Well hello peepy peeps, another week has flown by, where does the time go these days or is it just my age, I'm sounding like my mother...hmmph, perish that thought!...

Right, firstly before I forget, our Ideal World/Create and Craft Show has been brought forward a day and is actually now Wed 1st July at 12, there has been mucho confusion but I

suppose that's the norm in the world of TV. So, if you would like a really good belly laugh tune in to see me struggling to string a sentence together and my hands shaking like a jellyfish on a diving board - and you better make sure you have plenty of Tena to hand and a tissue to

dry those tear-y little eyes as I can almost guarantee there will be Tena moments aplenty!! :D And on a more serious note if you want to see a really good selection of what's on the CD make sure you tune in.

Anyway, a very very busy week for me as I'm busy prepping for the show and flapping about like a pac-a-mac in t'wind and I haven't had chance to make a card this week, although I promise to try and make one next week! But who needs me when we have the awesome Team Doodle on call to haul me out of the proverbial poop...(oh I just have to share, I'm sure all you handbag freaks won't mind - whilst writing this I'm watching Lulu Guiness on QVC and I have just fallen in love with this bag (pic doesnt do this justice it has an awesome handle which just sits around your wrist like a bracelet). Not that I didn't choke at the price!

So,onto business! So last week saw lots of lovely entries for the fab flowery ovaly card and you all took the sketch and made it your own with some great great cards as always, so I think you can all give yourselves a pat on the back! pat, pat, pat...

Every week it seems to get harder and harder to choose the winners and I really struggled this week - we have a very democratic voting process at Team Doodle...firstly, we all select our fave 3 and then those are then shortlisted to a top 5 or 6 which are then re-voted on again.

Personally I think this is a really fair system as we all have very different tastes and choices each week, so it really is the majority vote in the end and extremely fair.

So this week's lucky winners are.... ALL of you!! Yes, I promised you all a freebie last week if you entered so please email me at sales@polkadoodles with a link to your blog so I know it' s you and I will send you a wee freebie.

However, we do need a Top 3 and this week's lucky ladeees (where are the men's entries?)

are....

in 3rd place.....Scrappy Max

in joint 1st place....Kris L and Kazzy

This was a REALLY close call and barely a vote between the 3, so congrats to all 3 of you, weloved your creations! As it's our 5th birthday Scrappy Max will get a download and Kris L and Kazzy will both get something extra spesh, so make sure you email me girls please at

sales@polkadoodles.co.uk.

And I also have decided this week to give a special mench to this lovely lady Brandy - bless her cotton socks it's her first ever blog post and her first ever challenge entry this week so I think she deserves a mention and she had such a lovely smiley photo on her blog I felt like giving her a squeezey hug!...(it's ok Brandy I ain't gonna stalk you hun!!) LOL!

Right, well this week we're having a little changeroo. As I'm the wicked witch of craft I didn't let the Doodlers use a sketch this week but I'm nicer to you guys so you can either use the

sketch or do your own layout, but you MUST use a landscape card (ie the fold is on the top and it is a rectangle). The rules are that you have to colour an image yourself - this can either be a stamped image or a topper, any image, andyou can use whatever you like to colour but you cannot use fabric ribbons, you must use a paper ribbon instead...have fun, I'm looking forward to what you do with this one!...

So the ol' Team Doodlers never fail to impress and I was a bit mean making them do their own thing this week. They had to follow the same rules but with no sketch and I made them use Polly Polkadoodle - and this is what they did...

created by Michelle...Michelle has coloured Polly with her Sakura Stardust so she is all glittery and lush - great idea to use the paper weaving technique here, she's cut down 2 of the backing papers to make the strips, verry nice. Also, note how a lot of us on the design team overlap the edges of the cards with the embellies - this really lifts the card to another level I think and it's a grrreat tip...

created by Maggie...lovely use of paper ribbons here, I love the pleated look and love this as a frame. Maggie has coloured 2 images of Polly and has made one into a spinner in the aperture - love the way she's made the aperture a scallop too, very inventive...

created by Krista...Krista is Queen of fresh and funky I think, and I love this girlie girlie card and the colours she's used on Polly it's so bright and cheerful...buttons make such cute centres to flowers don't they...

created by Enfys... another fab creation, love love love the flowers here...

"I coloured Polly with copics and cut the strips out of the stitched paper and concertina'd small strips up to make a funky pleated flower."

created by Sue... simple but adorable...

" A landscape card, depicting Polly (coloured in with Adirondack inks and water colour pencils), one blue paper ribbon, two tiny pink buttons, a layered flower with a centre gem."


created by Lou...

"My Polly has gone "brunette" for this weeks challenge! She has been coloured with Promarkers & the flowers have been coloured with Sakura glaze pens. The ribbon is hiding a wee bit but it is definitely there and I used one of the circle sentiments with a button in the middle, decorated with wire. The inside of the card has also been decorated to match the front."

Lou has also used 3 of the fab Stackies flowers layered up to give a really fresh colourful look, and I love the way she's partly hidden it behind the main image, a great idea when you use a big flower and don't have much room on the card....created by Kerry...Kerry is Queen of the beads and I think it's developing into her trademark!...

"Colouring - what a nightmare. I've lost count of how many Pollys went in the bin but I eventually ended up with one I was happy with. Loved the colour of the card so kept it quite plain. Made the ribbon, folded it to rough it up, then threaded flowers onto it. I wanted to use little buttons for her braces, but it made her look like she had a big pair of boobs. Not sure the flowers don't do the same :) "...

created by Ruth...

Ruth is very creative and always thinks outside the card, so to speak! Love what she's done here with the ribbons and she's tied in one of the Lulu Ladybug sentiments too...

"It's landscape, Polly has been coloured and glittered (and Stackies flower too!) and I've used paper ribbon. Sorry about the wonky photo - must try harder!!"



created by Saskia...she always manages to twist the idea and come up with something great - love the combo of the name on here, looks fab...

"So, this is my take on the 'landscape card. I coloured Polly with Derwent-pencils and glitterpens. I made the card for my godchild who will be 11 on 15th July.

So, that's it Folks! So get your doodlie hats on and your colouring pens out, we all like our crayons, and get to work! Remember to stick to the rules now! ;D

ttfn xxxx

...come in please, No. 5!...

Well my lovely doodlers, the weather is (kinda) good and light nights mean we get more done on an evening. Or not, if like me you are already addicted to Big Bro and the arguments which are now starting! Now, before I forget, I must leave a titchie reminder to tune into Create and Craft/Ideal World on 2nd July at noon for a lickle show with yours truly. And I promise

NOT to say lickle (lol!). Although I can't promise not to quiver and shake in my boots for the first airing of my grinning mug splattered on the screen! So if you've been wondering what the fuss is all about for the Sugar Birdies CD, it will be officially launched on C&C on the 2nd July. Plus there will be some other goodies on the show too, and hopefully some cool demo's if my hands are steady enough! Of course all my nails have broked this week, tut. So please feel free to tune in and mock as much as you like, but please don't call in and abuse me!!! LOL!

Anyways, another craft-fest of a week and a sketchie which was a li-i-ttle bit different this week, we think it threw up a proper little challenge and made everyone think some! Which, I suppose is what this is all about, getting us all to crayon outside the lines once in a while. It never fails to amaze me at the different interpretations people have of a simple drawing - what you all come up with is never what I had in mind when I draw it, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE that! Anyone who knows me knows I don't like to follow the norm!

Sooo, onto the Good News (remember that!??) and this week's lovely winners are...

in 2nd place we have the lovely ScrappyMax

and this week we have a joint first place with

Rosy and Hope Jacare!

Yaaayyyy!

Congrats to all 3 of you, please email me at sales@polkadoodles.co.uk

and you will get your lovelie rewards.

So, onto the next one, seeing as you are all gluttons for punishment!

We have another sketch this week and again, it's quite open to interpretation and the lovely doodle dollies have certainly come up with some fab variations on this. Here ya go...

You can do what you like with this sketch but you need to use at least 3 flowers (any size), and the sentiment needs to be across the bottom where the text is. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Next week's winner will get a special prize in celebration of our 5th week birthday and everyone who joins in will get a nice freebie too.

We are a little thin on the ground from the Doodle Queens this week as a few of us have had a very stressful 7 days and the girlies are all working their fingers to the bones on tv samples for me, so I'm sure you will all be very understanding, but we still have lots of lovely lovely creations for you to feast your eyes on. So get your cuppa and your chocolate and have a look at these beauties, there are some fab ideas in here this week...

This week the Design Team were only allowed to use Orange and Pink, and they had to (cough, cough, were supposed to) use 2 buttons...lol ....


created by Krista...this fabulous bag is sooooo summery, what a total delight! Love that Krista has used some different shapes here and that little parasol is adorable! Just one thing missing though Krista - a big yummy ice cream with a flake in it!! LoL!...

created by Kath...as ever Kath inspires us all, she really is one very talented lady when it comes to paper thingies and she's made this gorgeous bag this week. I want one and I'm considering commissioning these to sell to everyone I know! ...

created by Enfys...what can we say about En, she always gives us some fab combinations and I always love the little details she includes, every time I see her cards I just think "wish I'd

thought of that". No wonder she's got 500 followers on her blog, she's a total star. Like here,
where she's just cut a random little cloudy shape, it just looks lush and goes so well with the
doodle spots...

created by Saskia...this card is a typical Saskia card I think, all girly and lush, I love the way she's sneaked a peek at one of the butterflies from the CD, first time we've seen these I think, tee hee...I love the scalloped edge of the card and the way the paper flower works so well with the prima too...

...oo I forgot it opens out like this, what a faberooni idea! will be lifting this one for sure!...

created by Maggie...a fab step card and a MASSIVO flower, think she knows I love big flowers! lol! I like the way she's printed the letters in different sizes here, they do work well, and she's gone to town on the old Stickles. The pic doesn't show the buttons very well but Maggie's used 2 large clear buttons as the centre of the flowers and then attached a circle of the orange paper over the top and attached with some bendy thread...


created by tip top Ruth...I ADORE what Ruth's done with this. The card is made from a sturdy acetate and she's cute the shape at the top - in fact, Ruth has followed the sketch exact this week and this IS how I envisioned it when I drew it, which doesn't happen very often. The flowers on this are just, just....AMAZING! She keeps inspiring us all to use vellum and again she's printed the flowers onto the vellum and I think they look absolutely lushy lush, they make me want to reach in and stroke them, I just love it, this is so my kinda thing...
created by Kerry...another wowser from Kerry, again pushing the envelope a little with another little gift bag anyone would love to receive, adorable (must search the dictionary for some more descriptive terms!)...
...but look, what's this... oooo goody goodies....
...now that's what I call a gift!! (and very adaptable for boys too if you made it into a satchel) Kerry was very clever here and she actually used the daisy backing paper but scaled it up and then cut out the flowers in a much larger format so they co-ordinate perfectly. If you want to do this and don't know how, you should be able to select a "poster" setting when you print which will let you reduce or enlarge your prints. Love this...

created by Lou...Wow! Lou has really pushed the card out this week with this beautiful wedding card - how different to use the pink and orange, but it works so well! She's created a great "stair" card here...
Lou used the Birdie Stampies as a "Bride" and "Groom". She made a top hat & added a cravat using 1 of the required buttons to hold the ribbon in place for the groom and made a ribbon Veil for the bride - very cute!...


...I also like the way she's used some extra hearts on the wings...nice touch...
So, that's your lot for this week, hope we've inspired you with some great ideas and colours, now it's your turn! Don't forget, deadline is Wednesday noon GMT so make sure you enter as you are guaranteed a freebie (I'm getting far too generous, must be my new barnet that's affected my brain). xxx

just a little treat...

...as an extra little treat this week, click on the link to get a fab little download bundle called "Tropical Birds"! x

...yo!

Welcome back to Team Doodle with our Doodle Dollies (hahah!). Boy oh boy, do we have some awesome treats for you this week...and I'm not talking yummy cupcakes neither...
BUT, first things first and lets do the important bits - this week's winning creations! It's really nice to see we've got a regular following in our 4th week (crikey where has the time gone, someone stole it!) and the Doodle Dollies are loving snooping around t'interweb at all your cool sites and cards, we all had a tough time this week and it was a very very close thing...

so, without further ado, this week's winners are....drum roll pleeeeeeeez....

in joint 2nd place....

KrisL and Rosy

and this week's fabulous winner is

Katesacraftybugger

with her fab creation here

Big congrats and hugs to all 3 of you, it was our most difficult choice yet so well done!

Please email me at sales@polkadoodles.co.uk for your awards!

Right then, nicey nicey is all over, it's on with the show and this is the part where you hate me...
here's this week's sketch, it's a little bit different.....

...mwaaahahahah!

You MUST use a stamped (or digi stamp) image & you MUST use this FREEBIE HERE which you can use however you wish, ie you can change the colour if you want to,(nb:you will need to create an account to get the download but ignore the minimum order prompt, you can still checkout without any charges)....

(please also refer to the general rules for challenges, some of you are missing out by not following the rules!)

The inspiration for this sketch came from my current obsesh with birds and birdhouses although I didn't tell the DT this as I wanted to see how they interpreted it themselves - I wasn't disappointed, in fact, this week they blew my mind with their oodles of talent! I was quite overcome with admiration I have to tell you. Really. And it doesn't happen much with me, that...

...and now I'm gonna button it cos it's time for the bit we all love, the fabbie Doodle Dollies have really outdone themselves this week, I was feeling a ton-load of presh - large gulps, dry throat and at one point I was going to sit this one out, but we were a couple of peeps short this week so I thought I'd better make an effort! Anyway, I know you are going to LOVE each and every one of this week's projjies and if you don't go away feeling inspired then you need your eyes testing!!...so here ya go my dahhhlings....get a cuppa and a biccie and sit yourself down, you will want to feast on these lovelies...

This week most of the DT used the Lulu Ladybug collection from the Sugar Birdies CD and we all love Lulu lots!(for those who've pre-ordered, shipping is early next week). And, I can now finally announce that the CD will be officially launched at the beginning of July on Ideal World/Create and Craft TV. This is very exciting for us, as it's our first time on TV, so we are on a bit of a high at the moment! Also if you head over to my blog there is a bit more info about an exclusive on this and news of my next collection due soon...

created by Sue...what a lovely, fresh card, Sue's turned the sketch upside down and used crystal lacquers on the flowers to give them extra dimension, as well as printing them in 2 different sizes...

created by Lou...well, I personally think this is just simply lush from Lou, if someone gave me this I would think it was adorable and would treasure it forev...we all loved Lulu's cute little flower behind her ear!! awwwww!!....

created by Saskia...we all loved this fantastic little bag from Saskia, HOW cute is that!!!! This would make an awesome gift for someone, big or small, and how adorable to adapt the idea for wedding favours or for little flower girls to carry...

created by Foo Foo...a simple card but its all in the detail. Cut a hole from the scallop to make the aperture & the birdhouse handle is 2 paper borders glued together & attached with small brads, with Lulu hanging from the top by her legs! All the ladybirds are coated in glossy accents to make them really pop. The sentiment is fringed & distressed to make a layered embellie...

created by Maggie...here Maggie has used punches to make the roof and we love the little gates, how cute! She's then punched out Lulu 3 times and added them over the top of the paper for some definition, very sweet...

created by Ruth...we all thought this was faberoonie...here Ruth has printed off the flowers onto coloured vellum and layered them up with a normal print behind which adds real drama. She's added extra doodles onto the smaller flower and the sentiment too...

created by Krista...it goes without saying we all love Krista's lovely colour choices and she's done another stunner this week - love the pink ladybug! and she's the first one to sneak one of the cute flutterbies in there too!...

created by Enfys...Wowser!!! Another awesome creation! En made this adorable "flowerpot" which pulls out to reveal the card - lovely lovely lovely! Black white and red is such a classic formula, it always adds drama and there's plenty here!...

created by Kerry...when you use a sketch think about using it in different ways, Kerry was brave enough to turn it upside down this week and by just snipping the point away it will stand perfectly well. Love the beadwork on the birdies tail, really great details!...

created by Michelle...the pic doesn't show it here but Michelle cut the vines from one of the papers and then glued it over the doodle dots - clever girl! The shape of this card would make a great invitation or place setting for a table, reminds me of a lovely napkin!...

created by Kath...Wow, Wow, Wow!! we all ADORED this gorgeous birdhouse by Kath. She's addicted to the circle alpha's from the CD and we can see why...

...well, I think that's quite enough inspiration for one week, we don't want to make you all overdose! Now, put down that cup and dust off those crumbs, it's time for you to get to work! C'mon, crack open the stash right now and join in the challenge!! x TTFN! x