Friends Make Life Blossom - Tuesday Morning Sketches

Tuesday 30 June 2015
Good morning everyone hope you are all well on this beautifully sunny Tuesday.

All Dressed Up Stamps are sponsoring this week's sketch over at Tuesday Morning Sketches and I was lucky enough to get to play with the fabulous Love Spring Time stamp which is available in the Etsy store.

This is such a versatile stamp which can be used for loads of different occasions and you will definitely be seeing her again on many more future cards.

I am absolutely loving these papers at the moment....so much so you will be sick of seeing them lol!  They are from the Sunny Side Up pad by Lilli of the Valley and I have already used most of the pad in a couple of weeks!


My stamp is coloured with copics and then I have fussy cut around her before mounting her with foam pads onto my paper panels.

To finish I have embellished with some grosgrain ribbon and buttons.

Please do pop on over to Tuesday Morning Sketches and show us your creations to be in with a chance of winning a fantabulous prize from All Dressed Up....Good Luck !

Have a great day

Shelly xx

Cute Elephant

Thursday 25 June 2015
Hi everyone

Just a quick post from me today as I seem to have a million and one things to try and get done before we go camping in the morning.  I think I will feel happier once we get there and get the tent up...plus it will be a bonus if the sun is shining!

Today's card is a real cutie, and it's a welcome to the world card to Ellis from his big sisters.



I think elephants are always perfect for baby cards and this is a digistamp from Squigglefly.com which I have coloured with copics.

The papers are all old ones from my stash, I think they are Stamping Up and I have embellished with some satin ribbon, buttons and a square doily from Ebay.

Right I am off for lunch....roll on hometime !!

Have a great weekend

Shelly xx

Summer Fayre - All Dressed Up DT Card

Wednesday 24 June 2015
Hey there everyone, hope you are okay :-)

It is time to show you my DT card for All Dressed Up Stamps using one of the fantabulous new stamps from the latest release called Summer Fayre


I've gone back to my layering best with this one and I have to say it is one of my personal favourites of all the cards I have ever made.  I have coloured with copics and added some dots and spots on the tablecloth and bunting with white gel pen (although you can't see it very well on the pic).

The papers are Pastel Dreams from Lilli of the Valley and I knew as soon as I saw the image that these papers would be perfect, alongside some kraft cardstock to give it a rustic/vintage feel.

I have inked all the edges with Tea Dye Distress Ink and have faux stitched each panel.  I have then embellished with die cut flowers, crochet flowers and a hessian panel to give a bit of texture.  There is also a Doodlebug doily tucked in there along with some buttons and flatback pearls so a lot going on!

I made it in 8 x 8 size to fit all the details in and I love it so much I might just keep it for myself ;-)

We have our June Challenge running at the moment at All Dressed Up...pop over to the blog to find out more details as we love seeing your beautiful creations and you could be in with a chance to win 3 digis of your choice.

We also have a FB challenge in the Facebook Group so please do pop along and share your designs.

That's all from me for now.  Speak to you soon

Shelly xx


Happy New Home

Morning folks and happy Wednesday....we are slowly inching further towards Friday woohoo :-)   You know when you wake up on a morning and you feel like you have never been to sleep....that is how I feel today, I could just shut my eyes and lay my head down on my desk....it's going to be a loooong day !  If this post ends abruptly I may well have dropped off lol.

Anyway I would like to share with you a customer card I made for a couple moving into their first home.


I thought it would be nice to create a little scene using different die cut elements and some embossing for a bit of texture.

The papers are from the Blank Canvas paper pad by First Edition and all of my layers have been matted onto Kraft cardstock to give a soft look.

I embossed some blue cardstock with a cloud embossing folder to create the sky and the hill is just a die cut circle chopped in half.  The sun, fence and tree I hand cut myself and the clouds are made using the Puffy Clouds die from Memory Box.

The digistamp house is available here and I have mounted it onto foam pads to make it stand out a bit more.

I am really happy with how it turned out because 'scene' cards have never been my forte but as you can see I still managed plenty of layers !

Didn't I do well managing to stay awake!  Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday.

Check back later today for a brand new card made using one of the beautiful new release images from All Dressed Up.

Shelly xx

Crafty Sentiments Designs - Little Polly I Love Rain

Tuesday 23 June 2015
Hi there everyone

It's Day 5 of the new release stamps over at Crafty Sentiments Designs and this is my first DT project for them.  They are releasing 5 brand new characters and today I am showcasing the gorgeous Little Polly I Love Rain stamp.  They are all available in the shop today.

We were asked to produce something other than a card so I decided that in keeping with the image I would make a Rainy Day Book.  When it is raining at school and Megs can't go out to play they have a rainy day book that they work in so I took the idea from there to create my own.

I have used a blank 8 x 8 ring bound kraft scrapbook for mine, although you could use any blank book you have available (if your house is anything like mine you will have many !)



I coloured my image with copics and die cut it into a circle before making a light blue dotty background with my pen tips.

The papers are from the Sunny Side Up paper pad from Lilli of the Valley and it is one of my favourite paper pads of the moment, I am definitely going to have to buy a couple more !

I have matted everything onto red cardstock and added some faux stitching with white and blue gel pens.

The clouds are cut from the Memory Box Puffy Clouds die and I've embossed them with polka dots to make them stand out a bit more before mounting them with foam pads.

Some ribbons and buttons to finish off and there you have it.  It now has pride of place in Megan's room for her to fill with random stuff that takes her fancy !

Hope you all have a lovely day

Shelly xx


It's Blue Monday

Monday 22 June 2015
Good morning everyone, how fast has this weekend gone, it has just been an absolute blur !

We have been preparing for our first camping trip this weekend, we aim to get there early so when we make absolute idiots of ourselves trying to put the tent up there won't be too many people there to see us lol.  I am not sure how I feel about being away from my craft stuff for so long but I will have to make up for it when I get back.

This card I have made with one of the images I have had coloured up for a while waiting patiently to be made into a card.  There are quite a few blue challenges on at the moment so I thought I would put it to good use.  I have made a similar design to this in the past using a different image and I love the way the pastel blues work with the kraft cardstock.


This is the adorable Amy from Wee Stamps.  I don't think she is available digitally any longer but you can buy her in rubber here.  As with all of Sylvia Zet's stamps she was an absolute dream to colour.

The papers are from the Petal Fresh pad from Lilli of the Valley and I've made the flowers using a combination of Dienamics Layered Rose dies and a Martha Stewart hydrangea punch and added some little blue pearls to the centres.

The butterfly is made using the Pippi Butterfly die from Memory Box.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges :-

Simply Papercraft Challenges - Challenge 7

Okay that's all from me for now, check back tomorrow when I will be showing you my first DT creation for Crafty Sentiments Designs :-)  

Have a happy Monday.

Shelly xx

I'm bored!

Wednesday 17 June 2015
Hi everyone, I am having a very slow day at work today so I have been browsing the internet and generally doing not much at all.

I thought I would share with you a previous custom card design for a little girl who absolutely adores giraffes.

The digi is from Pink Gem Designs and I've had it for quite some time.  I love the little hearts on his back so I thought if I coloured them with some of the colours in the papers it would tie in really nicely.


The papers are some of my favourites of all time and I am almost loath to use them any more because I don't think you can get them now.  They are from the Twitterpated collection by Pebbles and I just love the colours.

I sometimes wish I still did custom orders but it just got too much and I had trouble saying no !

Well I suppose I had better try and look busy for the rest of my day.  Hope you are having a lovely Wednesday .

Shelly xx

Fiona Loves Flowers

Monday 15 June 2015
Morning lovelies, I am feeling quite grotty today so just a quick post from me to brighten up your day ;-)

This is a recent birthday card I made for a friend of mine using the gorgeous Fiona Loves Flowers rubber stamp from Stamping Bella, isn't she gorgeous.


This is a nice clean and simple design for me using some of my many scraps of leftover paper...I just can't bear to throw anything away!

Pink and turquoise is one of my favourite colour combos and is one I use often but I really must learn how to colour hair other than brown lol!

That's all from me today folks, have a wonderful Monday

Shelly xx

Sweet Baby Girl and Boy

Sunday 14 June 2015
Hey there folks, it's been a drab and miserable day here in the North East, the perfect day for crafting!

I've just made two brand new baby cards which are for sale on my FB Group Page Little Megs Cards.  They are both A6 in size and are £2.75 each.

I absolutely adore this stamp, it's the beautiful My Baby Shower from All Dressed Up Stamps, isn't it cute!

The baby boy version has been made using some beautiful flocked papers I bought for a bargain in TK Maxx before Christmas.  If you have one near you you should check out their craft section there are some amazing bargains to be had.


This is the baby girl one made using papers from Pink Petticoat....


Both of the images are coloured with Copics and I've added my little dotty background using the pen tips around the edge of the image.

I hope you like them.

I am being summoned downstairs now as Rich has made some pancakes.....yummy !

See you soon

Shelly xx

Happy Birthday Morgan

Friday 12 June 2015
Hi there everyone (by that I mean the three or four people that visit me lol!)

I don't know about you but I am looking forward to the weekend, we are going to get our new car tomorrow woohoo!!  I will be sorry to say goodbye to our reliable old Fanny Focus but she is starting to cost too much money and I could be using that to buy more craft supplies ;-)

Anyway enough of the waffle and down to business.  This one isn't a new make but it's one of my favourite custom orders from lat year.


She is made using the gorgeous Sweetie Pie digistamp from All Dressed Up, coloured using Copics and I have made a little spotty background with the brush tip ends of the pens.

The papers are from Lilli of the Valley and I really love this turquoise and lilac combo, it's really fresh.

The flower and number dies are both dienamics and the sentiments are computer generated.

Well that's all from me today, I am going to have to make some effort to look like I have done some housework !!

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Shelly xx

Little Cowboy

Thursday 11 June 2015
Morning peeps, it's another lovely sunshiney day and I am actually wearing a sleeveless top so it must be summer!

Today I would like to share a card that I have made with the cute Little Cowboy image from The Paper Shelter.   I think I may have mentioned before that I am not great with the whole masculine card thing...where do I put the pink and the glitter and the ribbon !


The papers are from Doodlebug (again!) and I've coloured my image using Copics.  Everything has been matted onto navy cardstock to make the layers pop and I've added a little dotty background to match the papers.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:-

The Crafter's Cafe Challenge - #120 Anything Goes
Fresh Brewed Designs - June 1-16 Dude
Papertake Weekly Challenge - One For the Boys
Crafting for All Seasons - Challenge 104 - It's a Boy Thing

I hope you all have a lovely crafty day......not long until the weekend !!

Shelly x

More Exciting News!!!

Wednesday 10 June 2015
Morning everyone

I am feeling very excited this morning as I have received two bits of good news this week :-)

I applied to be on the Crafty Sentiments Designs Challenge Design Team and am absolutely thrilled to have been accepted.  There are some fantastic stamps available and I can't wait to get working with them.

As if that wasn't enough I received a message this morning inviting me back onto the Design Team for My Mum's Craft Shop !!!  I used to be on the team a while ago but due to personal circumstances had to step down so I am absolutely over the moon to have been invited back.

They say good things happen in threes so who knows what might happen next lol!

Have a great day everyone

Shelly xx

The Key to My Heart

Tuesday 9 June 2015
Hi there everyone, hope you are all enjoying this beautiful sunshine, I just hope it lasts!

Today I would like to share a card I've made using one of my favourite CC Designs stamps (and believe me I have many!) called Violet with Key.  I have her as a digi but I think she is only available in rubber now.

This is a fairly CAS card for me, still a few layers sneaking in there though lol!


She has been coloured with Copics and I've glittered her wings with Glamour Dust, although that isn't really showing up very well on the pic.

The papers are from Doodlebug (I do have lots more papers honestly but I seem to have a bit of a Doodlebug thing going on at the moment).

Everything has been matted onto navy cardstock with some faux stitching here and there plus some buttons to top it off.

Oh and the sentiment is from Paper Smooches Sentiment Sampler set.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges :-

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge 10 - Anything Goes
Craft Your Passion Challenge 265 - Anything Goes
Scribble & Scrap Challenge 46 - Anything Goes

Hope you all have a wonderful day.

Shelly xx

Cardmaker of the Year 2014

Monday 8 June 2015
Morning everyone, the weekends sure do fly by, I can't believe it's Monday again.

There has been a lot of blue around the blog lately so let's soften things up a bit and throw some pastel colours into the mix.

Last year I entered a Cardmaker of the Year competition in one of the craft magazines and was amazed to be one of the ten runners up!

I had to submit three cards to enter and this was one of them.


The papers are all from the Blank Canvas pad by First Edition.  I have a couple of these pads...one to stroke and one to use ;-) and the image is Amy from Wee Stamps.  I have her as a digi but I don't think you can get her in digi form now but you can buy her in rubber from Dies to Die For.  They really are beautiful images to colour and the details are fantastic.

I've used various flower dies for my embellishments plus the Pippi Butterfly die from Memory Box.

As always there are lots and lots of luscious layers !

That's all from me today, hope you have a great day whatever you are up to :-)

Shelly xx

Birthday Princess

Friday 5 June 2015
Hi everyone, I am really short on time today as it's taken me so long to make this card that I missed lunch and I need to get sorted before I do the school run lol!

It's another blue one from me today and for a change it's a princess card with not a hint of pink!

I am so in love with this card and although I printed out the image a little too large for my card I think I have made it work.


I have used the gorgeous Ballgown Ella digi from the Papernest Dolls and she has been coloured with Copics as always.  I've been having a practice doing folds....can you tell ;-)

The papers are from Lili of the Valley Petal Fresh pad and the flowers are Lil Inker's dies.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenge this week :-


Right I had best be off, my tummy is rumbling so bad !

Have a great weekend everyone.

Shelly xx


The Paper Shelter - Make it Colourful

Thursday 4 June 2015
Morning folks, dare I ask if summer is finally here?  It was lovely to do the school run in the sunshine for a change!

Today I am sharing a card that I have made with the fantastic Cirque stamp from The Paper Shelter.  I knew as soon as I saw this stamp that I had to have it and she was amazing to colour and it's the first time I have ever coloured blue hair,


This was a custom card made for a girl whose favourite colour is blue.  My customer fell in love with a pink version I had made in the card and wanted it done in blue.

Blue isn't a colour I work with much so I was a bit apprehensive but I am really glad with how it turned out :-)

The papers are from the Papermania Capsule Collection, all matted onto black to tie in with the image.

I am going to enter my card into the following challenge:-

The Paper Shelter - Challenge 206 - Make it Colourful

I hope you all have a lovely sunny day !

Shelly xx


Little Monkey

Wednesday 3 June 2015
Good morning everyone :-)

Today I want to share with you one of my previous custom orders.  I don't take very many orders any more but I used to absolutely love doing the children's cards where I could be free and easy with the bright colours and embellishments.

This card for Joshua was one of my favourites and I am certainly living up to my 'Shelly Layers' nickname with this one!


I have never ever got away with the CAS style of card, although I so wish I could and for some reason my cards always look boring in that style so for me it's the more layers and texture the better lol!

The cute little monkey is a digistamp I have had for years from CC Designs when they used to do digis.  He has been a very popular little fellow on children's cards over the years.

The papers are mostly Doodlebug that have been in my stash for a loooong time and I have matted all my layers onto navy cardstock to make them pop, as well as some faux stitching around the edges.

What card would be complete without buttons so I have added a few mini ones here and there along with some die cut stars to embellish.

Hope you all have a lovely day, not long now until the weekend :-)

Shelly xx

Catherine Nibbling Chocolate - Stamping Bella

Monday 1 June 2015
Gooood morning, who stole the weekend?!

I'm back to the day job today but before I crack on I am just popping in with a card made using some of my favourite stamps....Stamping Bella Uptown Girls.  I have seen some sneak peeks of the new release and I can tell I the bank manager isn't going to be happy with me this month!

This lovely is Catherine Nibbling Chocolate - and doesn't she look so elegant doing it.  I have coloured her up with copics and fussy cut around her before mounting her onto my card.


All of the papers are from Pink Petticoat and I have matted everything onto pink cardstock.  Unfortunately I don't know the name of the embossing folder as I picked it up in a sale a couple of years ago and I don't have the packaging.

I have embellished with some die cut flowers and buttons and there you have it!

Better go and actually do some work, I need the money to feed my craft habit ;-)

Have a happy Monday folks

Shelly xx