**Simon Says Stamp-Tember Blog Hop**

For the second year in a row, Simon Says Stamp and Show & The Simon Says Stamp Challenge are joining forces to bring you a SUPER hop and treasure hunt to celebrate the approaching fall and winter holidays.

To help celebrate we will be giving a BIG BASKET OF CRAFTING GOODIES tothe winner of this hop! PLUS 3 $25 VOUCHERS to the Simon Says Stamp Store ! The vouchers will be the hidden treasure on 3 DT blogs and you have to find them. You MUST enter the challenge and link your creations with the Inlinkz on the Stamp and Show Challenge to be able to win the Grand Prize or any of the $25 vouchers :-) 
The theme for both challenges this week will be ANYTHING GOES. You can make anything you like … a card, an ATC, a Scrapbook layout … the possibilities are endless!

The last stop on the hop is the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge blog. You will need to leave a comment there with the names of the 3 blogs with hidden treasure. The comments will be moderated so you will not be able to see the answers.
You do not HAVE to comment on all the DT blogs but we would appreciate any comments you would like to leave. If you lose your way at any time a full list of all the participating blogs with links will be available on Simon Says Stamp Challenge and the Stamp and Show Challenge blogs.
If you arrived here from Heather's Blog then you are going in the right direction ... the next blog you want is Simon Says Stamp and Show.

For the anything goes theme ... I thought I would go for a lot of Grungepaper ... a lot of Wendy Vecchi stamps ... a lot of Ranger product ... and a tatty old discarded and unloved hardback book! Of course ... I used a Lord Tim of Holtz die too ... you know Tim ... the man that can walk to the North Pole in his bare feet just  to build a shelter for several hundred Polar Bears with just a Distress Stain and a splodge of Glossy Accents!

So ... wanna know what else I have been up to ... well ... I have just finished designing my next set of classes ... been out boogeying at a couple of Motown do's ... and ... get this ... I am on DAY NINE ... day nine of what??? I hear you ask ... well ... drum roll please ... day nine of not smoking! There is a fabulous lady at Boots the chemists helping me ... gave me a bit of a shock she did when she got me to blow into her little machine and I lit up every single Carbon Monoxide light on there!!! Well ... went back on Friday and ... only two lights ... which is apparently completely normal for a non smoking type person such as me! Apparently there is Carbon Monoxide present in the air ... not a lot I hastened to add ... but a little bit! So ... Have I found it easy??? Have I heck as like! Oh My Goodness ... I may look calm and serene on the outside ... but on the inside my body is screaming ... GIVE ME A CIGARETTE! At one point ... I was wearing Nicotine patches ... chewing Nicotine gum and puffing on a Nicotine Inhaler wotsit and still nearly crying because I wanted a cigarette so badly!!! Still ... no pain ... no gain ... I intened NEVER to put myself through this again ... so the 21st of August was definitely the last time I will ever smoke!
I think that is about it ... well all I can remember for now ... don't forget ... if you are on the hop ... you want to go here next!!!
laters!

A Little Reminder ...

Just a quick reminder ... Don't forget you have until Tuesday night to join in with Simon Says Stamp and Show current Travel theme for a chance to win a $50 Shopping voucher to spend at Simon Says Stamp.
Then ... Drum roll please ...
For the second year in a row, Simon Says Stamp and Show & The Simon Says Stamp Challenge are joining forces to bring you a SUPER hop and treasure hunt to celebrate the approaching fall and winter holidays. Be sure to check out the site on August 31st to start the hop. It will run through September 5th. Simon Says Stamp is offering some great prize packages, and there will be other opportunities to win some blog candy, too!
Laters!

Have Time ... Will Travel!

I have actually been travelling today ... still Sunday as I type this ... well Just ... if I am honest! I popped over to sunny Milton Keynes for the Grand Opening of Lovely Lin's beeeeeeeautiful workshop! Oh Boy do I have workshop envy now!
Anyways ... Marvellous Mark did a magnificent job of the BBQ ... it looked a bit shaky at one point ... I say Shaky ... I actually mean ... erm ... Smokey ... but the food was cooked to perfection ... not a burnt bit in sight ... most impressive! And the sun came out and everything!

Now ... back to Monday ... it is indeed time for a new challenge at Simon Says Stamp and Show ... the theme this week is travel. I masked lots of Lord Tim of Holtz's Hotel Labels stamps ... you know Tim ... the man that can walk on water while administering brain surgery to a great white shark with just a doodad and a tiny piece of tissue tape!
If you head on over to the challenge site you will indeed see all the details for the challenge along with details of the magnificent $50 shopping voucher you could win frm our wonderful sponsor Simon Says Stamp!
Not only that ... but you have more time to enter this week ... because ... For the second year in a row, Simon Says Stamp and Show & The Simon Says Stamp Challenge are joining forces to bring you a SUPER hop and treasure hunt to celebrate the approaching fall and winter holidays. Be sure to check out the site on August 31st to start the hop. It will run through September 5th. Simon Says Stamp is offering some great prize packages, and there will be other opportunities to win some blog candy, too!
I must away ...
I can hear my lovely pillows calling ...
Laters!

Mmmm ... It Seemed Like a Good Idea ...

... At the time! Do you know anyone quite as daft as me? Please don't actually answer that ... not out loud anyway! As you are all probably aware ... I set the challenges at Simon Says Stamp and Show ... usually months in advance ... and when I set them ... well ... I have a vague idea of what I may make. On this occassion ... I saw the theme and well ... to say I was a teensy bit panic stricken is an understatement! Bling??? I don't often do bling! Blimey ... Where to start!
Anyways ... after the initial panic subsided ... and I am doing rather a lot of that at the moment ... panicking I mean ... I set about turning a chunky mini canvas into a chunky ATC.

With THE Wendy Vecchi stamps and Fired Brick Distress Ink ... I added a frame around the Lord Tim of Holtz script stamp ... you know Tim ... the man that can tame King Kong from the top of the Empire State Building while putting the sparkle on all the stars ... in all the sky ... by hand with just a smidgeon of Jet Black Archival and a spot of Black Enamel Accents.
I have just watched Sleepless in Seattle ... not a great move on my part ... especially after a glass or two of Rose ... hence the King Kong reference ... but that is a whole nother story!
So people ... bearing in mind the title of this blog post ... do tell ... what have you done??? ... that seemed like a great idea at the time??? ... the funnier the better really ... a girl needs a laugh! Oh and don't forget to check out the rest of the amazing team's work at Simon Says Stamp and Show ... if you enter ... you could win a $50 shopping spree donated by the wonderful site sponsor ... Simon Says Stamp.
I must away ... I have classes to design ... I cannot believe the new season is nearly upon us ... exactly where did the last three months go???
Laters!

Wise Words!

Looky ... I am cheating already ... and it's only Monday! I have made the pictures small so it looks like I have more to say :0) I know .... I know ... shame on me ... but you really don't wanna hear my tales of Domestic Godessness ... trust me!
To be fair ... it was n't all domestic chores ... I did have a lovely day teaching my Ranger Masterclass  at LB Crafts ... and I had a couple of nights out ... including a Thai ... meal ... you understand!

Anyways ... back to the business in hand ... This week at Simon Says Stamp and Show we are asking to see your Lord Tim of Holtz techniques. Obviously there are far too many for me to make a choice on ... so I went for the random approach! I threw open my Compendium of Curiosities and went with the page I landed on ... which was ... well hopefully it's obvious ... Alcohol Ink Splatter! The stamps are also Lord Tim of Holtz ... you know Tim ... the man that can make anything feel better with some wise words on a stamp while cliff diving in Acapulco with just a spot of Glossy Accents and a Paper Piercing Tool.
Once again ... the generous site sponsor, Simon Says Stamp, are very generously offering a $50 gift voucher for a randomly drawn entry ... so what are you waiting for?
I must away ... I have my MOJO back ... well ... a bit of it anyway ...
Wish me luck ...
Laters!

Simon Says ...

Happy August everyone! At least I hope it is going to be a happier August than the June and July I have just had! Many of you now know that John has gone and I find myself doing the unheard of ... cooking! Yikes! I am happy to say that I have actually cooked a roast and eaten it ... and I am still here to tell the tale! So is the house ... and I did n't set off any alarms or anything! A good start me thinks!
Okay then ... down to business ... Simon Says Stamp and Show a Tag this week! So here is my tag in all of it's glory ... or not as the case may be!

I used Colourwashes through some Grungeboard Alpha waste ... like a stencil ... to create the background. I distressed all the edges within an inch of their lives and then decided to layer the tags on top of each other for a change.
The gorgeous Mannekin is an Art Part from THE Wendy Vecchi which has been painted and then stamped! The stamps and the butterfly are indeed from Lord Tim of Holtz ... you know Tim ... the man that can solve the American Debt Crisis in his sleep while playing Beethoven's fifth on one blade of grass with just a jump ring and the top off a Distress Stain!
As is usual with the challnege ... our ever generous sponsor Simon Says Stamp has donated a $50 shopping spree and to be in with a chance of winning it ... all you need do is enter!
I must away ... I have things like food shopping and stuff to do now too ... I may be some time :0)
Laters!