I used is from Lili of the Valley and I used Prima papers and flowers to match the glittered My Mind's Eye vintage style backing paper.
The swirl is a Marianne Design die and I decorated it with glitter glue and a few pearls.
I hope you will be able to join in with this week's Challenge. We have a fantastic prize of 10 Pollycraft digis for one lucky winner.
Make sure you check out the Challenge blog for lots of inspiration from the DT!
Have a great Monday.
Jane
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Happy Birthday Gnome

I have another card to share with you today using another Whiff of Joy Gnome. I made a simple card using My Mind's Eye papers and printable Kraft from Pink Petticoat and coloured the Happy Birthday Gnome to match with Promarkers.


The sentiment is by Hero Arts and I finished the card off with a simple cotton tape tab topped with a button and a yellow pearl.
Have a good Sunday!
Jane
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CES Challenge #28 - Your Favourite Song

The Challenge theme this week on the CES Challenge Blog is guaranteed to make you think it is.....

Your Favourite Song

It took me a while to decide which of my favourite songs to choose but I settled on 'Why does it always rain on me' by Travis as it brings back wonderful memories of a holiday we took years ago with the kids when the song was first released.

In keeping with the rain theme, I have used the adorable Nora in her raincoat by Whiff of Joy which is available here from Crafty Emma's Shop.
I paperpieced her coat with Whiff of Joy papers and made a scene with more papers from the pad for her to stand in. The sentiment is from a tag sheet from the pad and the Vintage Seam binding is from the Ribbon Girl.
I hope you will be able to join us for this Challenge for the chance to win a Sugar & Spice Decoupage Kit

I am also entering my card into the special Whiff of Joy 100th Celebration Challenge. Congratulations Whiff of Joy on reaching your 100th Challenge!
Have a great Saturday!
Jane
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Rolled flowers for the Whiff of Joy Guest DT Call

After much deliberation, I have decided to submit an entry to the Whiff of Joy Guest Designer Call. I love all the Whiff of Joy stamps and I simply adore the Cute Gnomes which were part of the March release! I treated myself to a few of the stamps and mounted them and inked them up today. The requirement for the GDT call project is to use rolled flowers. I ended up making two cards with the flowers so I thought I would share both of them.

The first card was made using the Good Luck Gnome and Fancy Pants and My Mind's Eye papers with rolled flowers made from Kraft packaging. I added a little glitter to a couple of the clover leaves and created a sentiment using various letter stickers. I coloured the Gnome which had been stamped onto textured card with my Promarkers.

For my second card, I created a background using My Minds Eye papers for the Miss You Gnome's adorable little House. I stamped the house twice and coloured it with my Promarkers decoupaging the roof, gnome and grass and then added it to the card with foam pads. I added glitter to the spots on the roof and created a sentiment using letter stickers which I then sewed to the background. I finished the card off with some punched leaves, a string bow, my flowers and a couple of little gems.
I will be back tomorrow with another card using a Whiff of Joy stamp for the CES Challenge.
Jane
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Hello!

I have a card to show you today which was made with a failed attempt from my Less is More cards earlier this week. I cut out the image with a Nestie from the card and then sewed around the edges and added it to a scalloped circle to make it big enough to used on a 6x6 card. This card took me minutes as opposed to my Less is More cards!

The backing paper is from a new Fancy Pants paper stack and I love it! I stamped a Hero Arts sentiment on an Imaginisce ticket which I layered on a another stamped on black patterned card and then sewed through both before adding them to the card. The rosette was cut using a Tim Holtz die and was topped with a Baker's twine bow.
Have a good Friday.
Jane
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By Lori Designs Challenge 9

We are going green this week on the By Lori Designs Challenge blog just in time for St Patrick's Day! We have three lovely shades of green for you to create with this week along with a dash of white.


I have used the cute little Gavin for my card with some DCWV papers. The layout is very simple and I used a little stitching, a Cat's life Press stamp and a resin shape from my stash. The cotton tape I used for the tab is from The Ribbon Girl.I hope you will be able to join us for this week's Challenge for the chance to win a By Lori Designs Digi. Make sure you check out the blog for lots of inspiration from the DT!
Jane
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Less is more...

I was awake ridiculously early today...in fact it is still very early as I type this!
I have seen lots of entries to this week's 'Less is More' Challenge on my friend's blogs this week so decided to make a card to enter myself today. This is the first time I have tried stamping straight on to a card and these two simple cards took me ages! The theme this week is 'Off the edge' so my phone is stamped coming slightly off the card.

I have a few failed attempts to cut up and reuse on cards with more layers or to overstamp to make backing papers so all is not lost! The little buttons on the dials are from my stash and the pink twine is from The Ribbon Girl.

I decided to stamp in Archival ink to get a nice clean strong image and used a textured card for my first attempt. I also used Archival ink to stop me from grabbing my Promarkers to colour the phones in! I used a Hero Arts stamp set I bought ages ago and had still not inked up.
It was great fun making these and I do like the finished result. I think the pink one is my favourite even though I like the positioning of the phone better on the blue one.
Have a great Wednesday.
Jane
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Funky Hand Anice and Betty on Create and Craft today

Betty will be making her debut on Create and Craft today with Anice. It is the first time the stamps will have been shown on the TV alongside the recently released Craft the Year Away CD and the other Papercraft Factory CDs.



I made a few new samples using Betty which I hope I will be able to spot on the shows at 10am and 2pm. The first is a wall hanging made with a kraft scrapbook page. I used all the image stamps from the 'All a girl needs' Betty stamp set with papers from the Craft the Year Away CD. It was really fun to make and I used my new Rolled Flower dies to make the small flowers.

I also made a shopping list pad with my Bind it all and decorated it with Betty looking like I do after a trip to any Craft Show! I made a charm using Shrink plastic and one of the stamps from the set and attached it to the pad with string and added a little gem to finish the pad off.
I hope you enjoy the shows, if you don't have Sky or Freeview, you can watch them online here.
Jane
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Pollycraft Monday Challenge - Teens

It's Monday already and time for a new Pollycraft Challenge. The theme this week is 'Teens'. I have made a card using Jerry Kisses Drummer as he reminds me of my lovely Teenage Son! He has hair just like Jerry!

I used a Spellbinders Grand label die to cut a card blank from DCWV paper and then cut and embossed a square onto which I layered the coloured image.
I added a Crafter's Companion stamped sentiment with some Ribbon Girl tape tucked behind and finished with a layered die cut star. I loved making this card, the Jerry Kisses images are some of my favourites.
I hope you will be able to join us for this week's Challenge for the chance to win a £10.00 voucher from The Creative Cottage

Make sure you check out the Challenge blog for all the details and lots of inspiration from the DT, if you love Jerry Kisses as much as I do, you won't be dissapointed!
Have a good Monday.
Jane
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Another Boy's card!

I have another boy's card to show you today made with one of the adorable Swings and Slides munchkins. I am on a mission to use all of these! This little cutie is called 'My Ride' and he reminds me of my Jack (minus the glasses).

I used Doodlebug papers from my scraps folder to make the card with a sentiment from Craftwork cards. The rosette was made with the new smaller Tim Holtz die, I love it and have lots of rosettes made up in a box now ready to use.
I hope you have a good Sunday.
Jane
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CES Challenge #27 - Men Only

The theme this week on the Crafty Emma's Store Challenge blog is 'Men Only' which was a treat for me as I really enjoy doing cards for Men and Boys. I have made quite a few cards with the Pollycraft Beer Monster, he is great to colour in and I had lots of fun matching him to the My Mind's Eye papers.

I added some Glossy accents to his beer glass and a little glitter to the foam and used a Cat's life Press sentiment stamp. The button is from The Ribbon girl and the cotton tape is from my stash.
I hope you will be able to join us for this week's Challenge for a chance to win a Paws Fur A Moment Stamp Set.

Make sure you check out the Challenge blog for lots of inspiration from the DT!
Have a great Saturday!
Jane
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By Lori Designs Challenge 8

This week's colour combo on the By Lori Designs Challenge Blog is one contains some of my favourites colours, duck egg blue and olive green mixed with another lovely green and blue.
I made a card using the lovely Lollipop-Happy Birthday Annie, I love her cake and balloon! The sentiment is from the Puddle Jumper Ainsley set.

I think the paper I used is by Basic Grey and the ribbon and cardstock is from my stash. I added a little gem to Annie's hair and some glossy accents to her balloon as a finishing touch.

Team B's cards are being showcased on the Challenge blog this week and they are all stunning! I hope you will be able to join in for the chance to win one of Lori's gorgeous digis, she has recently added to her little family of characters, please check out all the details of the March release here!
Enjoy the rest of your day.
Jane
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Dotty for spotty papers?

If like me you love spotty papers you are going to love the new Rainbow Polkadots download which has just been released and is available here on the Funky Hand website.

I have been dying to show you this card I made a few weeks ago when Anice gave us the papers to play with. I made a (sort of) Union Jack by sewing through different paper pieced strips of papers. I have a top tip to share if you are going to give this a try...make sure you use wet glue and let it dry or very narrow double sided tape so you don't upset your machine by sewing through the tape. I had a few failed attempts and actually thought my machine was broken until I figured it out! The lace and Ribbon and from The Ribbon Girl, the crown was from my stash but you can buy similar ones from The Ribbon Girl here too.


I love these papers so much! Spots and stripes are pretty much craft staples for me and there is colour for every project in this download. My Funky Hand teamies all love Polkadots as much as I do and have created some fab samples so there are lots of lovely new things for you to be inspired by in the Gallery.
Have a good Thursday.
Jane
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Out of this world

After my little green Alien card on Monday, I have another card to share with you today with some more little Critters. These are called 'Monster Mash' are from Squiggle Stamps and they are perfect for boys cards.

I used the digital version of 'Monster Mash' and printed the Monsters out so I could cut each one in to a little square with my Nesties. I think these papers are My Mind's Eye but I am not 100% sure. I did a little sewing and then mounted the coloured images to the card in a grid with an additional blank square for my Dymo label sentiment. The little resin shape is on an unknown source and was very handily lurking in a plastic box on my shelf!
I hope you have a good Wednesday.
Jane
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You're Sew Special!

I really love Pink Petticoat and have been using the Sentiment ribbons download a lot recently on my cards. I was so happy when Liz released a download containing different shades of Kraft Paper. I love using Kraft and Kraft card blanks but it is sometimes really difficult to get hold of so it's a real treat to be able to print it!


The latest digi release from Pink Petticoat is 'Material Girl'. As you know, I love using my Sewing Machine on my card so I fell in love with this as soon as I saw it! I wish my Sewing Machine looked this funky!
To make the card, I used the Kraft download to print a backing paper and then used the blank machine from the download to paper piece using My Mind's Eye paper. I used a button and pearl from my stash to embellish the machine and layered it on to the card base which had been wrapped with a Pom Pom trim. I die cut one of the sentiments from the set and used a Mini Rolled rose die to make a flower and set a pearl in the centre. I love this card and I have lots of items from the set printed out ready to make into cards so you can expect to see more soon!
Have a lovely Tuesday!
Jane
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My Pollycraft Blog Hop winners...

The winners of the Pollycraft Cupcake Cutie from the Swings and Slide Hop are...

no 12 Turid
no 24 Louise

Congratulations! Please send me an email to milliesmarvels@gmail.com and I will arrange for your digi to be sent to you.
Jane
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Pollycraft Monday Challenge - Fly me to the moon

Hi Everyone! Did you enjoy the Pollycraft Swings and Slides new release blog hop? The new digis will be available today in the Pollycraft shop. Paula has chosen the Challenge theme for us this week and it is a great one to dig out your Critters and Cogs images for...the theme is....

'Fly me to the Moon'

I decided to try something new for my card, I am pretty sure I have never used acetate on a card and I decided to make a moonscape with Zoom the little alien hanging over the edge of the moon resting on the acetate.

To make the card, I drew around a plate onto the front of a 6x6 card base to get the shape for the moon and cut it out with scissors. I then used this as a template to cut the moon from cream card. I stamped the sentiment and then embossed the moon and sewed around the edges with my machine.

I sandwiched the acetate between the two moon shapes leaving a tab along the spine which I stuck to the inside of the back of the card before covering it with Magnolia Star paper. I then printed, coloured in and cut out Zoom before adding him to the card with foam pads and finished off with a green pearl.
I hope you will be able to join us for this Challenge for the chance to win your choice of 10 Pollycraft digis. Make sure you check out the blog for lots of inspiration from the DT and to see how we all interpreted the theme.
I will be back later to announce the winners of the digis from the blog hop.
Have a good Monday.
Jane
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There is still time....

...to take part in the Pollycraft 'Swings and Slides' release blog hop! The hop is open until 8am Monday.

The entire Design Team is involved, and we also have our March Guest Designers joining us...

each of us are showing you sneaky peeks of the 7 new designs, so there is lots of inspiration in store!

There are prizes to be won at every stop along the way, and a GRAND prize at

Emma's Blog start off the hop, so leave a comment there and then and follow the stops in order... You can see the card I made here and if you leave a comment on my original post you may win one of these 2 Digis I am giving aways to 2 lucky winners

You can find full details on my post here. Make sure you leave a comment on my original post and not this one!
Jane
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Introducing Ai...

The very talented Cathy has been sharing some digi images of the cute 'Ai'. This is a card I made with the first image she gave away as freebie a few days ago.
I printed the image onto some textured cardstock and coloured it to match this gorgeous Memory Box paper. I cut the image out and triple embossed the balloons instead of waiting for glossy accents to dry! Life's too short sometimes to wait for Glossy Accents! I used Ribbon and twine from The Ribbon Girl and a Pink Petticoat sentiment cut out with a Nesties label.



Cathy has another freebie digi of Ai on her blog this weekend. Pop on over and have a look at her wonderful cards and drawings but take a cuppa with you as you might be there a while with all the wonderful things to see!
You may have noticed I have a posh new Watermark :-) I got it here from Karen, you don't need any fancy photo editing software to add it to your photos either. There is a great tutorial here on how to add it using GIMP. I just need to remember to add it to my photos now!
Have a great Sunday!
Jane
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CES Challenge - Good luck

Hi Everyone, I hope you had a good week, it's Saturday already so it's time for a new CES Challenge and this week the theme is

''St Patricks / Good Luck''

I have used one of the new Swings and Slides images which we are previewing this weekend on the Pollycraft Swings and Slides Blog hop for my card, isn't she adorable? I used some Prima papers and a Cat's life press sentiment too which are both available from Crafty Emma's Store.

The gorgeous Ribbons and pin are from The Ribbon Girl as is the cute little spotty button.

I hope you will be able to join us for this Challenge for the chance to win a 6x6 Pink Paislee Paper Pad...

Make sure you check out the Challenge blog for lots of inspiration from the DT.
Have a great Saturday.
Jane
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The Winner of the copy of Quick Cards Made Eas y Magazine...

chosen by Random org is comment no 8 which is Brook...

Brook said...

Congrats on your magazine features! I hope you are feeling better. Thanks for the chance to win the magazine!

2 March 2011 20:23

Congratulations Brook! Please send me an email to milliesmarvels@gmail.com and I will send your Magazine to you.
Thank you to everyone who left a comment!
Jane
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Pollycraft Swings and Slides Blog Hop

Hi Everyone! Over at Pollycraft we are having a blog hop to celebrate a NEW RELEASE!

'The Swings and Slides collection'

The entire Design Team is involved, and we also have our March Guest Designers joining us...

each of us are showing you sneaky peeks of the 7 new designs, so there is lots of inspiration in store!

There are prizes to be won at every stop along the way, and a GRAND prize at the end of the hop on Paulas blog.

You should have arrived here from the start which is Emma's Blog, if not pop back to Emma's and leave a comment and then and follow the stops in order...

I've made a card using this adorable Cupcake Cutie teamed with lots of lovely My Mind's Eye papers.

I used my Sewing Machine to add lots of stitching, some seam binding from the Ribbon girl, and a lovely stamp from Crafty Emma's Store.

I'm giving away 2 of these Digis to 2 lucky winners.

To be in with a chance to win, you need to leave me a comment, and spread the word by adding the logo to your blog (blog post or sidebar) with a link to the Pollycraft blog

You must leave comments at every stop along the way.

The blog hop will end on Monday 7th March at 8am GMT and I will randomly pick 2 winners.

The next stop on the hop is: Joanne

I hope you will enjoy seeing all the new images along the way and the fabulous cards made by the DT. We had so much fun making samples with these little cuties!

Have a great Friday and a fab weekend!
Jane
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