Everybody Art - wood

Ok, let's see if I can get back into this blogging lark.... apologies for disappearing!  I haven't made anything for at least a month - Dex got flu, I caught it, we were both really ill and then mine turned into pneumonia... sigh!  It's not been much fun, but I'm more or less better now.

Anyway,  I'm here with my DT card for Everybody Art, where our challenge is 'wood'.

I've kept this fairly simple and easy - I haven't felt like picking up the copics yet, so I used some old-ish Craftwork Cards goodies.  The image, papers and and card candy are all from the Enchanted Woodland set, added a sentiment and some punched leaves and that's about it.

Thanks for popping in, hope you have a lovely evening :o)

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge GDT

Hello :o)

I'm a bit late posting this, but I'm Guest DT over at CRAFT Challenge this week... there's a fab sketch to follow.

I've used a super cute image from the sponsor Sweet n Sassy Stamps - isn't he sweet?  I've used papers from an old Basic Grey pad, the sentiment is from Digi Stamp Boutique (now closed) and the little tab die is MFT die-namics... finished off with a sparkly Doodlebug enamel dot.  Oh, and a little Paper Smooches dotty border stamp that I added to the coffee cup label.

I'm entering my card for the following challenges

Cute Card Thursday - anything goes

Kitty Bee - animals

2 Crafty Critter Crazies - anything goes with a critter

Little Red Wagon - lions & lambs (and other animals)

Thanks for popping in, hope you have a lovely evening :o)

Everybody Art - animals

Hello everyone :o)

Our new theme over at Everybody Art is 'animals'... not exactly a difficult one for me, I mostly prefer animals to people anyway lol.

I've used another of the super cute images that will be released at Lili of the Valley at the end of the month - I've used a digi version, but they'll be available as both rubber and digis.

Items Used

Image - Spring Rabbit Posy - available soon from LOTV

Sentiment - Spring Sweeties set - as above

Papers - LOTV (retired)

Colouring - copics, plus Posca white pen for detail on bunny's tail

Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 22 dies

Buttons & red twine from my stash

I'm entering my card for the following challenges

613 Avenue Create - anything goes + optional use a critter

Dragonfly Journeys - gaga for gingham (2nd entry)

Crafty Catz - anything goes + optional keep it simple

Today would have been our 'middle' son Harvey's 12th birthday... it's the one day of the year I allow myself to wallow and generally feel as miserable as I want to.  The boys are off for half term this week though, so it's not been too bad really, it's nice to have some company.  I'm still in my pyjamas and we're having takeaway for tea, but there haven't been too many tears, so it could be worse!

Thanks for popping in, hope you have a lovely evening :o)

As You Like It - birthday or Christmas

Hello everyone :o)

Over at As You Like It, we'd like you to pick your favourite between birthday or Christmas creations. We're sponsored by the fabulous Lawn Fawn this time.

This was a fairly easy choice for me... I love making birthday cards, and tend to put off making my Christmas ones - I always leave them until the last minute and then have to make them in a mad rush.  So I'd probably enjoy Christmas cards more if I got a bit more organised, but that hasn't happened so far, so it's probably not going to happen this year either!

Items Used
Image - Spring Rabbit Daisies - will be released end of Feb, as stamps & digis - LOTV
Sentiment - from the Fluffy Birthday set - as above
Colouring - copics + small details using Posca white paint pen
Papers - MME Lime Twist
Memory Box Corner Bow die
Doodlebug enamel dots
Ribbon from my stash

I'm entering my card for the following challenges
Crafting From The Heart - anything goes
Incy Wincy - make it girly
Dragonfly Journeys - gingham (the ribbon)

Thanks for popping in, hope you have a lovely evening :o)

LOTV sneak peek...

Hello :o)

There are loads of super cute new Lili of the Valley stamps being released towards the end of this month.  They'll be available as rubber stamps and digis, and they're all gorgeous!

Here's a sneak peek of one of them...

I needed a birthday card for my mum, so the arrival of the new images was perfect timing for me, she loves anything cute.

Items Used

Image - Love Tag, available end of Feb - LOTV

Colouring - copics

Papers - Bonnets & Bowties (retired) - LOTV

Cardstock - Core'dinations

Flowers - Wild Orchid Crafts

Memory Box Macarena Corner die (cut up & placed around flowers)

Lettering - Memory Box Parker alphabet dies

Buttons from my stash

I'm entering my card for the following challenges

Sketch Saturday - sketch (although I have adapted it a bit!)

Cute Card Thursday - anything goes

Addicted to Stamps & More - make your mark

Crafty Catz - anything goes + optional hearts & flowers (hearts on paper)

Thanks for popping in, hope you have a lovely evening :o)

Everybody Art - anything goes

Hello :o)

Our new challenge over at Everybody Art is 'anything goes', and as I'm still not feeling very inspired, I've kept this one simple.

I've used my very old favourite butterfly die (can't remember the brand, but I've had it for years so probably isn't available anyway... ah hah!... see below lol!), along with my newest sentiment die that I treated myself to before Christmas.

Items Used

Papers - MME Lime Twist

Butterfly die - Quickutz rev-0165

Birthday die - Lawn Fawn Happy Birthday Line Border

Glitter dots - Papermania

Keeping this brief because I'm running late (backwards and forwards running kids to various things!).  Thanks for popping in, hope you have a lovely evening :o)

As You Like It - pearls or buttons

Hello everyone :o)

Our challenge over at As You Like It this week, is to choose between 'pearls or buttons'... my embellishment of choice is usually enamel dots, but I do like how a button looks in the centre of a flower, so I chose buttons.

As I'm working almost mojo-free at the moment, I thought I'd have a look back over some older creations on my blog and remake something, so this one is a similar idea to this card.  I might go back even further and do some more remakes, maybe I'll make it a regular thing.

Items Used

Papers - MME Lime Twist

Flower - MFT Blueprints 14 (cut from an old roll of blind fabric)

Sentiment stamp - Clearly Besotted

Buttons & bakers twine from my stash

I'm entering my card for the following challenges

Simon Says Wednesday - clean & simple

Addicted to Stamps & More - clean & simple

Simon Says Monday - recycle something (the fabric)

Crafty Calendar - make it flowery

Thanks for popping in, hope you have a lovely evening :o)

LOTV - Kitty Wishes

Happy Saturday :o)

Have you seen the new Simply Sweet digi sets released over on LOTV's Etsy shop last week?  You can see them all HERE.  Perfect timing for me, as I needed a card for a birthday party Dex was invited to.

I used the fab Kitty Wishes set (I really do LOVE these cats!), along with the 9 very cute images, you also get loads of sentiments to add to them, and they're super quick to colour.  The papers are from the Galaxy Stars set - if you want these don't hang around because once they've gone they won't be restocked unfortunately.  The star is an old punch, button and twine are from my stash.

I'm entering my card for the following challenges

Cute Card Thursday - anything goes (2nd entry)

2 Crafty Critter Crazies - anything goes (with a critter)

 Animal Friends - anything goes

Little Red Wagon - purrs & wags

Thanks for popping in, hope you're having a great weekend :o)

Hunkydory Review

Hello everyone :o)

I had an email a while ago asking if I'd like to review some products from Hunkydory, which I was very happy to do.  I'm going to split my review into a few posts, so here's my first one.

I make very few shaped cards (partly due to my inability to take half decent photos of them, as you can see!), so I thought I'd pick out something different for me and chose a pack of Box Stepper cards.  They could obviously be left plain or inked to decorate, but I made a rough template so I could use some of the pretty papers from the gorgeous Tons of Fun Craft Stack... I also added an image and sentiment from the Craft Stack, and there are loads more cute images included that suit all different occasions, so I'll show more makes later in the week.  The heart dies are Memory Box, flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts and leaves cut with an old Woodware punch, the blue enamel dots are Doodlebug.  The stepper cards fold flat to fit into a normal 6" square envelope (included in the pack).

Thanks for popping in, hope you have a lovely evening :o)

Wish Upon a Star - LOTV

Hello again :o)

I've used another of the lovely re-released stamps from Lili of the Valley for today's card, this one is Wish Upon a Star and is available HERE.

I coloured the image with copics, added some Nuvo clear sparkle pen on the tutu and star, cut it out and popped it on a Spellbinders 'blossom' die.  The papers are a mix of Galaxy Stars and Watercolour Dots - Warm Sunrise, also from Lili of the Valley.  The sentiment is one of the clear stamps Sally-Ann released before Digi Stamp Boutique closed (not sure if they'll still be available somewhere), and the stitched die is MFT die-namics, pearls from my stash.  The card is 5"x 7", just to give you an idea of the stamp size.

I'm entering my card for the following challenges

Sketch Saturday - sketch

Watercolour Wednesday - feminine anything goes

Thanks for popping in, hope you have a lovely evening :o)

As You Like It - monochrome or rainbow colours

Hello everyone :o)

Our new challenge over at As You Like It is 'monochrome or rainbow colours'... a fairly easy choice for me, as I make far more bright, colourful cards than monochrome ones.

I've used one of my favourite stamps from Lili of the Valley, which happens to have been re-released today, along with lots of other lovely stamps HERE.  This particular stamp is called Jasmine Phone and is available in THIS SET (with another fab stamp, plus sentiments).  I coloured the image with copics, the papers are a mix of Watercolour Dots - Warm Sunrise and Cool Sunset, the corner die is Whimsy, and I think the wavy sentiment dies are MFT die-namics.  Finished off with a Doodlebug enamel dot.

I'm entering my card for the following challenges

Allsorts - pretty papers (2nd entry)

Crafty Addicts - anything goes/ make it girly

Crafty Cardmakers - explosion of colour

Thanks for popping in, hope you have a lovely evening :o)

As You Like It - Favourite Autumn or Halloween colours

Hello everyone :o)

I'm here with my DT card for the new challenge over at As You Like It, where our theme is 'your favourite Halloween or Autumn colours' - don't forget to tell us why!  We're sponsored by Kinda Cute by Patricia Alvarez.

I'm a spring person really, but over the last few years since we got the dog, I've realised just how beautiful our walks are at the start of Autumn, when all those gorgeous rich colours appear (and the hot weather of summer usually cools down - yay lol!).  I do love Halloween colours too, but don't make many Halloween cards, so an Autumn theme is easier for me.

I've used a Gorjuss Girl stamp that I bought several years ago, along with a few others that have all remained unused... but at least I got this one out of the packet eh?!  It's coloured with copics, the papers are Crafter's Companion Autumn Morning, and the sentiment stamp is Clearly Besotted.  The flower is from Wild Orchid Crafts, the die is probably Memory Box and the hessian trim is from my stash.

I'm entering my card for the following challenges

Moo-Mania - autumn

Double Trouble - Halloween or Fall

Use Your Stuff - mood board

Dragonfly Dreams - autumnal colours

Stamping Sensations - shades of autumn

I'm in a bit of a rush posting tonight, as we're off to a college open evening for Morgan, so apologies if I've made any glaring mistakes/ omissions - I'll pop back and correct them later!  Thanks for popping in, hope you have a lovely evening :o)

As You Like It - CAS or full of frills

Hello :o)

I'm still trying to 'encourage' myself to get in the craft room more often, so when I was asked to join the lovely team at As You Like It, I was happy to accept.  This week the challenge is to decide between 'CAS or full of frills', and we're sponsored by Crafts U Love.

So, I think my cards usually land somewhere between CAS or 'frills'... I do lots of paper and layers, but not many embellishments generally, so I chose CAS as my favourite.

The stamp and sentiment are from a Jane's Doodles set, the image was coloured with copics and then again with Nuvo clear sparkle pen.  The papers are (very) old K&Co ones and the dies are all MFT die-namics.  Finished with a Doodlebug enamel dot, which is one of the few embellishments I do manage to use.

Thanks for popping in, hope you have a lovely evening :o)

Sweet Stampin' - use a stencil

Hello... I'm late with this post again!  I really must start scheduling posts...

So, over at Sweet Stampin' this week our challenge is to 'use a stencil', something I don't often remember to do.  But I do have quite a few stencils, so it's good to get them out occasionally!

I do not love this card, in fact it very nearly ended up in the bin, but I suppose I don't hate it now it's finished.  The stencil is 'sun ray' from MFT, with white Stampin' Up ink sponged through it on purple card.  The Happy Birthday die is Crafter's Companion, leaves are from one of the MFT die-namics blueprints sets, and the stitched strip is also MFT.

Thanks for popping in, hope you have a lovely evening :o)

Everybody Art GDT - orange & brown

Hello everyone :o)

I'm here with my Guest DT card for Everybody Art, where our challenge is 'orange - brown'.

I'm not sure whether autumnal colours and butterflies really go together, but it's what I felt like doing, so I went with it!

The leafy frame die is a Tattered Lace one called 'A Little Bit Ditsy Leaves' that I won on a challenge (Allsorts?).... it's very lovely, but didn't really want to cut!  After turning it and running it backwards and forwards several times through my Gemini, I admitted defeat and added a shim, which finally worked... hurrah!  The border die is MFT die-namics and the butterfly die is a really old one that I actually can't find at the moment - luckily I had some white ones already cut in a basket, so I just added some distress inks, a bit of shimmer using a Tonic Nuvo clear glitter pen and some Papermania shimmer dots.  The papers are Crafter's Companion (Autumn Morning) and the sentiment is a Clearly Besotted stamp.

I'm entering my card for the following challenges

Simon Says Wednesday - anything goes

Allsorts - Autumn Glory

Crafty Catz - anything goes + optional colours of autumn

Die Cut Divas - Autumn/ Halloween

Crazy 4 Challenges - Fall

Sorry I haven't been around much, we've been a bit busy with decorating, and it was Morgan's 16th birthday last week... plus it's basketball season, so we have to get him to training twice a week and then all his games too.  And we've had secondary school open evenings for Dex, as he's in his final year of primary (sob!).  My boys are getting far too grown up!

Some slightly sweaty photos of Morgan after a recent game - yep, they got to choose their own numbers, and he chose '13' lol.

Thanks for popping in, hope you have a lovely evening :o)

Everybody Art GDT - just words

Hello everyone :o)  

I'm here with my Guest DT card for Everybody Art, where our current challenge is 'just words'.

I'll hopefully provide a link to the printable text soon - it's from the Digi Stamp Boutique shop on Etsy, but doesn't seem to be available there yet.  I printed the text onto linen card (from Crafter's Companion), the papers are Bo Bunny, butterfly could be either Prima or Bo Bunny, I'm not sure.  The swirly die is a Memory Box one that I cut into two pieces.

I'm entering my card for the following challenges

Cheerful Sketches - fab sketch

Aud Sentiments - for the girls + a sentiment

Sorry for going quiet again, we've been to Wales for a week (Llanbrynmair, not far from Snowdonia) and had a lovely time... not got round to sorting out photos yet, but I'll pop some on Instagram when I get chance.  We did get quite a bit of rain, but the scenery was just gorgeous, and the best bit - no wifi in the cottage, so we actually got to spend time together, even with the teenage one lol.  We've discovered that we all like playing badminton, which is odd considering I've never enjoyed playing any sport really... just need to find some local courts now.

Pav's got this week off too, and we'd planned to do some day trips and maybe go to the cinema, find a badminton court.  But unfortunately within hours of getting home at the weekend, Pav's back gave up and he's not been able to do anything since!  He has an issue with one of the discs in his back, it's ok most of the time but flares up every now and then... it's probably down to all the driving this time, last time it went he'd been shoveling snow off the drive.  He needs an op at some point, but hopefully he won't need it just yet... fingers crossed it'll improve with a few days rest.  He can't even get in/ out of a car at the moment, so I don't think we'll be going far this week!

Thanks for popping in, hope you have a lovely evening :o)

Sweet Stampin' - CAS

Happy Saturday :o)

Our theme over at Sweet Stampin' for this week is 'CAS', so we'd like to see all your lovely clean & simple designs.

I will admit to cheating a bit this week... I really tried to make a card, but the heat in my craft room is on the unbearable side, and it defeated me!  So this is an older card that I didn't blog when I made it... made using Crafter's Companion stamps and dies, white embossing and Spectrum Noir AquaTint inks.  The background is simple splashes/ drips of the ink on white linen card (my mum said it looked like I'd bled on it, which is nice...).  Finished off with some Doodlebug enamel dots on the butterflies.

Thanks for popping in, hope you have a lovely weekend... isn't it great to see some rain at last?!  :o)

Sweet Stampin' - summer brights

Happy Saturday :o)

Our theme over at Sweet Stampin' for this week is 'summer brights'... my (teenage) son needed a birthday card for his friend, so I've gone CAS for this one.  It's always safest with those male teenage creatures to go for super simple, just on the off chance I inadvertently add something embarrassing (worst crime ever....).

There are lots of card blanks in my stash, from the 'old days' when I often bought them instead of just cutting them myself... I recently found several packs of tall, thin cards, 21cm tall and just under 7.5cm wide, they've got a fab ribbed texture too, and really suit CAS designs I think.

I used the 'sun ray' stencil from MFT, with Distress Inks in Squeezed Lemonade, Ripe Persimmon and Festive Berries.  The sentiment is a stamp from this set from Digi Stamp Boutique, embossed in detail white on black card and popped up on foam pads... and that's it!  Sooo simple but approved by the teenage one :o)

I'm entering my card for the following challenges

Simon Says Wednesday - anything goes

Craftaholics R Us - sunshine

Cute Card Thursday - CAS

Seize the Birthday - anything goes

Thanks for popping in, hope you have a lovely evening :o)

Everybody Art GDT - birthday

Hello... apologies again for how quiet my blog is at the moment, I'm just not feeling all that motivated with crafting/ blogging lately.  Hopefully I will again soon, but I'm not going to force it... I'll just make/ post when I can.

I'm here with my Guest DT card for Everybody Art, where our theme is 'birthday'.  This one is also my 'annual pig card' for those regulars to my blog - one of my mum's friends loves pigs, so I have to find a new pig for her card every year!

This year's pig is a super cute one from Lee Holland, coloured with copics.  The papers are Echo Park 'Happy Summer', the sentiment is a stamp from Digi Stamp Boutique HERE.  I added a Whimsy corner die, some punched butterflies and Doodlebug enamel dots.

I'm entering my card for the following challenges

Cute n Crafty - birthday

Cutie Pie - spots & dots

Always Happy Birthday - birthday + optional summer birthday

Crafty Catz - anything goes

Crafty Gals - summer colours

Thanks for popping in, hope you have a lovely evening :o)

Everybody Art GDT - for friends only

Hello everyone :o)

I'm here with my Guest DT card for Everybody Art, where our new theme is 'for friends only'.

This stamp is one of many that I've had for ages and not used at all... maybe one day I'll get them all inked (ha!...).  It's a Roberto's Rascals stamp from CC Designs, the sentiment is also from a CC Designs set.  I coloured the image with copics, the papers are My Mind's Eye (I think... I keep grabbing random papers from piles that need clearing up on my desk, and then forgetting what I've used!).  The flower and leaf are MFT Die-namics dies, the little heart/ bow die is Memory Box, although I cut it up and used two small hearts instead of the bigger one.  Added a button and enamel dot from my stash.

I'm entering my card for the following challenges

Dragonfly Dreams - here come the girls

Pile It On - sports/ hobbies/ and/or make us laugh

Colour Crazy Challenge - anything goes (with hand coloured image)

Thanks for popping in, hope you have a lovely evening :o)