Friday 31 July 2009

I want candyyyyy...

...Pheweee what a busy busy week! Here at PD Towers we seem to have an order mountain the size of Ben Nevis and we don't seem to be getting anywhere! Good job the Krismeister is on the case, but seriously, if you are still waiting for an order we apologise profusely (creep creep) and assure you we are on it. All orders are being despatched in date order of when they were placed and we know some seem to be taking ages but we are working almost night and day and will be trying to clear them through the coming weekend.

Right on with the nicey nicey bits. So this is the first week under the new rules and I fink we is all a bit confused, mother! So I'm gonna dispense with all the niceties and get down on it (oo get down on it, 80's throwback there).

First of all - Design Team challenge. The entries for this are now well and truly closed and for all the trillions (well, not quite) of hopefuls out there, got my fingers and toes crossed, the Doodle Dollies are snooping around on your blogs as we speak. I will announce the result on Monday night. Ooooo exciting!

So, the winners of this/last/whenever's challenge was to use the Tropical Birdies download from last time. Have to say laydeeees there were some great entries, it was darned hard to choose, there were some stunning ones this week. Wish I could choose everyone every week, you all work so hard and I hate it when loads of people deserve a mench. When I'm rich and famous I will do a challenge where you are all winners and you can all have fab candy.

So the winners are:

Cornish Mist
Teri
and Katie
You lucky girls will all be getting a lovely Sugar Birdies CD! Yay!

We also have to say hi and well done to Paper Creatives who was our newbie winner this week and will get some lovely candy for her troubles.
(can you all email me your addresses please to sales@polkadoodles.co.uk)

Right, on to this week.
We don't have a sketch this week but I challenged the Teamies to use the Candy Doodles CD and make a card/project which is also a gift and this will also be your challenge this week.
There are loads of different options for this, handbag cards, cards that have envelopes with something inside, mini wordbooks, voucher pockets, loads and loads of ideas. AND for a bit of added incentive whilst EVERYONE else seems to be on hols, the winner next week will get a Sugar Birdies CD too. Sigh, I'm just tooo nice...deadline for entries is...Sun 9th August at noon, loadsaaaa time....

As usual the Team have come up with some fab ideas but we are a bit light on entries this week as the entire Team seems to be on holiday at the same time! Tut, no I'm not jealous at all, note to self: must check those holiday requisition forms better next time >:(
So because we wanted to make sure you all have plenty of inspiration we've regurgitated some of the previous challenge entries as the Doodle Dollies have done stacks of projects like this before for you. OMG we are so so lucky to have these lovely peeps on the team...here ya go, enjoy!(apologies for the older entries being at the top, Mr Blogger is doing his usual Thurs night playing up bit for me and I can't get anything to switcheroo).

created by Saskia....Saskia loves getting her teeth into these sort of projects and she hasn't disappointed here, this is makin' me hungry! She's used the distressable flower from the Candy Doodles CD here...
another previous idea from Saskia, a fab tin with little coasters inside - lush, I love this one...(papers from Sugar Birdies CD)...
made by Kerry...again a previous entry here, this gorge bag from Kerry holds sweeties inside! (Or it did before it appeared on Create & Craft and the sweets got shared around the camera guys!)...
made by Kath...this lush bag was entered in a previous challenge and this was a deffo hit with us all, we think it's adorable and sooo easy to make...(papers from Sugar Birdies CD)...
another fab design from Lou and this was also used in a previous challenge too...adorable...

made by Enfys...En entered this fabbylish creation a few weeks ago, awesome!...

created by Ruth...LOVE this handbag from Ruth, I think anyone would love this as a card/pressie...she's used the Candy Doodles stash here and the bag is holding a yummy bar of choccie!...

created by Lou...such a happy happy card...
oooo and look what's inside! gimme gimme!...
created by En... a pamper pressie! flip, what I wouldn't give for that right now!...I love that check paper from the CD and I think En is addicted to those trees, but they're such a good choice, she's a real packaging expert here!...


created by Kath...again we have the trees which are from the Garden collection, think these are the firm faves from the CD so far!
...and an adorable notecard set, again I LOVE these, fantastic!...
Right then, what are you waiting for, go on, scuttle off and get making something lush for your fave peeps...we will see you next week...oh maybe Monday for the DT announcement...thanks for tuning in this week!...

Friday 24 July 2009

woo hoo!

Well, hellerrrrrrr you loverlie lot!

We don't have any winners to announce today due to the new rule changes so tune in next week for the winning entries of last week's challenge and if you havent entered yet you still have till Sunday, yippee!
Well, I am in a really good mood this week as it's our 2 month birthday, happy birthday to us, happy birthday to us...even more reason for you to enter the challenge this week, specially if you are a newbie, just see what you can win etc on last week's challenge post, lots of candy available!

Anyway enough of the drivelling, hope you got to see the show on Create and Craft on Tuesday and if not we are being repeated over this coming weekend for the big craft spectacular (sorry don't know times etc). We are totally overwhelmed at how popular the launch of Candy Doodles is, we can't keep up with the orders and have a mountain of orders to despatch, so if you have pre-ordered it I know you've been waiting already but please please bear with us, we are trying our hardest to work through them! Kris even threatened to stay up all night but he can't possibly do that he gets tired enough bless him. Right on with the kewl stuff...

This week's challenge is to use the following sketch....you can do what you want and use what you want, deadline for entries is Sunday 2nd August at noon, so don't be late!



















This week the team had to follow the same sketchie and use the Candy Doodles CD. Now, when I gave them the images for CD they only got half of them so they have tended to use similar ones this week, but it just goes to show how versatile they actually are. And what
mega designers are on the team.

Created by Saskia...(oops, had a few problems with the images here, sorry Saskia hun!)...anyway, I love this card by Saskia, she's chosen Jack, Polly's new beau and a handsome chap he is too. I just love love love that backing paper, it works with everything!...lush card.



















Created by Sue...Wow! Sue has used these lush butterflies which were a last minute inspiration for the CD and I'm soooo glad I included them as I love 'em! Awesome job she's done here, pink and black are soo lush together...


created by Krista...Krista has used the gorgeous Tweets collection here, lots of scrummy pastels and lovely birds to create a stunning bright and cheerful card...(the bird was named Colin live on air on Tuesday :? )...
created by Kath....this woman is sooo creative, it seems whatever she touches turns to crafty gold, what a gorgeous card this is. The daisies are a complete backing paper but she's cut them away and layered them up for this faberoo beauty - love love love the 3 kisses in the middle...created by Enfys...En opted for this lovely Garden collection from the CD and I love what she's done here with the aperture, quite simple but a fantastic card and I think you could send this to a guy maybe too? Wish I could be naffed to get my sewing machine out too, must create a space so it's just there I think. I love the 3 little mats at the bottom...

... and this is the first time (I'm sure not the last!) that you've seen "Fudge" - Polly's dog...


created by Ruth....I love Ruth's style and I think this li'l creation is soooo lovely, colours are great on this, all nicely washed out and green is my fave at the mo I think....

created by Lou...this is actually Lou's 2nd card and here she's picked a daisy bakcing paper with the scrummy Dolly Mix papers to make a fab baby card. At least I think it is, not sure with the pram ;D...


designed by Kerry...ooo Polly and her new bloke, Jack! Caught you both! No canoodling behind that giant daisy please!!! Love this card, it's so great for any occasion. I want to go and sit in a field of giant daisies too :)

created by Lou (deja vu)...this Garden Collection has been mega popular with the Teamies and I must admit I love it myself too, sooo versatile you can do a squillion things with this range...
just love scallop shaped cards...
Right then, get cracking, what you waiting for, you have a deadline to meet!! lol! xx

Friday 17 July 2009

more candy than you can poke a stick at...

Well, I hope you've all had a great week, as I'm writing this I'm in a stinky mood of the "don't speak to the man of the house" variety, but doing the ol' bloggeroo and seeing all your lovely creations is cheering me up as I type! Firstly, we're making a few mini changes at Polka Doodles but hopefully it will be for the better we think! So...
1. We're extending the entry times for each challenge, so the challenge will still go up each Friday but you have until the following Sunday to submit your entry which gives you over a week to make your lovely creations, yaaaayyy! We will then announce the winner on the following Friday when we upload the next challenge.
2. From now on you can enter your cards in up to 4 challenges - yaaayyyy, but please do check this as we still get lots of entries where you are entering 5 or more challenges and we hate it when we can't include someone who has broked the rule :( .

Right, so let's get on with the good stuff. Next week is our 2 month birthday from the launch of PD so in true birthday styleee I'm feelin' a little generous... So.... I decided to break with the norm this week in a little brainstorm and I've decided that instead of a 1-2-3 we shall have a Top 5 this week as it was very very hard to choose amongst you all. So this week's top 5 are....


Well done to you all, it really was a toughie and we loved ALL the entries so thanks to all of you who entered, fingers crossed for next time. This week all 5 winners are going to get some faberoo blog candy for your troubles, so if you can all email me your addresses to sales@polkadoodles.co.uk I will zip off down the postbox and mail you something spesh...see, we like to mix things up a little over here at PD, keeps you on your toes - and we like to give you a treat when we can so make sure you enter, you never know what goodies you might get! :D

Now, as I'm in such a good mood the Top 3 winners of next week's challenge will win....
A Sugar Birdies CD-Rom! Yayyyy - mega prize if I do say so myself! AND if you are a first-time PD challenger (we will check lol!) and you get shortlisted into our top 6 we will also send you some lush candy, yippeeee I hear you say! So get your entries in, remember, you have an extended deadline now so lots of time to play!...

And this week's challenge for you all is:
You MUST use the Tropical Birds download here, which I know a lot of you already have and you can use the sketch below, although this is OPTIONAL - you can do anything you like. Closing date for entries is: Sunday 26th July at noon, and the lucky winners will be announced the following Friday.

Just before I bog off I just want to remind you about the vacancy for a new Design Team member - if you'd like to join Team Doodle make sure you check this out here.
And secondly, just a quick reminder that you can see the brand new CD collection Candy Doodles on Create and Craft TV on tues 21st July at 11am (Sky 671 and Freeview 36) and it's available for pre-order now here...

anyway, here's your sketch for this week...you can do what you like with it, just remember to use the download...(I'm just editing this as some of you seem puzzled by the sketch, what I had in mind here was for you to maybe use little strips of paper at the bottom, or could be ribbon scraps etc? I think maybe's you all think it's harder than it is!!You can do ANYTHING for this challenge!!...also if you don't like the sketch don't use it! x FFF)...

So, on with the DT's offerings this week. They just had to use the Tropical Birds without a sketch and as always they never disappoint, despite me cracking the whip wanting samples for the TV show and everything else, bless their wrinkly stockings...I lurve them all soo much...enjoy!....

created by Michelle... the clean lines on this card are just lovely - sometimes less is more and this is fab, love the cute birdie which has been glittered within an inch of its life with Sakura Stardust! lol!...
created by Kerry...what a cute little birdie family! The swirly background also works really well with the party theme here and all those little birds are coloured in fabulously!...
Created by Enfys... Lovin' the sooo lush colouring En has done here, I love green and pink together it's one of my fave combo's. She's used her Promarkers here to do this fab colouring...gorge gorge gorge...

created by Saskia...Saskia has got creative again this week and used paints for colouring in the birdies - gives a totally different look, so why not give it a try...
created by Kath...what a lovely fresh card this is, how cute! I love how the bird is coloured with the polka dots and it's a relatively simple card but very effective...

created by Ruth...Ruth has coloured the birdie with felt tips and printed all the leaves onto card which have been chalked and then doodled around the edges. The branch is some twine she had left over from another project. Fab!...So there you have it! Another week another challenge - way to go Team Doodle and way to go Doodlers, lookin' forward to seeing all your entries!! xx

Monday 13 July 2009

Design Team Call

Here at Team Doodle we need another pair of creative hands! So if you fancy joining our friendly team please contact us on sales@polkadoodles.co.uk by 28th July...

Thursday 9 July 2009

don't panic dear, it's just a happy accident...

...well hellllooooo you lovely doodlers.......

I've been cooped up looking at the screen for nigh on 50 or so hours now (bit of zz's in between) and I think I've gone a bit doo-lally. The Doodle Dollies are all very busy girls and I've been working them soo hard, so some of them are having a bit of a break this week and it suddenly occurred to me last minute I should really make a card for the challenge since I havent done one for a couple of weeks either. So, mid-design of the new CD collecsh (ooo Candy Doodles, you will likey likey) I whizzed up a sooper dooper quick card in 10 mins flat without even getting out of the chair to get stash. Then as I sat proudly admiring said creation I realised.... "Fruit with a hidden element was last week's challenge you absolute brain-dead
bimbo. Tut!" Anyway in true "don't panic dear it's only a happy accident" styleee it was saved by making some last minute alts. Phew!


Well, En kindly stepped in as blogmistress last week whilst yours truly was otherwise engaged a la Create and Craft and a mountain of orders waiting to be packed and shipped, and a rather fine job she did too, I'm sure you'll agree. And before I forget, our next show on C&C is 21st July, where you'll be able to see the UK launch of our next brand new range Candy Doodles - if you love Sugar Birdies you'll also love this one too!! Anyway, I digress (big word)
the challenge was: Use Fruit with a hidden element! What a surprise, lol! Well as always there were some fabby fab entries and as always it's always hard to choose but choose we did and the winners are:
in joint 3rd place....Hope Jacare and Rosy
in 2nd place...Teri
and in 1st place this week is KrisL....


So congrats to you all, please email me at sales@polkadoodles.co.uk for your blinkies and a prize for the winnner, and as always many thanks to everyone else who entered, you are all winners in my book anyway!

Right, let's crack on! So this week En challenged the DT to make a card using a bug and an alternative to ribbon and here are our offerings...oh poop, I just realised I still didn't make it right, it was meant to be a Get Well Card too !! hahahahah!!!! oh well, never mind!! So I think I shall carry on these rules for you guys too!


So no sketch this week, just make a Get Well card using a bug/insect of some kind and an alternative to ribbon, ie string, raffia etc...good luck!....

Here's our offerings this week...



created by Foo Foo
....I used this fab strawberry template design (available on my new Candy Doodles CD released very soon) and mounted it onto black card. I didn't have a message to hand so I wrote on the front and used the black & white Lulu Ladybug from the Sugar Birdies CD. The hidden element is when you open up the card, there is another strawb inside which hides the end of the message. My alternative ribbon is actually waste from a red peel-off (eek!) sticker which I folded in half and tied into a bow and glued down. The pips on the strawb and the antler thingies (can't remember what they're called, lol!!) and Lulu's eye have all been embellished with my fab new find which are the most delish little acrylic raindrops...watch the website for these as I am currently in talks with a supplier for these, they're lush...created by Sue...this is a lovely bright and contemporary card from Sue. Love the string of pearls and the way she's used the stripes on the backing paper onto the plain white card, this looks great...created by Krista... I adore the way Krista always manages to use my faverooni colours to make lush bright cards - this is just pinkalish!! Dig that pink Lulu! (am currently debating sticking pink Lulu's all over my aubergine bedroom wall as we speak, hmmm....)
created by Kerry...Kerry has used green raffia as her alternative ribbon here and it looks great - she's even used it as the flower centres which is a great idea...Polly looks fabulous kicking her heels up in the grass with little Lulu in her hand....lovely....

created by Saskia....awww poor Lulu Ladybug looks pawly sick here :( ! Love that she's used the wool for her sunshine, just fab fab fab...

created by Enfys... such a yummy yummy card using my Stackies and En has cut a giant leaf with big munches out of it, no wonder Lulu is poorly! love the raffia string she's used here...

created by Ruth....Ruth's sense of humour came out here in her green card, it's making me feel a little 'ick myself!! Not that it's the design making me feel that way, I love this card! She's glittered Lulu Ladybug too and lovin' that big lush bow there....

created by Enfys... this is such an elegant card from En...She's embossed butterflies and used lots of pretty scallops and swirls. If you got htis card when you feel ill I'm sure it would cheer you up!...

So, Doodle fans bug your hearts out, we can't wait to see what you come up with this week!x