Tuesday 31 May 2016

Windy!

Good Morning on this wet and Windy spring day!

I used a 6" square kraft card for this one.  The stamps are from two sets of Kidomo red rubber stamps bought from C & C many years ago.

I stamped the background randomly with a leaf stamp..

The trees are stamped and added a little Black Soot distress ink onto a piece of  a balsa wood box. It originally held a Macaroni Cheese ready meal which I enjoyed when my hubby was out for the day recently with friends.

The button and thread are from my stash and the paper and black card were scraps which was lying around on my desk.  I tore the paper to fit and also tore the bottom of the black matt.
I would like to enter my card into the challenge at Shopping our Stash - 4 Elements.  My element is Wind although Earth may also work.  Also Seize the Birthday Challenge - Adding Dimension.

Sunday 29 May 2016

Similar with Snippets

Hello and thank you for visiting today.

This is similar to a card that I made at a workshop last Saturday.

It's a 6 inch square card with the front folded in half to make a fold back card.

The blue paper was stuck onto the right hand side of the card and on the panel on the left.  The patterned paper was matted on top.

Then we made the dimensional decoration on the right hand side.

I'm sure lots of you know how this was done but for those who don't this is what we did.

 We punched out circles from white paper then cut pieces  of blue paper 2.4 cm  square and stuck them into the middle of the circles.  Finally we folded all four sides of the circle in towards the middle and positioned them in place on the card.

The bow was made with a Sue Wilson bow die.  Oops! an unstuck bit on the bottom corner.

I'm taking my card over to Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 231

Thursday 26 May 2016

Rudolph Day - May 2016

Happy Rudolph Day Everybody
and I'm sorry to be a day late.

On 25th  of each month Mo invites us to join in at her Scraps For Life blog for the Rudolph Day Challenge which lasts until the end of the month.  It's a good way to keep making Christmas cards throughout the year.  Mo very kindly always offers a lovely prize to the winner.

For this one I used a Kanban stamp which I bought from QVC some years ago.  It's not from a Christmas set but I thought if she was wearing a red dress and had some holly in her hair she'd work for the festive season.

She was stamped onto some cream card and coloured with Promarkers.  I did shade her body and arms a little bit but this doesn't show too well in the photo.

 I coloured round the edge of the card with some red distress ink and matted onto black card.

Oh! I also added lots of glitter.  Well you have to add glitter for Christmas, don't you.

Monday 23 May 2016

Happy Birthday!

Happy Monday to you and I hope the sun is shining there too.

Windows 10 has finally got me by default!  It all happened last night.  Just a few minor changes so far so fingers crossed.

I really couldn't come up with a title for this card so "Happy Birthday" to anyone who is celebrating today.

I  used a piece of white card for the square Marianne die and matted onto black card.

The flowers were diecut from a scrap of  thick white paper that had been previously coloured.  I shaped them on the back with an embossing tool and added a touch of  Inca Gold.

The hearts were punched from the same piece and gilded round the edges.  The gems, button and thread are from my stash and the sentiment punched out with an SU punch.

I'm running straight over to the playground with my card to Pixie's Snippets Challenge - Week 230  and would also like to join in with The Allsorts Challenge - Week 364 "Happy 7th Birthday Allsorts"

Sunday 22 May 2016

Playing with Friends!


Hello and I hope you are enjoying the weekend.

Yesterday I went to a workshop with some friends.  We really enjoyed meeting up with others.

I thought you might like to see one of the three cards we made.

I've not come across this type of card before and it was fun to make although I'm not the best at lining up border punches and there were four layers to punch out on this one.

I always find it easier to stand to punch borders.

Here's how the finished card stands up

Thursday 19 May 2016

Apricot Butterfly!

Happy Thursday Everybody!

I've a couple of busy days coming up so won't be able to join in tomorrow with my usual Friday links.

Tomorrow morning is all boring stuff then we're visiting a friend and on Saturday I'm off to a workshop - hurray!

Today's card was made for Mrs A's Butterfly Challenge blog #55  A for Aperture and Apricot.

Well I began by scratching my head as I had no apricot coloured paper or ink pads.

 However, I have a "never before used"  Adirondak inkpad called Bellini Peach.

I swiped it all over a strip of white card then rubbed over the top with Victorian Velvet Distress ink which gave as near to an apricot colour as I could get.

I stamped an old Glenda Waterman flower randomly over the front of the card with the peach ink pad then cut an aperture using a Spellbinders die.

Next I die cut some printed acetate,  given to me by my friend Jacky,  for the back of the aperture and die cut an oval frame from white card to cover the workings at the back.

The oval frame and base of the butterfly were cut from the card I had previously coloured and the top of the butterfly was cut from a scrap of vellum.  I attached a piece of the printed acetate with brads from my stash.  I rounded one corner and put a blush on ink round the edge of the card to finish.

I would also like to join in at 613 Avenue Create # 176  - "Anything Goes"

Wednesday 18 May 2016

Spritzed!

Good Morning Everyone although it's a pretty miserable one here today and to add to the misery I've just finished a pile of ironing ugh!

I have a very quick card to show today.

I sprayed several pieces of white card with Cosmic Shimmer sprays when I had them out a few days ago.

Next I pounced a Ranger Pewter stain on a small area, cut to size and embossed it with an  embossing folder.  Then I rubbed black soot over area of the background and matted onto black card.

The diecut is a Spellbinders and the sentiment is by Paula Pascal which I punched out.

The hearts and flowers were cut from offcuts of the card and the Sparkler and ribbon are from my stash.
I'd like to enter my card into the following Challenge   Fab 'n' Funky #305 "No Designer Papers"

Tuesday 17 May 2016

Man's Best Friend

Good Evening
I hope you've had a good day.  We went out for lunch with friends then this afternoon I popped down the road to a friend's house this afternoon.  She's organising a fund raiser for Cancer Research in June and got a group of us doing crafty things .

 We ended  with a cuppa and some delicious cakes that Pam had made and brought along.  Crafting with friends certainly doesn't seem to help my waistline - but it's always fun.

Well my card today was mainly made with bits that were laying on my desk plus ribbon  from my stash and  the two pieces of card candy.  I used the  tiny paw stamp on top.

I used  my new sets of Lawn Fawn Stamps and dies called Dogs in the Park.  I wanted to use my Poppy Stamps speech bubble die so had to mask the sentiment a couple of times to fit as it comes in a straight line.   I drew a few little marks behind the dog's tails to indicate that they were wagging.

I would like to enter my card in the challenge at Cardz 4 Guyz "Man's Best Friend"

Monday 16 May 2016

Acrylic Paper Daisy

Happy Monday!

First I'd like to say hello and welcome to my new follower Suzana.  Thank you so much for joining me.

My card today was inspired by my blog buddy Sarn.  She'd mentioned acrylic paper several times and made some lovely cards using it.  I asked her about the paper and she gave me some really useful tips.

So being "enabled" I bought some and this is my first go at using it.  The paper has a lovely fine linen surface and I know it's going to be a favourite with me.

I got out my sprays to find that only two were squirting properly so this was made with two Cosmic Shimmer sprays sprayed onto the paper then I swooshed it around on my craft mat.

After drying I painted  white gesso over the top in both directions to dull the colour. stamped the Woodware Daisy then the Hero Arts Old French Writing stamp.

The leaves and flower centre were painted with my Koi watercolour markers then I painted a couple of coats of gesso over the petals.  As the gesso covered up most black stamp lines I used a fine tip micron pen to draw sketchy lines on the flower petals.  I finished with a blush of purple ink round the edges of the white 6 inch square card

It was great fun to do and I was pleased with the result so glad I've lots more paper to play with.

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges A Bit More Time to Craft #20  and Seize the Birthday Challenge  "Colouring" and Delicious Doodles "April Showers Bring May Flowers"

Sunday 15 May 2016

Furry Friends!


  I made these cards a couple of weeks ago using a stamp and embossing folder which were freebies with a magazine.  I water coloured the images and coloured the insides of the embossed daisies with a yellow Sakura gel pen.  The yellow and orange card and pieces of lace and ribbon are all snippets and the flowers are some that happened to match from my bits jar.

I am taking my cards over to Di's Snippets Playground Week 229.   I hope it won't matter that it's two cards but I photographed them together and as they've already been posted I couldn't take another.      I would also like to enter my card into the Alphabet Challenge F for Furry Friends.                                                                                                                                                                 

Saturday 14 May 2016

Times Gone By!

Hello and I hope you are all enjoying the weekend.

First I would like to give a very warm welcome to my new follower Pauline.  Many of you will know Cotnob from her beautiful cards in magazines we read.

I made this card for a male friend last year and thought it would be just right for the Allsorts Challenge blog Week 363 which this time is Vintage.

My background is a Stamps Away mask which was embossed onto white card then coloured with Distress inks and spritzed with water.

I coloured the ribbon with distress ink.   The image is an old cigarette card given to me by my Hubby when he was having a clear out.

The sentiment is one by Paula Pascal which I cut out with a Marianne die.

I used black card for matting and stuck it all onto a 6 inch square card then inked the edge with Distress ink too.

Friday 13 May 2016

Oldie for Friday

As it's Friday I'm back for a second time ....


I'm linking this card to Erika's Snappy Crafts blog where every Friday she invites us to show any  craft item that we made some time ago.

Well I can't remember exactly when this one was made but I think the stamp is by La Pashe.

It is coloured with promarkers and chalks for the background which I don't use very much now.

I put glossy accents on the "glass" pieces and the sentiment is from a Hobby Arts set of sentiments.

I know - I shouldn't have left it hanging!

Happy Friday 13th Everyone!

Friday Smiles

Happy Friday Everyone!

Last week my Hubby had a special Birthday and so we had our special friends to stay for five days to help us celebrate.

This is the card from their youngest son and his family.  I don't think Sue would have chosen this card  hehe! so it's a jolly good job we love Steve!

The week was mainly hot and sunny and we got out and about quite a bit.

We spent a day in Cambridge where we had a punt ride on the River Cam with a wonderful commentary by the young man who did all the hard work.  In the evening eight of us went out for a delicious meal.

On Friday we spent the day in Coventry.   We visited the Cathedral, which is really beautiful and the Transport Museum.

The museum has recently been updated.  They have some beautiful old cars including Queen Mary's Daimler and lots of old bicycles and an amazing collection of Penny Farthings.

We ended our trip there with a ride on an amazing 4D simulator that took us on a land speed record attempt where the car actually broke the sound barrier (760mph)!!  Even though in reality I was just sitting in a theatre (with moving seats) the ride was really scary - but very exciting!

I'm linking up with Annie on her Stitch in Time blog where every Friday she invites us to join in to share things that we have enjoyed during the past week.

Thursday 12 May 2016

Two Tepees

Hello and thank you for popping by today.

It was my turn to do the demo at our club last night so I'd spent the last few days putting together fourteen kits..

I decided to do tepee cards with the girls as none of them had made them before and everyone seemed very happy with the cards they made.

These are the two samples I took along.  You may have seen the first card before as I did this sample some time ago when planning what to do. The kits were in this style although paper colours varied and everyone cut out and coloured their own cupcakes.

Although they are quite simple to make the shape makes them a bit different and they don't need much decoration.  They are useful for using up scraps too.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.


Wednesday 11 May 2016

May Flowers

Hello and Welcome.  I hope you're enjoying your day.

I'm busy preparing for a demo at our little club tonight but just thought I'd do a quick post as I wanted to welcome my two new followers.

They are Lynn and Margaret.  They both make lovely cards so I hope you will be able pay them both a visit.

I made my card a while ago using Centura pearly cardstock  and goodness knows why I didn't lay my finished card on a coloured background before taking the photo.

The background is a piece of swooshed watercolour card that was lying around so I stamped and heat embossed the Hobby Arts flowers onto it and coloured the image with Promarkers.  It was layered onto a piece of black card and I punched the heart before adding the sentiment which is also a Hobby Arts stamp.

I would like to enter my card into the challenge at Shopping Our Stash - #251 "April Showers Bring May Flowers"

Sunday 8 May 2016

Back With a Snippets

Hello Everyone, I'm back again.

Hubby had a special birthday last week so we had friends to stay for several days to help us celebrate.

As the weather was so lovely we were able to get out and about a lot and we had a great time.  I took a blog break but now I'm back I look forward to seeing what I have missed.

I think it's going to take a while to catch up but I'll be popping in to visit all my friends over the next few days to see what you've been up to.

Here's my card for Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 228.

The crazy bird, his hat and present were made with scraps of white card, the green is a snippets and the balloon  was stamped on a tiny piece left over from my butterfly card then rubbed over with green Distress ink.


When the card was done  it somehow looked unfinished but rounding off two corners seemed to do the trick.

Wednesday 4 May 2016

"R for Ruby Red and Recycling"

 Good Morning and it's a very exciting one for me,

I am absolutely delighted to be Mrs. A's Guest Designer on her Butterfly Challenge blog where the theme this time is - R for Ruby Red/Recycle

I used an MDF plaque for this one.  First I used some texture paste through a stencil then added various bits and pieces to give more texture.

The two flowers are carpet underlay diecut with a Bigz die.  I added various embossed and die cut pieces, cardboard, string and a few brads.

After painting on two coats of black Gesso I mixed acrylic paint to get the colour I wanted then added a little Inca gold to finish.


For this I used  a Tim Holtz die to cut the corner of some white linen card which was recycled from the back of a shop bought Christmas card then stuck it onto a ruby red A6 card.

The butterfly was cut with a Bigz die from a piece of cardboard box.  As the box was red with a small area of pattern  I was able to die cut the butterfly to include some pattern on it's body.

I coloured a piece of copier paper with a black marker pen to make a paper bead for the butterfly's body and  made the antennae with gold coloured craft wire.

I put some Glossy Accents on the butterfly wings, added a Craft Creations sentiment and finished with a few dots of liquid pearls to fill in gaps and add balance to the design.

I do hope you will join in with the challenge and look forward to seeing what you make.

Monday 2 May 2016

With a cherry on Top!

Good afternoon and I hope you're enjoying the Monday Bank Holiday if you're in the UK.

I'm just having a quick coffee break.  I've washed the garden table and chairs in anticipation of fine weather later this week.

We have friends coming tomorrow for  five days to help us celebrate Hubby's special birthday on Thursday.

I have  a scheduled card for Wednesday but other than that won't be around much until Sunday.

Here's a card I made some time ago with bits and bobs that were hanging around.  I think the sentiment and the cake and strawberry, which I coloured with Promarkers, are from an old Hero Arts set.

I'm entering my card in the Allsorts Challenge #361 "With a Cherry on Top"

Sunday 1 May 2016

Cherished Friend!

Hello and thank you for your visit.


I'd like to welcome my new followers Veerle & Sylvia  I do hope you will pop over for a visit and see their lovely work.

I've had a very busy few days and not a lot of time for crafting unfortunately so I made a few quick cards using up bits and pieces and a set of Sizzix stamps and matching dies.

Just a little stamping, a little colouring and a few more snippets used up.

I'm popping over with my card to join in with the playmates at Pixies Snippets Playground  - Week 227