Happy New Year!

First of all I want to wish you all a very happy, healthy and crafty 2009! I hope all your wishes come true this year and that it's going to be a truly fantastic year for all of us :D! Secondly, I want to share with you one of my New Year's resolutions (and believe me, the list is loooong)... I've been blogging for about two years now, and haven't really participated in any challenges whatsoever...sure, I've done some of the challenges but not actually participated: how silly is that!

So, to rectify this I'm starting with the brand-spanking new challenge blog The Sugarbowl, who launched their first challenge on the 1st of this year with a great prize: go see for yourself :D! The challenge was a sketch by Tiets, and this is my take on it:



Then, as most of the challenge blogs are still on Christmas break, I found a nice, easy one on the Penny Black blog, so I'm set for this week ;o). The challenge was to use embossing, and this is my entry:

And of course my Magnolia stories will also continue in 2009, for those of you who enjoy them ;o). This card qualifies for the Papertake Weekly challenge, which is Seeing Spots :D

Meet Erica The Elf (I named one after myself for a change ;o)) She lives on the edge of the Animal Forest in a cute little cottage, where all the inhabitants of the forest are always welcome. Whenever there's someone at the door the little bell on her hat starts tinkling and that makes everyone feel happy :D. Erica is also the unofficial vet for the Animal Forest (have you tried paying a vet with leaves and nuts? They generally don't accept them...) and she cures all of them, whether they've eaten too many nuts and have stomach ache, or eaten the wrong kinds of berries or fallen out of the tall trees whilst doing their acrobatics :D They pay her with cuddles and scare away any intruders from the cute little cottage...of course they also scare away her dates, but Erica just reckons that the one who will eventually persevere must be THE ONE ;o)!

I lifted the sketch for this card from Magnolia-licious

Materials used:
Sugar Nellie stamp, Stampin' Up! paper and rub-on sentiment, Prima flowers, spacers, brads, charm and mirror circle (from Jacobi)

Penny Black stamp, Stampin' Up! rub-on sentiment, All My Memories paper, EK Success retro punch flowers, Joy! Crafts pearls, button, brad, ribbon, pin

Magnolia stamp, CC Designs sentiment, Chatterbox paper, Joy! Crafts pearls, Prima flowers, spacers, brads, button, ribbon, pin

Well, that's it from me for now, back to normal life again tomorrow...see you next week, have a good one :D!

Hugs,