Favourite Season at As You Like It

 Hello everyone

We have a new challenge at

As You Like It, where the theme is

Favourite Season

It's winter for me, or specifically Christmas, the build up, preparation and anticipation. Not to forget the card making that I do all year round.

I used the film strip reindeer from Lili of the Valley that I coloured with Promarkers. The paper is an unknown scrap and the holly die is from Cheery Lynn. I found another Craftwork Cards sentiment too. Looks like I had more of those left than I realised!!

Hope you will join us with projects featuring your favourite season.

See you soon xx

Bright or Pastels at As You Like It Challenge

 Welcome everyone. 

It's new challenge day at

where the theme is Bright or Pastels(with you reasons too)

I love a card to stand out on the mantelpiece so my makes tend to be on the brighter side.

More old stash was used on this sweet card. 

Dovecraft Garden Party paper pack was the starting point for the lovely colour combination. A Tattered Lace die set was used for the frames and then I matted the papers on the middle blanks. I inked one of the clear stamps from Easter Florals which is available in digital format from LOTV and coloured with Promarkers. The sentiment is also from LOTV, again a clear set that I punched out and added a gem to the centre for a little bit of bling.

I hope that you'll join us. 

See you soon xx

In the Garden at Allsorts

Hello friends and visitors it's time for a new challenge at 

Allsorts where the optional theme, chosen by Gail, is

In the Garden (anything goes is also very welcome)

Two prizes of Lavinia stamps 

Here is my contribution to the inspiration

I used a grey rubber LOTV stamp (and sentiment) for this little card. It's another very old set that I had shamefully forgotten all about. It was lovely to colour and I chose a favourite colour combo blue and Kraft. The papers are old and the cover missing but I think they might be Bo Bunny and Doodlebug Designs. For an added gardeny extra I added some bakers twine.

I have been on annual leave the past week and, my word, we've had ALL the weather. Frost, icy winds, rain and 23 degree sunshine too. We took a trip to the coast on Wednesday and it was glorious to enjoy an ice cream in shirt sleeves. We bought a new rambling rose, clematis and some shrubs to go in the borders, it was so good to get in the garden again. Speaking of which we would LOVE to see your garden themed cards/projects so hope that you will play along.

See you soon xx

NOTE TO SELF, PUBLISH YOUR POST WHEN YOU EDIT, NOT UPDATE!!

Simple or Fussy at AYLI

 Hello and welcome. I have a man card to share with you today.

It's James the Bear and he is my DT make for the new theme at

where the theme is

Simple or Fussy

You will know by now that I have enough paper pads to last me several lifetimes so I like to include them on my cards wherever possible. That said I don't usually use frills, gems, ribbon or the like and keep my designs fairly simple to showcase the papers. Simple cards are also slimmer and therefore less costly to post. 

He never fails to make me smile and is always a joy to colour. He is grey rubber and one of the early Lili of the Valley stamps. He was coloured with Promarkers to match the backing papers, the check from a My Favourite Things pad and the spot from a Bo Bunny pad. I "glassed" up his lager with glossy accents. The postmark sentiment was also a LOTV  stamp set, clear this time, but, again, fairly old.

Man cards aren't my favourite to make but I made an exception with this special card, made for our eldest Son who had his Birthday on Easter Monday. I surely can't be old enough to have a 36 year old!!

Anyway, we have had some super weather here for two whole days, the jumper and wellies came off and we even took a trip to the coast yesterday where it was actually too blooming hot!! A good excuse for an ice cream though!!

Wherever you are in the world I hope the weather is being kind.

See you soon xx

WLS Spring TIme

Happy April everyone!! A new month and a new challenge at

WE LOVE STAMPING where it's SPRING!! Anything goes is also welcome as long as there is a stamped feature on your card/project.

Two prizes of Lavinia stamps

I have been a little bit naughty and purchased a new digi stamp, Tulip jug from  Lili of the Valley, well at half price it would have been rude not to!!

I did, however, redeem myself by using an old MME paper pad, Fine and Dandy Girl. I picked out Promarkers to match colours in the papers and really enjoyed colouring the tulips.

 The sentiment is from a Craftwork Cards die cut set, goodness knows how old they are and I only have a handful of these oval ones left now, so useful. 

I am pleased to report that I am getting the hang of the pesky laptop and it made me smile to read some comments on my previous post from the vigilant visitors who noticed I hadn't posted my DT piece for Allsorts. 

With Easter a hop, skip and a jump away I will wish you a blessed weekend. I think the Easter Bunny might get a little bit soggy here in rural Dorset while laying out the clues for the egg hunt, but I am reliably informed that she gets any leftovers!!

Toodle pip for now xx

Colour at AYLI

 Hello everyone it's the start of the new challenge at 

As You like It

where Brenda is hosting and the theme is 

Colour (and why)

Blue is not my favourite colour but it is my Sister's favourite so I challenged myself and made a blue card for her Birthday.

I used a grey LOTV stamp and coloured it with Promarkers. My Sis has three Cavaliers so I coloured the pup to look like one of them. My paper pad is an old Joy Crafts one that had heaps of different blue patterns so I layered those. The die cut Sister is from Crafters Companion.

Thank you for calling in and I hope you will be inspired to join in.

See you soon xx

All Things New at We Love Stamping

Hello everyone, yes it's me again and I have HUGE news to share.

I was delighted to be invited to join the wonderful team at 

WE LOVE STAMPING

so this is my debut DT project and I am sharing inspiration for our January Challenge

 All Things New, chosen by Mervi

Here's what I made...a new baby card

I had a little tidy up back in December and found a box of Lili of the valley grey rubber stamps so she was perfect for my card. Keeping with the theme of older stash I used an old My Minds Eye paper pad called...and used Promarkers to colour the adorable image in shades to match. I even added some old cheesecloth and lace, some twine and a favourite stamp/die combo from Mama Elephant for the dinky tag.

We have two prizes of Tonic Verso dies (ones received may differ from the photo below) and a $20 Whimsy gift card for entrants Worldwide.

  

I am looking forward to my journey ahead with this talented team and taking inspiration from them all to use my rubber stamps.

See you soon

AYLI - Favourite Critter

 I have the pleasure of hosting this time at

and I have chosen Favourite Critter as the theme.

I absolutely LOVE James the Bear and as I am in Christmas mode at the moment it would have been rude not to use him!! This one is grey rubber but he is available as a digi here.

He was coloured with Lyra pencils this time and I used blending solution for softness. There is some sparkle on the snow too. The papers that I used are from a very old Me to You paper pad called Happy Jolly Christmas. I rounded them for something a little bit different. The flag was also from the pad,

We'd love to see your favourite critters at the challenge, Christmas or not, everyone is welcome!!

See you soon xx

Ribbon or Twine at AYLI

Hello friends. I have another Christmas card to share with you today. It's my DT piece for

where the theme is

Ribbon or Twine (and why)

As ever, I am aware of the cost of postage so for a bit of detail and texture, without the bulk, I tend to use twine. 

That said I still have a massive array of ribbons that I will possibly use one day!!

The birdhouse is one of my first purchases from Lili of the Valley back in the days before digitals. The backing paper is also from a real life 8x8 paper pad which, I think, is available in digi form. I also used their Christmas sentiments tag stamp set for the little tag greeting.

You can see the image a little better here and the lovely frosty snow that I added once I'd coloured with Promarkers.

Thank you for your visit and I hope you will be inspired to share your makes with us.

See you soon xx

 

Favourite Season

 Oh my life, I am extremely late to the start of the new challenge at

no excuse except ageing grey matter!! Anyway the theme is

Your Favourite Season (and why)

I am a winter baby (born in February) and love colder snuggly weather. Within that season there is, of course, Christmas. 

I took advantage of a discount at LOTV and bought the photo strip reindeer

I coloured them with Promarkers, matted them on silver mirri and die cut some snowflakes too.

I might have over exposed the pic a bit, it's not really as dazzling as that in real life.

Lovely to see you xx

For a Child at Allsorts

 Although I have tried to challenge myself this year, I am at my happiest when making cute cards so Liz's For a Child was right up my street as an optional theme at

I just knew I had the perfect stamp for this, a very old one from Wild Rose Studio. I found a lovely plaid paper from MFT and coloured the little sweetie to match, using my Promarkers. Some flame coloured glitter was perfect for the candles and added a little bit of bling too!!

The frame was from a MFT set and the tiny scalloped mats are from Tonic Essentials which I can't find anywhere to link so they are very old!! The dinky sentiment is equally old a grey rubber set from LOTV. This card will probably find it's way to Mollie next year for when she turns 9.

There will be prizes for 2 winners, Saturated Canary and HM stamps so well worth an entry or two!!

I hope you have a good weekend xx

Favourite colour combo at AYLI

 Hello everyone. I hope that you are all doing well and that life is being kind. Time seems to be flying this year yet, other than work, I don't seem to have achieved much else!! Thank goodness for DT deadlines that mean I get a little bit of time to indulge in my crafty hobby.

I am here to inspire you to join us at

where we are showcasing our favourite colour combo and would love you to do the same (with a reason of course).

I'm afraid I am sticking to a tried and tested combo...pink and green...because whatever shade or tone they go beautifully together in the garden and on cards!!

I managed to get myself the lovely Easter Florals clear stamp set from LOTV and coloured the wonderful chicken with pink and green Promarkers. After a sort through my papers I found some matching pinks and greens and put together my card using Jules Square Sketch #47 

(Thanks again Jules x).

Finishing touches were with some ribbon from my stash and pretty pearls too.

Here's Mother Natures' take!!

Thank you for your company today. I am still wayyy behind with my visits so I much appreciate that you still come this way even if I am not regularly returning the favour xx

Spring Flowers at Allsorts

 Ellie is in the driving seat at 

and has chosen Spring Flowers as the optional theme.

Stamps and stencils (winners will receive random selection from those shown) from AALL and Create 

My garden is alive with colour which, after the seemingly endless winter, is making me very happy. I decided to take my daffs as inspiration for my card and used a very old LOTV rubber stamp. 

I used my Daisy Mae Arched Tag die cut set for the base and even did a shaped insert too. The stamped image was coloured with Promarkers. The tag is also a LOTV set that I stamped and cut out and attached it to the handle of the lovely jug with the thinnest organza ribbon ever!!

Whatever you are up to I hope you hae a good weekend.

See you soon 

Patterned paper at AYLI

 Happy Thursday peeps. I hope that this week is being kind to you.

I am hosting the first challenge of the year at

 It won't be a surprise when I tell you that the theme is

Favourite paper brand

I have lots and lots of papers both real and digital but "My Favorite Things! is the brand that I return to time and time again particularly when I am creating cute or girly cards that require a small print.

Looking forward to seeing what your favourite brand is!!

Special Occasions

 Happy Monday everyone and I hope this week is kind to you. Today is the first of three visits for me so I will kick the week off by inviting you to join in at

where the theme this month is

Special Occasions.

I am getting on a bit and seem to be making an awful lot of retirement cards lately for colleagues and friends so what better special occasion than that!!?

I used a super cute LOTV rubber stamp and coloured him to match the Bo Bunny paper pad. I used my lovely tearing rulers again for the panel and used a MFT die cut frame too. The sentiment was cobbled together using two different stamp sets, happy was a freebie and retirement from Whimsy. All edges were inked for a little bit of interest.

I am looking forward to seeing your interpretation of Special Occasion.

See you on Thursday xx

Feature a Creature

 Only three months to go...just saying!!

Time to get those Christmas cards in production if you've not already started.

We are Feature a Creature at

I had a set of LOTV reindeer printed out and waiting to be coloured so I made three cards using those.

They are dinky little 3x3 cards. The images were coloured with Promarkers and I chalked the sky before adding twinkly snow. The paper pack is a Bazzil one from my early days of papercrafting and I'd forgotten how great kraft and red look together. Each card had a little bit of ribbon and I attached a rusty bell and tag with a bulb safety pin. I've used these in my journals/folios and they make great hangers.

I hope that you will support us and look forward to seeing your Christmas cards.

See you soon xx

AYLI - Colouring Medium

 We are sharing our favourite colouring mediums at

and it will come as no surprise that my own favourite is Promarkers.

I love the way they blend and they are so long lasting. In fifteen plus years I have only ever had to replace one or two of my most used colours Tea Green and Sandstone.

Here's what I did with them

I used some spotty scraps and coloured this adorable LOTV bear with my Promarkers.

Thank you for visiting me. Work has been full on so I am afraid time to return the compliment has been in short supply. 

We are looking forward to seeing your favourite colouring medium.

See you soon xx

Festive Bears and other B's

 Merry (six months until) Christmas...yes it really is getting close!!

At Christmas with the Cuties we would LOVE to see bears on your cards or other festive things beginning with B.

Now, Christmas would not be the same without a visit from James the Bear who I have used (in rubber form) to decorate this card.

I used a bauble paper from a Penny Black pad and coloured James to match. It's really hard to tell but the tinsel is hairy glitter!! The baubles were glazed with glossy accents and I die cut a Crafters Companion bauble and covered it with glittery sticky backed plastic!! The sentiment is also from a Christmas set by LOTV.

I am looking forward to seeing what you make for us!!

AYLI Soft or Bold

Hello, hello!! Welcome again. I have a man type card to share today as my Dt piece for

As You Like It.

This theme is SOFT or BOLD colours.

My "go to", in life actually, is bold. Clothing, home decor and the majority of my crafting will show bold colours. I have mentioned many times that back in the 80's days of shoulder pads and high heels, i had my "colours done" and to this day still choose bright, bold and clear colours.

 This little chap was pulled from an old LOTV sketch pad and coloured with Promarkers to match the MME paper pad in suitably bold and manly colours.

I hope you will join us this fortnight.

See you on Saturday xx

Clean or Fussy

 Hello friends. It's my turn to host at 

As You Like It Challenge 

and the theme is Clean or Fussy.

I have pared back on enbellishments over the years and tend to go for a flatter card these days. My love of paper pads and my substantial collection means that I use paper wherever I can but still like a clean and symmetrical design. White mats always add to the clean look I think.

Here's my card to inspire you...

LOTV are our generous sponsor this time and I have gone "all out" using a very old paper pack and clear stamp set for the image.

The adorable little critter was coloured with Promarkers.

We are very much looking forward to seeing your take on the theme.

See you on Saturday xx